Once again we turn to the big shooter, Two Gun Pete, for sagacious insight on Week One, and the answer comes back "USC". That's USC as in University of South Carolina, home of the Gamecocks. Coached by Steve Spurrier, the 'Cocks have been big in the news the past week as the NCAA has begun investigating how a group of SC players can afford to live in a cushy hotel in downtown Columbia. As those questions picked up steam, one of the linemen was suspended for smacking around his girlfriend in a parking lot. Oh, yeah, they have a little quarterback controversy going, too, with a freshman giving a nice preseason performance to unsettle the veteran returning QB.
Love that SEC football!
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| The Gamecock. One of the least attractive mascots anywhere. Distinctive, though. |
Back on point, the 'Cocks open the season on Thursday night at home. Southern Mississippi University (another bird, Southern Mississippi's team is the Eagles) will visit Columbia to get things started. Two Gun consulted the Dead Sea Scrolls, his prized personal repository of football factoids, and developed a compelling and convincing case for the 'Cocks:
- Steve Spurrier has never lost a season opener
- USC returns 9 starters on offense
- USC returns 7 starters on defense
- USC doesn't lose at home on Thursdays (four times)
- Spurrier needs to bury the memory of a bowl game loss to Connecticut
- USC is going to challenge for the top rung of the SEC South, and finally
- Two Gun thinks Spurrier is sufficiently soul-less to want to decimate, destroy and demoralize lesser opponents in order to advance his and his team's status, reputation and ranking
The visitors, Southern Mississippi, are going to be unable to hang wiffem (as Two Gun's favorite TV voice, Hawk Harrelson is wont to say) as this game unfolds. Southern Miss, coached by a chap named Larry Fedora, is a member of Conference USA, where they finished 3rd in their division last year, with an overall 7-6 record. Their #1 and #2 running backs from last year are gone, their top 2 receivers, their TE, lots of people from the offense, gone. Their defense, a pushover last year, brings back a few guys and will be better, but this is a step up in class for the Eagles, and it's going to be too large a gap. . SC 35, Eagles 16 as Spurrier & Co. cover.
Next up, on Friday, the first 4 Star pick: a bit of a rerun.
2 comments:
Hello Gentlemen! I am so looking forward to this season. The Canes have a rough and tough schedule after week 1. Then on to a major battle- UM- Ohio State. Will it be Coker, McGahee's and Dorsey's revenge from 2003? McGahee recovered, Dorsey's playing in Canada and Coker didnt cut it as an announcer and is the proud coach of the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Quick challenge- what is UTSA mascot???
Adios
Cubanita (soon to be moving back to America- Tampa)
The USTA mascot is a cartoon cowpie named Dumpy, correct?
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