Cocks Rock Rebs

Gamecocks take down No. 6 Ole Miss
by John Buzbee

That was it. That's what he'll be remembered for. It took five seasons, but Steve Spurrier finally has his signature win with the Gamecocks. USC finally has a win over a top five team at home.

And it was over Ole Miss.

Feels kinda empty, doesn't it?

Now the Rebels are obviously not playing like a top 5 team, but that doesn't change the facts. South Carolina dominated the majority of the game with a suffocating defense that kept a very good Jevan Snead off rhythm, while the Gamecock offense did just enough to get by.

And that's been the trend for Spurrier in Columbia. While he finally has a QB that might be capable of showing some signs of a fun n' gun offense, the Gamecocks have lived off their defense, and it has to be killing him.

When Spurrier came to Columbia in 2005, there was talk of when he would get the Gamecocks over the hump and into the SEC Championship Game. But that was before Urban was terrorizing the East. Now, the question is whether he can get USC into the top half of the division (... yes, technically they were in third last season, but that's considering a 4-4 record and tie with Vanderbilt as an achievement).

So congratulations to South Carolina for nipping the Rebels, but after seeing how the 'Cocks handle success (see: 2007 loss to Vandy when ranked No. 7), don't be surprised if Spurrier sees yet another five loss season in Columbia.


Ole Miss. Well that was quick.

The media darlings were fringe candidates to not just win the West (which they have yet to do out-right), but also to repeat the magic and beat Florida, this time in the SEC Championship Game. That thought seems ludicrous after the vaunted Ole Miss offense was thoroughly shut down last night.

The Rebels only converted one of 13 third down opportunities and Snead was held to 7-for-21 with a touchdown. Perhaps that could have been because they didn't get the ball into their playmaker's hands. Dexter McCluster had 15 carries for 85 yards with zero receptions, and needed many more touches. The senior WR is the most dynamic player Ole Miss has on the field and needs at least 20 touches per game if the Rebels are going to threaten the West elite... also, he's on my fantasy team, and 8 points won't cut it.

But who didn't see this coming? The Rebels have now lost six straight SEC openers, and Houston Nutt routinely drops this type of game. Ole Miss will beat someone they shouldn't, and they are a very talented team, but lackluster efforts like Thursday night's will mean a fourth place finish in the West.


ESPN announcers. Jesse Palmer is starting to grow on me as a color analyst. He generally gives pretty good in-sight (though he is still apt to give a goof of a comment every quarter or so), but he's mainly dead-on with most analysis, appears to have done research on the teams, and doesn't get swept up in the possibility of an upset (cough, Brent Musburger, cough). Of course, for the ESPN family of networks, keeping track of player's names is apparently enough to be an above average commentator ... at least after having watched Bob Davie and Mark Jones.

I still hate Craig James.

And I still hate you, ESPN, for taking the Ron Franklin-Mike Gottfried team away from me.


Preseason Polls. Yes, yes, polls come out too early and there's no real way to know exactly how good a team is when the preseason poll comes out. People are using Ole Miss' loss shows that preseason polls harm college football's national championship chase. One of the better arguments against polls was made by voter Doug Lesmerieses of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, who told ESPN, "what people think in August [when filling out preseason Top 25s] is at least partly based on what Phil Steele and Athlon thought in April [when their preview magazines are written]. A multi-gazillion-dollar industry based on people putting 15 minutes into a poll that is based on a magazine that did its rankings in April is not a good system."

But I'm tired of hearing that preseason rankings hurt a team's chances to win the national championship. Attacking the publication of preseason polls is useless - the reason they were invented were to create controversy and sell newspapers. And people can speak out about preseason polls until they're blue in the face, but they'll always exist, if nothing more than for TV Networks to market the game better. And the best example of their harm - Auburn in 2004 - doesn't hold water because USC and Oklahoma would've been No. 1 and No. 2 if the polls would've started in Week 2, 7 or 12.

The real culprits that harms the national title chase are not the preseason polls, but voters who won't change their opinions. South Carolina's win was pretty dominating, especially against a team perceived to be an SEC and (fringe) national title contender. The Rebels are a very talented team, but they're not playing like one, and voters must have the polls reflect that. Ole Miss should drop at least 14 spots in the next poll - and cannot be ranked ahead of South Carolina.


Oh the pressure. Congrats to you Bradley Sowell; I'm sure Ole Miss fans are thoroughly excited about your confidence.. What did the Rebel offensive lineman think of his team's highest ranking since 1970? "I'm glad it's over with," he said, "so everyone can just stop talking about it." Well, just so you know, we're glad it's over too.