South Carolina hosts The Citadel Tuesday Night

South Carolina (26-7) returns home Tuesday night to take on The Citadel (17-16) at 7 p.m. at Carolina Stadium.  The Gamecocks will send right-hander Joel Seddon (1-0, 5.11 ERA) to the mound to face Citadel's freshman righty Austin Livingston (2-0, 6.48 ERA).

The Gamecocks are coming off of a much needed sweep of the Tennessee Volunteers last weekend to improve their standing in the SEC Eastern Division to second and they are third overall in the SEC.  Carolina won four of five games last week, including a 9-5 win over Charleston Southern a week ago.

The last time USC faced The Citadel they defeated the Bulldogs 9-5 at Joe Riley Park in Charleston.  Joey Pankake, Greyson Greiner and LB Dantzler all tallied home-runs, including three RBI's a piece from Greiner and Pankake.

But, lately the offensive production has come from several different areas.

"We've had some big swings of the bat," Head Coach Chad Holbrook said after Saturday's win over UT. "Offensively, we've squared some balls up, Max [Shrock] continues to swing it, Graham [Saiko] had a few hits and it was a very satisfying series win for us." 

This weekend's performance was Carolina's best performance at the plate this season as the team hit a combined .375 (45-for-120) with 36 runs scored.   The Gamecocks dished out a season-high 21 hits with 10 different players recording at least one hit in Sunday's 19-2 win. The 19 runs were the most in a game for USC since scoring 24 in a game vs. College of Charleston in 2011 and the most in a conference game since scoring 20 on Alabama in 2010.

Max Shrock was named SEC Freshman of the Week after hitting .500 (11-for-22) in five games last week, including a game-winning RBI-double in the ninth against Tennessee Friday night to lift the Gamecocks to a 5-4 victory.  He also tallied eight RBI, scored seven runs and lifted his season average to .264

"Hitting is contagious," Shrock said. "Once one guy gets hot, another guy can get hot and we just hit it today."

Another key to the Gamecocks strong run has been the input from the bullpen.  Senior Adam Westmoreland played a big role in both Friday and Saturday's wins at Tennessee. His outing on Saturday was huge as he allowed just one run on five hits in a season-high six innings of relief to improve to 4-0 on the year. Westmoreland fanned six and walked none in his six innings.

"I try to go out and just throw strikes," Westmoreland said after his strong performance on Saturday. "I try to just stay ahead of the hitters.  I know they had a big inning, but our offense has responded well.  They hit the ball and did some big things for us."

After facing The Citadel on Tuesday, the Gamecocks will travel to Gainesville this weekend for a three game set with Florida.

Carolina Sweeps Elon

The South Carolina Gamecocks (6-0) completed the sweep of the Elon Phoenix (4-3) Sunday afternoon at Carolina Stadium, winning 6-0.

The Gamecocks were able to sprint out to a five run lead early in the game thanks to a three run first inning and another two runs in the second.

South Carolina relied heavily on the pitching staff this weekend. Elon came in hitting a solid .288 against its opponents in rout to its 4-0 start. Gamecock pitching cooled the Phoenix bats, allowing only seven hits in 86 at bats in the series.

Saturday, Matt Price tied a career high in strikeouts as he picked up his first win of the year in the Gamecocks' 3-2 victory. Price allowed only one hit in his five innings of work.

Friday night, Michael Roth dazzled yet again as he tossed a near no-hitter in Carolina's 8-1 win, pitching seven innings and allowing only one hit, a solo home run by Elon's Garrett Koster.  Joey Pankake went 2-for-4, scoring three runs and Grayson Greiner added two hits as well.

South Carolina will play Presbyterian this Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Carolina Stadium before they head to Charleston this Friday night to take on Clemson at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park.

South Carolina-Florida Preview

The South Carolina Gamecocks (9-11, 1-5) will travel to Gainesville, Fla. tonight to take on No. 11 Florida (17-4, 5-1) at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center.

USC has had trouble this year closing out games and playing two full halves of basketball, but they were able to put it together last Wednesday night with a 56-54 upset win over Alabama (14-7, 3-4).

Looking to build on that win last Saturday in Oxford, MS, however, the Gamecocks found themselves moving backwards again with a 66-62 loss to Ole Miss after senior Malik Cooke missed a late free throw with a chance to tie the game.

Despite that loss, Head Coach Darrin Horn remains optimistic that his team can continue to improve.

“Our focus has continued to be the same thing,” Horn said. “Let’s keep getting better. We definitely made progress on the road at Ole Miss, we had a chance to win the game. That’s what you want to do in league play on the road. We missed a free throw and credit their kid for making a shot.”

If South Carolina is going to want to get back in the win column Thursday  night, they're going to have to defeat a very stout Gator team.

Florida's offense has come on strong lately as the Gators have won five straight since dropping a 67-56 affair at Tennessee in early January, including a comeback 79-65 win at South Carolina two weeks ago.  The Gators have averaged just over 71 points per game during their five game winning streak and are top 10 in the country in points per game, averaging over 80 per contest overall this season.

“We have got a very dangerous Florida team coming up,” Horn said. “They’re essentially leading the country in three-point shooting. I think if you say that you have to go in and shut down their three-point shooting, well that isn’t going to happen, they put up 26 a game. Some are going to drop in. I think what we have to do is eliminate some of the easy ones that come off of our mistakes where we have a bad turnover and it leads to a transition tbree.”

The Gamecocks have gotten used to playing top ranked teams this season.  South Carolina has played three top five teams so far this year and will be taking on No. 1 Kentucky this Saturday at home. The high ranking does not intimidate the Gamecocks however, as they are still focused on winning ball games.

Damien Leonard will be in the starting lineup again tonight despite his poor shooting lately.  He shares USC's frustration, as the Gamecocks are desperate for a few victories.

“I just want to win,” Leonard said. “I just want to go out there and play hard and do what the coaches want me to do.”

South Carolina-Vanderbilt Preview

The South Carolina Gamecocks (8-7, 0-1) will welcome conference rival Vanderbilt (11-4, 1-0) to Colonial Life Arena Tuesday night at 9 p.m. ET for the Gamecocks' SEC home opener. The game will air live on ESPNU.

After a rocky start to the season, Darrin Horn's Gamecocks have started to find a winning groove as of late, winning six of their last eight after losing three straight earlier in the year.  Both of South Carolina's losses in the eight game span have been to then-No. 2 Ohio State and No. 2 Kentucky last Saturday in Lexington.  USC has shown some promising signs in the past few week's and Coach Horn is hoping to build on those things.

“After having an opportunity to review the film from Saturday, we saw a lot of really, really good things that we emphasized and wanted to focus on, mainly taking care of the basketball and rebounding,” Horn said. “To out-rebound that team was a really good job and the job we did on the offensive glass was something that we want to build on moving forward.”

If Horn and the Gamecocks want to have success against Vanderbilt Tuesday night, they're going to need a great offensive effort against one of the best defensive units in the conference.  In the Commodores' last game vs. Auburn, Vanderbilt's stifling defense held the Tigers to just 35 points, in route to a convincing 65-35 win to move to 1-0 in the SEC.

“We’ve got to find a way to put those things together as we move forward through conference play," Horn said. "Every game is a new challenge and I think Vanderbilt presents a great challenge from the standpoint that, defensively, they’re as good, if not the best team in our league.”

Not only will the Gamecocks need a stellar offensive game to upset Vanderbilt, South Carolina will need to focus on stopping Vanderbilt's offensive attack, led by junior guard John Jenkins, who leads the SEC in scoring with 20.3 points per game.

“He’s a great scorer and terrific shooter,” Horn said. “Obviously, he’s the focal point of their offense. Usually guys like that are going to find a way to get enough shots and have enough offensive opportunities — there’s a reason he scores 20 points per game even though every team that plays him is trying to shut him down. I think any time you play a player of his caliber, I think you’ve got to try to make it as hard on him as you can and do your very best to try to limit as much as possible.”

The Gamecocks opened conference play last year with a 83-75 upset of Vanderbilt in overtime. Sam Muldrow had a triple double in the game to lead South Carolina to a 1-0 start in SEC play. This year is the first season under Darrin Horn that the Gamecocks haven't started conference play with a victory.

Senior Malik Cooke is looking to help South Carolina turn it around Tuesday with a victory over a tough Vanderbilt squad.

“We feel like we can beat anybody on any given night,” Cooke said. “It was a learning experience last year and we learned a lot from that game and hopefully we can carry that into this one.”

2011 Bowl Predictions

It's bowl season and you know what that means. Tons of meaningful, action packed bowls and even more boring, senseless match-ups to dull the 2011 schedule.  The Post & Cocky Analyst Ryan Mace has taken on the difficult task of predicting each of the bowls for the upcoming season, including predicting the score of the national title game between LSU and Alabama. Who will win? Find out here!

Gildan New Mexico Bowl: Temple over Wyoming

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Ohio over Utah State

R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: San Diego St. over UL-Lafayette

Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl: FIU over Marshall

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: TCU over Louisiana Tech

MAACO Bowl Las Vegas: Boise St. over Arizona St.

Sheraton Hawaii Bowl: Nevada over Southern Miss

AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl: Missouri over North Carolina

Little Caesars Pizza Bowl: Western Michigan over Purdue

Belk Bowl: NC State over Louisville

Military Bowl: Air Force over Toledo

Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl: Texas over Cal

Champs Sports Bowl: Florida State over Notre Dame

Valero Alamo Bowl: Baylor over Washington

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl: Tulsa over BYU

New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Iowa State over Rutgers

Franklin Am. Mortgage Music City Bowl: Mississippi State over Wake Forest

Insight Bowl: Oklahoma over Iowa

Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl: Texas A&M over Northwestern

Hyundai Sun Bowl: Georgia Tech over Utah

AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Vanderbilt over Cincinnati

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl: Illinois over UCLA

Chick-fil-a Bowl: Auburn over Virginia

TicketCity Bowl: Penn State over Houston

Outback Bowl: Georgia over Michigan State

Capital One Bowl: South Carolina over Nebraska

Taxslayer.com Gator Bowl: Ohio State over Florida

Rose Bowl: Oregon over Wisconsin

Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma State over Stanford

Allstate Sugar Bowl: Michigan over Virginia Tech

Discover Orange Bowl: West Virginia over Clemson

AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic:  Arkansas over Kansas State

BBVA Compass Bowl: Pittsburgh over SMU

GoDaddy.com Bowl: Northern Illinois over Arkansas State

Allstate BCS National Championship Game: Alabama over LSU

BCS National Championship Score Prediction: Alabama 17 LSU 13

South Carolina-Providence Preview

The South Carolina Gamecocks (2-4) will welcome Big East foe Providence (5-2) to Colonial Life Arena Thursday night in the Big East/SEC Challenge.

Providence comes into the game after a win against Holy Cross, but have lost two of their last three, including back to back losses to Iowa State and Northern Iowa.  The Friars are led by junior guard Vince Council, who averages 18.0 points per game, and sophomore guard Gerard Coleman, who averages 16.7 points per contest.

In the rebounding department, freshman forward LaDontae Henton leads the Friars with 8.1 boards per game and also averages 11.4 points per game, making him one of Providence's most versatile threats on the hardwood.

In Providence's win over Holy Cross, guard Bryce Cotton led the Friars with 24 points.

The Gamecocks are coming back home for the first time since a 61-57 win over Mississippi Valley State.  South Carolina is coming off of losses to then-No. 1 UNC and Southern California in the Las Vegas Invitational.

Senior Malik Cooke leads the Gamecocks with over 11 points per game followed by guard Eric Smith, who averages 8.3 per game.  R.J. Slawson and Demontre Harris both lead South Carolina in rebounding, averaging 5.3 boards per contest.

Harris led the Gamecocks in scoring in their 63-60 loss to So. California, but has struggled scoring the ball so far this season. South Carolina had trouble guarding the three vs. So. California, allowing Maurice Jones to go seven for seven from beyond the arc, scoring 28 points in the Trojan victory.

The Gamecocks are going to need a strong game out of freshman Anthony Gill if they are going to want to win this game.  Gill, despite not playing many minutes due to foul trouble, has been able to make a strong impact for South Carolina.  He averages over eight points per game and over five rebounds per contest and if he's able to avoid foul trouble early, he could keep the Gamecocks in this one.

The Friars aren't in great form right now and the Gamecocks are coming off of a close loss to one of the best teams they've played so far this season.  I think South Carolina has the edge in this game with the home court advantage and see the Gamecocks recording their third win of the season on Thursday night over the Providence Friars.

The Post & Cocky SEC Bowl Projections

BCS National Championship, Jan. 9: LSU vs. Alabama

Capital One Bowl, Jan. 2: Arkansas vs. (Big Ten team)

AT&T Cotton Bowl, Jan. 6: South Carolina vs. (Big 12 team)

Outback Bowl, Jan. 2: Georgia vs. (Big Ten team)

Chick-fil-A Bowl, Dec. 31: Auburn vs. (ACC team)

Gator Bowl, Jan. 2: Florida vs. (Big Ten team)

Music City Bowl, Dec. 30: Mississippi State vs. (ACC team)

Liberty Bowl, Dec. 31: Vanderbilt vs. (C-USA or Big East team)

*Outcome of SEC Championship (LSU vs. Georgia) could change these projections drastically. For bowl projection purposes, The Post & Cocky is predicting a LSU victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game (Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS).

Clemson-South Carolina Preview

The No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks (9-2, 6-2) will host No. 18 Clemson Tigers (9-2, 6-2) this Saturday night at 7:45 p.m. ET at Williams Brice Stadium in Columbia, SC.

The Tigers are coming in off of a loss to lowly NC State 37-13, and have lost two of their last three ballgames.  The Tigers have also lost the last two games in this rivalry, including a 29-7 loss last year at home in Death Valley.

Clemson will play in next week's ACC Championship Game in Charlotte, NC, but this team has hardly looked like a BCS team in the past several weeks.

"We're lucky we hadn't lost all three," coach Dabo Swinney said after last Saturday's loss at North Carolina State.

QB Tahj Boyd threw two interceptions and lost a fumble, while Mike Bellamy also lost a fumble against the Wolfpack this past weekend.  Clemson's offense also didn't reach the 200 yard mark until late in the game, and didn't score a touchdown until their final drive.

"A key to us winning is to keep from turning the ball over," Clemson tight end Brandon Ford said. "If we can execute like we did the first eight games, that should be OK."

That may be an issue this week against the Gamecocks highly ranked defensive unit, which has been the strongest part of the team this season.

South Carolina's defense is ranked sixth in the country in turnovers with 29 and are looking to win three straight in The Battle of the Palmetto State for the first time since 1968-70.  Although the Gamecocks are missing out on the SEC Championship Game next week, this is a big match-up that South Carolina really wants to win.

"If you're not in the conference championship game, this becomes the biggest game of the year for us," coach Steve Spurrier said.

Even though the Gamecocks will not participate in the SEC Title Game, they have a chance to accomplish some big things.  If South Carolina wins this Saturday, the Gamecocks will have won 10 games in a season for just the second time in school history, tying the record set by the 1984 Gamecocks.

The Gamecocks are hoping for a repeat performance from last week out of their offensive unit.  The Gamecocks lit up The Citadel for 473 yards, including 217 yards and three touchdowns from Connor Shaw and another 109 yards and two scores from Brandon Wilds.

The Tigers will need to match the intensity of the Gamecocks if they want to rebound with a win Saturday night.  If the Gamecocks can get another solid outing from the offense, Clemson could be in trouble early.

Prediction:
#14 South Carolina 21  #18 Clemson 17

South Carolina vs. The Citadel Preview Show

South Carolina vs. Florida Preview

The No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks (7-2, 5-2) will welcome SEC Eastern Division rival Florida (5-4, 3-4) to Columbia this Saturday afternoon for a 12 p.m. ET kick-off at Williams Brice Stadium.

The Gamecocks are coming off of a 44-28 loss at the hands of the Arkansas Razorbacks, leaving Georgia in the driver's seat in the SEC East.  If the Gamecocks are to make it back to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game, they will need a win over Florida and a Georgia loss to either Auburn or Kentucky in the next two weeks.

Both Florida and South Carolina had their starting quarterbacks taken out of last week's games due to injury.  John Brantley was injured late in Florida's 26-21 win over Vanderbilt and Connor Shaw left the game at Arkansas with a concussion.  Both Shaw and Brantley are expected to start this weekend.

"We think Connor will be alright by the middle of the week," said Head Coach Steve Spurrier at his weekly press conference on Tuesday. "Clint Haggard, our athletic trainer, gave him the test to see how he's doing and he's doing pretty well."

The injury to Shaw is not the only one that the Gamecocks will be worrying about this week.  Safety DeVonte Holloman was also concussed in last week's game and his status is doubtful for Saturday.  Antonio Allen sat out last weekend's game with a sore neck, but the Gamecocks expect to have him back for the Florida game.

"DeVonte Holloman is still hurt," said Spurrier. "Antonio Allen should be back. He was running around last night for the first time in a week. Hopefully he'll be able to play the entire game for us."

Florida snapped a four game losing streak last Saturday, defeating Vanderbilt 26-21.  John Brantley threw for 173 yards as Jeff Demps ran for a career high 158 yards in Florida's win.

This is a must win game for South Carolina, but the Gators will definitely be looking for revenge for the beat-down the Gamecocks delivered in The Swamp last November.

Predicton:
#15 South Carolina 17  Florida 14

South Carolina at Arkansas Preview

The No. 10 South Carolina Gamecocks (7-1, 5-1) will travel to Fayettville, Ark. to take on the No. 8 Arkansas Razorbacks (7-1, 3-1) this Saturday night at Razorback Stadium.

The Gamecocks are coming into this game off of a 14-3 win at Tennessee last weekend.  Freshman running back Brandon Wilds made his first career start in place of injured running back Marcus Lattimore and filled in nicely, carrying the ball 28 times for 137 yards while also recording three catches for 31 yards.

"Brandon did a lot of good things in that Tennessee game," said Coach Steve Spurrier at his weekly press conference. "Some things happened that hopefully he can learn from also. Going out for passes a couple of times, he left Connor (Shaw) and sort of drifted on him a couple of times. We believe he can be better in certain areas, but he's a natural runner. Brandon is an excellent runner with the ball. He has a good body lean, shakes guys off. He has a knack. He was able to show it last week. Hopefully we can get a bunch of yards. We're not a great passing team so we better be able to run successfully."

Connor Shaw had a less than impressive performance, but did his job, managing the Gamecocks to a 11 point win in a place where they'd only won once before.  He finished the game 10-for-18, 87 yards and a touchdown, he also ran for a touchdown in the third quarter to cap a 98 yard drive.

The defense played another great game for Carolina, holding Tennessee to just three points.  This is the third time this season that the Gamecocks have held an opponent to a field goal.

"We've simplified a lot of our coverages to where we don't have that many and (commit) fewer mistakes," said Spurrier. "That's a big part of it. Just the guys playing hard, playing their assignments, playing with effort and getting a pretty consistent rush has been helpful. We have good athletes. When they know what to do and are in position, I know that's helped us this year compared to what we did last year."

Arkansas is coming in off of a scare, winning 31-28 at Vanderbilt last week, in which the difference in the game was a missed 27 yard field goal in the closing seconds.  Arkansas also escaped with a 29-23 victory at Ole Miss the week before.

If the Gamecocks are going to win this weekend at Arkansas, the first thing they will need to focus on is the Razorbacks' lethal passing attack, led by quarterback Tyler Wilson.  Arkansas ranks ninth in the country in passing offense, and leads the SEC in the category.

Spurrier acknowledged the impressive statistics that the Razorbacks have been able to put up this year in his Tuesday press conference.

"I really don't watch other teams' offenses that much," Spurrier said. "I try to watch the defense and see if we can find some ball plays to hit here and there. Obviously (Tyler Wilson's) statistics are very good. Watching him against Vandy, he stays and makes the throws. He got hit a bunch of times. He's a tough kid and plays with courage. He'll stay in the pocket and make the throws. I admire the way he plays certainly."

Arkansas doesn't match up well against the run, however, which could present some problems for them on defense.  They rank 89th in the country in rushing defense, whereas Carolina ranks in the top 25 in rushing offense, 2nd in the SEC, averaging over 200 yards per game on the ground.

The Gamecocks are also looking to avenge a 41-20 loss at home last season to Arkansas.  This promises to be a great game in which both teams both have shots at BCS bowls this upcoming postseason.

Prediction:
#10 South Carolina 28  #8 Arkansas 27

The Post & Cocky Predictions: Week 9

The Post & Cocky Predictors are ready to go in here in week 9. After back to back 5-0 weeks, Ryan has moved from worst to a tie for first. Here are the expert picks!

Week 8 Results                             Overall
1. Ryan (5-0)                                  T1. Joseph (24-17)
2. Jeremy (2-3)                               T1. Ryan (24-17)
3. Joseph (1-4)                                 3. Jeremy (23-18)

                                                                Joe                    Ryan                    Jeremy

Michigan State at Nebraska                 Nebraska                MSU                   Nebraska

Georgia vs. Florida                               Georgia               Georgia                  Georgia

Illinois at Penn State                              PSU                    PSU                       PSU

Clemson at Georgia Tech                    Clemson              Clemson                 Clemson

South Carolina at Tennessee                S. Car                 S. Car                     S. Car

South Carolina at Tennessee Preview

The No. 14 South Carolina Gamecocks (6-1, 4-1) will travel to Knoxville, Tenn. this Saturday night to play the Tennessee Volunteers (3-4, 0-4) in a SEC Eastern Division battle.

The Gamecocks are coming off of their lone bye week of the 2011 season and will be looking to build on a 14-12 win over Mississippi State two weeks ago.  This will be South Carolina's first game without their star running back Marcus Lattimore in the backfield.  He'll instead be cheering the team on from the sidelines.

"Getting ready to play Tennessee again," said Steve Spurrier, Tuesday afternoon. "It's always a big game for the University of South Carolina. I don't know how big a game we are to them. They still lead the overall series pretty big; 22 wins and five losses."

South Carolina has only beaten Tennessee once in Knoxville in 15 chances.

Filling in at running back for the Gamecocks will be true freshman Brandon Wilds, who has carried the ball 13 times this year for 75 yards.

"Brandon (Wilds) again is our starter," Spurrier said. "He's been healthy all season and has been practicing more. We think he's better prepared to play than Kenny (Miles) now because of Kenny's wrist, but he was out there last night and Kenny should get some playing time."

The Gamecocks are sitting at 6-1 and are tied at 4-1 with the Georgia Bulldogs for first in the SEC Eastern Division standings. This game starts the most difficult part of their schedule and South Carolina will need to play some of their best football in the final five games of the season to get back to Atlanta.

After this weekend at Tennessee, the Gamecocks travel to No. 10 Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks in a 7:15 p.m. ET game on ESPN, and then come back home to take on Florida.  The next few weeks should tell you just how good these Gamecocks are.

Tennessee is coming in off of a pair of big losses from two of the best teams in college football.

They lost 38-7 to No. 1 LSU two weeks ago and are now coming off of a 37-6 loss at No. 2 Alabama.  These two types of losses can really have an effect on a team's psyche.

The Vols have lost more than just these games however.  QB Tyler Bray, who was the SEC's leading passer has gone down with an injury and Matt Simms, his backup, was replaced last week with redshirt freshman and Rock Hill, SC native Justin Worley, who will be making his first career start at the collegiate level Saturday night.

With the Vols coming off of two embarrassing losses and a freshman making his debut under center, Tennessee will need a strong gameplan to win this Saturday.

I expect to see a lot of running back Tauren Poole for Tennessee.  He has carried the ball for 462 yards on 113 carries this season and two touchdowns.  The Vols may  be relying on him to balance the attack and try to take some of the pressure off of Worley in his first career start.  Look for a lot of Poole in this one.

If the Gamecocks are able to run the ball effectively without Lattimore in the game, stop Tauren Poole and make the Tennessee offense one dimensional, and improve on third down defense to stop some of Tennessee's offensive rhythm, South Carolina should be able to win this game in Rocky Top.

Prediction:
#14 South Carolina 28  Tennessee 21

At First Glance: Tennessee

No. 14 South Carolina at Tennessee:
Time: 7:15 p.m. ET
Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn.
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 107.5 FM "The Game" (Columbia)
Line: South Carolina by 3.5

Tennessee Volunteers:
3-4 overall, 0-4 in SEC play

Last week:
Tennessee lost 37-6 to No. 2 Alabama

This season:
Tennessee started out with wins over Montana and Cincinatti, but have since fallen off the map in the SEC Eastern Division, losing four of their last five games, including a loss to No. 1 LSU.

Impact performer:
RB Tauren Poole hasn't had much action in Tennessee's pass-heavy offense. He's rushed for 462 yards this season and two touchdowns. With Tyler Bray out at QB with an injury, redshirt freshman Justin Worley is likely to start for the Vols this Saturday night and has yet to throw a pass in his young career, so look for Poole to get a lot more carries with such a young player at QB.

Previous four: tied 2-2
2010: South Carolina 38 Tennessee 24 (Columbia, SC)
2009: Tennessee 31 South Carolina 13 (Knoxville, TN)
2008: South Carolina 27 Tennessee 6 (Columbia, SC)
2007: Tennessee 27 South Carolina 24 (F/OT) (Knoxville, TN)

All-time series: Tennessee leads 22-5-2
In Columbia: Tennessee 8-4-2
In Knoxville: Tennessee 14-1

The Post & Cocky Midseason Report

The Post & Cocky recaps the first half of the 2011 season for the Gamecocks and takes a look ahead to the second half of the year. We give out team grades, take a look at the SEC East race, look at some notable games in the upcoming weeks, and name our player of the year.

 MIDSEASON REPORT

The Post & Cocky Predictions: Week 8

The Post & Cocky Predictors race is heating up. This week, we will not feature a guest predictor since the Gamecocks are on a bye week. Here are the expert picks!

Week 7 Results                               Overall
T1. Ryan (5-0)                                  1. Joseph (23-13)
T1. (Guest) Joey (5-0)                       2. Jeremy (21-15)
3. Jeremy (4-1)                                 3. Ryan (19-16)
4. Joseph (3-2)                               


                                                              Joe                     Ryan                 Jeremy
 
Rutgers at Louisville                           Rutgers                Louisville              Rutgers

Georgia Tech at Miami (FL)                 Miami                   Miami                    GT

Penn State at Northwestern                  NW                     PSU                    PSU

Utah at California                                 Utah                     Cal                      Cal

Oregon State at Washington State       WSU                   OSU                   WSU

BCS Blog: Week 7

The first official BCS Standings were released Sunday night and the top 10 shapes up like this:

1. LSU (7-0)
2. Alabama (7-0)
3. Oklahoma (6-0)
4. Oklahoma State (6-0)
5. Boise State (6-0)
6. Wisconsin (6-0)
7. Clemson (7-0)
8. Stanford (6-0)
9. Arkansas (5-1)
10. Oregon (5-1)

South Carolina finds themselves outside of the top 10, which isn't a big surprise to anyone, at No. 14.  The Gamecocks are the fifth highest one loss team and are one of five SEC teams in the top 25.  The Big-12 is tied with the SEC as the second-most-represented conference in the first release of the BCS Standings, each with five teams ranked. The Big Ten sits at No. 1 with six ranked teams.

Conference Representation:
T1. Big Ten (6 teams)
T2. Big-12 (5)
T2. SEC (5)
T4. ACC (3)
T4. Pac-12 (3)
T6. Big East (1)
T6. Conference-USA (1)
T6. Mountain West (1)

Impact Game of the Week:
(6)Wisconsin at (16)Michigan State
Will Wisconsin remain undefeated and continue their hopes for a national championship, or can the Spartans upset one of the highest scoring offenses in college football? Keep an eye on this game to be a great Big Ten slug-fest, and one of the best match-ups of the weekend.

The Post & Cocky Predictions: Week 7

Week 7 is upon us! The Post & Cocky Predictors are back again! Who will come out on top this week? This week's guest predictor is Joey Daniels!

Week 6 Results                               Overall
T1. Joseph (2-3)                               1. Joseph (20-11)
T1. Jeremy (2-3)                               2. Jeremy (17-14)
T1. Ryan (2-3)                                  3. Ryan (14-16)
T1. (Guest) Kevin (2-3)                               


                                                          Joe               Ryan             Jeremy           Joey
 
Michigan at Michigan State              MSU              MSU                Mich              MSU

Virginia Tech at Wake Forest             VT                 VT                   VT                 VT

Florida at Auburn                              Aub                Aub                 Aub               Aub

Kansas State at Texas Tech              TTU                KSU                KSU              KSU

USC at Mississippi State                   MSU               USC                USC              USC

South Carolina at Mississippi State Preview

The South Carolina Gamecocks (5-1, 3-1) will travel to Starkville, Miss. this Saturday to take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs (3-3, 0-3) for a 12:20 pm ET kickoff.

The Gamecocks are coming off of their best offensive outing of the season and their best game against a SEC opponent in school history.  South Carolina destroyed Kentucky last Saturday, 54-3, to move to 3-1 in the conference.

New starting quarterback Connor Shaw led the offense with 311 yards through the air and four touchdowns as the Gamecocks racked up 639 yards of total offense on the Wildcats.

“It was just time to call some plays and see what happened,” Spurrier said after the game. “I didn’t know if we could move it like this or not, but I knew we had to try.”

Shaw also showed an ability to scramble away from pressure when the pocket collapsed.  He carried the ball 15 times for 42 yards.

"We had a very good game plan as far as different formations, different strategies," Shaw said. "I wasn't as nervous as last time. I'd been there, done that. My offensive line came to me and told me they had my back."

One player who had to be happy to see Shaw throwing the ball around was Alshon Jeffery.  He was finally able to make a few plays on Saturday with the improved quarterback play.  He finished the game with six catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns.

"When the week started, (Spurrier) told us we were going to throw the ball a lot, we were going to air it out," said Jeffery post-game. "So that's what I expected."

Marcus Lattimore was able to reach the 100-yard mark, despite not seeming to be a main part of the initial gameplan for Coach Spurrier. He carried the ball 22 times for 102 yards.

Bruce Ellington was able to break open a big play, taking a direct snap 61 yards down the Kentucky sideline for a touchdown in the 3rd quarter.  This is the kind of versatility that Spurrier and the coaching staff knew Ellington could bring to the table.

"It was a great run," Ellington said after the win. "The line did a great job blocking and when I got into the endzone Alshon met me and the crowd was screaming, it was exciting."

The defense played another great game, holding Kentucky to just 96 yards of offense and three points.  It was the second time this season that the defense held a team to just three points.

"I know what we are and I know how we practiced this week," said Ellis Johnson after the game. "I know some things we do well and some things we don't do well and it's about their attitude.  I think they stepped up today."

Mississippi State is coming off of a 21-3 road win over non-conference opponent UAB, in a game which they trailed 3-0 at halftime.

Bulldog starting quarterback Chris Relf was replaced by Tyler Russell in the second half of Saturday's game and Russell threw for three touchdowns.  Russell finished the game 11-13 for 166 yards through the air.

RB Vic Ballard, the SEC's fifth leading rusher, was able to remain effective for Mississippi State, carrying the ball 19 times for 101 yards on the ground.

If the Bulldogs are going to be successful against South Carolina, they will need Ballard to have a strong game on the ground.  Carolina's defense has moved up into the top 10 defensively in the nation, so the Mississippi State offense may find it difficult to score points against the Gamecocks this weekend.  A balanced attack is what the Bulldogs will need and Vic Ballard will be the key to that.

I see the Gamecocks playing a hard fought road game this weekend, Marcus Lattimore getting more of a workload this Saturday, Connor Shaw managing the game well, and South Carolina winning a close one.

Prediction:
#15 South Carolina 24  Mississippi State 20

---
The Gamecocks dismissed former QB Stephen Garcia from the team on Tuesday after he failed to meet requirements of his reinstatement with the program.  A mix of alcohol and marijuana was found in his system after a drug test, and the oft-suspended fifth year senior is now gone for good.  Garcia finished his career with over 7,500 passing yards, 47 touchdowns and 41 interceptions.  He was 20-14 as a starter and finishes as the third best statistical quarterback in school history.

The Post & Cocky Predictions: Week 6

We're in week 6 of the Post & Cocky Predictions! This week's guest predictor is Kevin Hoskins.

Week 5 Results                               Overall
1. Joseph (4-1)                                 1. Joseph (18-8)
T2. Jeremy (2-3)                               2. Jeremy (15-11)
T2. Ryan (2-3)                                  3. Ryan (12-13)
4. (Guest) Blair (1-4)                               


                                                      Joe               Ryan               Jeremy           Kevin
 
Arizona at Oregon St                    Zona              Zona                  Zona               Zona

Iowa at Penn State                       Iowa               PSU                  PSU               PSU

Mizzouri at Kansas St                   KSU             Mizzou              Mizzou             KSU

Georgia at Tennessee                  UGA               UGA                  UGA               Tenn

Kentucky at USC (-21)                UK (+21)        UK (+21)            UK (+21)         UK (+21)