More good news for Gamecocks

What a long game -- which is what I hate about college football on TV. But I know it's a necessary evil.
Long, but entertaining.
A couple of things struck me about USC's win over Kentucky on Thursday night. First of all, Kentucky really is much, much better than it has been in recent years. The Wildcats have more athletes on the field now than they have in my memory, which is a testament to what a good job Rich Brooks has done. He has the makings of a good football program at a place where it has traditionally been difficult to lure top-notch athletes -- except in basketball. Kentucky's schedule is so brutal -- LSU and Florida are next -- the Wildcats might be out of the SEC race as quickly as their rise to No. 8 in the AP poll.
As far as the Gamecocks are concerned, this is another quality win and one that gives USC a leg up on its SEC East competition, at least for now. Again, I came away with the feeling that USC had not played its best game, but still found a way to win. And the good news is that USC seems to keep improving, whether its by making a big special teams play last week or Eric Norwood's two fumble returns for touchdowns Thursday night.
Of course, there is still plenty of room for improvement. USC couldn't run the ball against what is statistically one of the worst run defenses in the country, and the Gamecocks' run defense got sliced and diced by Rafael Little to the tune of 135 yards.
But there's more good news. USC has North Carolina and Vanderbilt before heading to Tennessee. No offense to the Tar Heels and Commodores, but the Gamecocks should be 7-1 and two games more experienced going into Knoxville to face the Vols.

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