Painful on the eyes
There's still a half to go, but it looks like Steve Spurrier had every reason to be worried a little heading into today's game against Mississippi State.The Gamecocks have looked OK at times, but for the most part, they've been undisciplined and out of sorts, although they lead by a field goal at the break.
If you think Mississippi State's six penalties for 61 yards in the first half are bad numbers, try nine flags for 69 yards against the Gamecocks. This game should come accompanied with circus music.
USC quarterback Chris Smelley has given us a healthy dose of the good, the bad and the ugly. He's thrown some nice passes and shown an ability to scramble away from trouble the few times State has been able to pressure him. But he's also tried to feather in a few passes to receivers who were bracketed by two, sometimes more, defenders, and once it resulted in an interception in the end zone that thwarted a potential scoring drive.
Other than one 61-yard scoring drive by the Bulldogs, USC's defense has been decent, holding State to 125 yards in the first half, and only 45 on the ground. Conversely, USC has 214 yards.
The big thing for the Gamecocks is the penalties. If they eliminate the mental miscues in the second half, they should leave here with a W. But that's a big "if."
Posted by
on 09/29 at 01:18 PM
