My official Gamecock prediction thread

[Freakshow]

Seeing as how I am one of the ONLY people on this board to follow the Gamecocks, I thought I'd entertain myself and post my prediction.

Yes, I've spent countless hours pouring over the various sites. Even spend about $20 a month on "insider" sites. Still, I know all fans think their team is gonna kick ass. Oh well...

1. WIN Louisiana Lafayette... I see us winning this one 49-10. Look for Demitrus to get some pt. Rathe will also get some valuable time as well.

2. Loss UVA...Most Gamecocks think this is a win. I still think UVA is the real deal. Should be close 24-21.

3. WIN UGA...we've won 2 of 3 against the dawgs. Hell, we had 2 fumbles inside their 5 last year or we'd have won 3 straight. Trust me on this. We win 17-6.

4.WIN Alabama-Birmingham...once again we get pt for some of the younger guys. Demitrus Summers is now splitting carries with Irons. Rathe continues to impress in mop up duty. 48-10.

5. WIN Tennessee...we've been SO close for 3 years. This is the year to do it. The Vols are hurting for receivers and our dline is bigger and faster than it's ever been. Should be low scoring. Finally...14-10

6.WIN Kentucky...once again. Artose Pinner is gone. Sorry Lorenzon, all you'll be eating is dirt.

7. LOSS LSU is still too tough. Yes, we played them close in the 1st half last year. Yes, it's a home game and we are argueably deeper this year. Still too much. 14-24

8. WIN Vandy...nuff said. Also homecoming...55-10

9. WIN...Ole Miss on the road. Manning can't do it alone. 20-13.

10. LOSS...Arkansas on ESPN. Away game. Hurts me, but they are tough. Oh well, 10-17

11. WIN...Florida at home. FINALLY get 'em. No Grossman. The stud receivers are gone. New d coordinator (was ours last year). 16-13

12. WIN...Clemson. They have a small oline, no depth on D, and quite a few other issues. Of course I have them only winning 3 games this year, so Bowden knows he is gone by this game. 30-3.

9-3

[Paladin]

Go Cocks!!!

Just got a call from my brother about getting some of the remaining tickets for the season opener. I haven't been to Williams Brice in about 6 years...looking forward to going back!

I haven't been following the Gamecocks as much this year as I have the Panthers, though I heard they had an impressive recruiting season.

Man, I hope you're right about UGA!!!! I'm definitely behind enemy/UGA lines and it sucks even worse than living near Clemson, believe it or not!!! I lived in Seneca, about ten miles from Clemson for 2 years, but it seems UGA fans are even more obnoxious. Man, that UGA game last year sucked, with that freak sack/fumble/td play....

I think SC is definitely taking Tennessee this year...

[Paladin]

Florida - Strong as the Defensive Coordinator there really scares me!! Man, if he can get the kind of talent that Florida teams attract in his defensive schemes....gives me chills.

The only consolation is that if he does even better at Florida, it won't be long before he takes that head coach job he's been wanting.

[heels232002]

How hard is it to get tickets to Gamecock games? Where can I find tickets??

[Paladin]

Here's the phone number for tickets:

1-800-4SC-FANS

I don't know about the rest of the season, but my brother informed me there are tickets left for the opening game - 8/30 University of Lousiana-Layfayette - and the 9/7 game - University of Virginia. I'd like to see the UVA game also, but I think I'll be working that weekend.

When I was a student at USC in the mid-90's, it wasn't hard at all to go down near the stadium and buy tickets from someone selling them outside. Of course, that was before Holtz became coach.:)

[Paladin]

Originally posted by Freakshow
Clemson... I have them only winning 3 games this year, so Bowden knows he is gone by this game. 30-3.

9-3

:D

See ya', Bowden! :behead:

[Paladin]

I found another potential source of tickets:http://insiders4.ezboard.com/bsouthcarolina19141

Look for the "GCI Ticket Exchange" forum.

BTW - The other forums look good too.

[USC-IPTF]

i don't know about 9-3. i have them down for 7-5. i think we'll have a tough time with lsu, @ole miss, @arkansas, @tenn, fla, @uga...those are some tough games.

we must beat ull, uab, vandy, and kentucky this year and split the rest to go to a bowl. it sounds easy but our schedule is ridiculous. out of conference games with clemson and virginia and an in-conference schedule that features the 3 sec east big boys and sec west games with arkansas, who won the west last year, lsu, who many people pick to win the west this year, and ole miss, who feature the heisman frontrunner.

i do think we'll be vastly improved this year but with that schedule, you may not know it by our record.

[mathmajors]

I think 7-5 is more like it, too, unless they've completely revamped their offense. I look forward to several games at W-B this year.

[Freakshow]

The O should be VERY different than last year's. We now have legitimate burners at WR. Also have depth and SPEED at TB. Oh, and our QB can actually throw the ball!

Also, Strong...I think the SEC caught on to his 3-3-5 D at Carolina. Much like the NFL caught onto Capers D in the NFL. USC will go to a traditional 4 man front. George Gause and Moe Thompson on DE. Should see quite a few sacks this year.

By the way, all regular tix are sold out. All were taken by season tix and students. However, if you check with the ticket office a few weeks before a game, the visiting team may have returned their allotment. These will be available first come first serve.

[mathmajors]

Originally posted by Freakshow
The O should be VERY different than last year's. We now have legitimate burners at WR. Also have depth and SPEED at TB. Oh, and our QB can actually throw the ball!


Yes, but will Holtz let Skip open it up?

[USC-IPTF]

lou said he was gonna leave the offense up to skip. skip ran a wide open spread out offense when he was the head coach at uconn and lead them to a shcool record 10 wins in 98.

in reality though, it doesn't matter what the scheme is if the players can't execute. it's gonna come down to pinkins making the throws and our wr's getting open and making the catches. if all you had to do was run the spread to be successful, every team would do it.

[Freakshow]

Agreed.

We KNOW that Williamson is a burner. Muhammed, Donning, and Thomas are all VERY talented. Just need to see what they bring to the field.

By the way, Syvelle Newton (one of the top QB's in the nation coming out of HS) is now working at WR. He ran for a 70 yard TD in scrimmage the other day.

It's all Pinkins. I've heard the hype. I know he has a cannon for an arm. He's HUGE. He's fast. He knows the system...can he do it during a REAL game? He was just OK during Florida and Clemson.

[mathmajors]

Originally posted by USC-IPTF
lou said he was gonna leave the offense up to skip.

That's not what happened last year. Lou took over the offense and their output went south. You just can't win a lot of games with the single-wing.

[Freakshow]

Yep. After losses to Georgia and UVA Holtz took over. What happened? Things got REAL conservative. Since he is personally coaching the safeties this year, he SAYS he won't be involved in the O.

I expect a BIG increase in scoring this year. This is assuming that either Pinkins or Rathe is an average or better QB.

[mathmajors]

We went all the way to Kentucky to see Jenkins run QB draws. The fans were livid.

[Paladin]

Originally posted by Freakshow
Oh, and our QB can actually throw the ball!



Jenkins..:rolleyes: ... he should've never been given the keys to the offense. I think he got picked up by Dallas, didn't he? I guess they're going to see if he can make some more of those eye-popping hits.

[USC-IPTF]

that's true but remember, jenkins came in and almost single-handedly won the game against miss state in 2001. he was excellent as a change-of-pace qb in '01. as a starter, he wasn't effective at all, but it's not like we had any other choice. pinkins and jenkins were supposed to battle it out over 2 a-days last year to determine the starting spot, but pinkins went down w/a broken ankle. also, bennet swyggert, our 3rd string qb went down for the season with a knee injury, so we were left with jenkins and 4th string walk-on qb eric kimmery.

it was obvious after the virginia game that cory jenkins couldn't play quarterback, and it was obvious that we wouldn't be able to run skip's spread offense...so we just ran qb run plays over and over and over and tried to let our defense win games. i remember them bringing in kimmery in the arkansas game and it was a disaster. not many teams can go to their 4th string quarterback.

then when pinkins came back, he was rusty and out of shape because he'ld been on crutches for weeks. he looked bad against florida but actually played fairly well against clemson.

also, jenkins was selected in the 4th round by the miami dolphins as a linebacker of all things and has actually moved into the 2-deep behind junior seau.:confused:

[mathmajors]

Jenkins is a great athlete, just not a great quarterback. I'm really interested in seeing how the defense does.

[Paladin]

Thanks for the info on Jenkins. I'll have to watch to see if he gets playing time in the Atlanta-Miami game (Friday night, I think, might be nationally televised).

I really haven't followed the Gamecocks much in detail over the past several years....I've been in grad school for the last 3 years and only had time to follow the Panthers, but I'm looking forward to following USC more this year. Sounds like we are going to catch some folks sleeping this year, kinda like Holtz' second year (?) after the nightmare season.

[USC-IPTF]

i don't know paladin. i think we'll be vastly improved, but the schedule is brutal.

we have virginia, @uga, @tenn, @ole miss, @arkansas, florida, clemson

we NEED to win these four: ul-l, uab, kentucky, vanderbilt

if we win those 4 and somehow split the others (i think we'll beat uva, uga, and clem), we'll have an ok season. right now i'm thinking 7-5 but we have a TON of question marks and there's really no way you could predict anything for us this year.

[Paladin]

Yeah, the schedule is challenging, no doubt. But that's the fun of it. I just bought tickets for the UVA game. I had a choice between the ULL and the UVA game, and decided I wanted to see a game with a real challenge on the field, not one where we walk all over someone. That kind of game is fun for the 1st quarter or two, but gets old and you start feeling sorry for the weaker opponent.

[USC-IPTF]

hey that uva game is gonna be a thriller. with the way that game went down last year, the 7 turnovers, the fans after the game, the utter disrespect their fans have for our program...williams-brice will be full of 84,000 screaming lunatics for uva....and i will be one of them.:D

[mathmajors]

We're going down for the opener on our way to Florida. Pre-game is absolutely nuts.

[CFBall]

Originally posted by mathmajors
We're going down for the opener on our way to Florida. Pre-game is absolutely nuts.

Enjoy FLA and each time we traveled to WBrice,,,,,SC fans are crazy bunch of cocks and that crowing they do.........Exactly Nuts! But we always enjoyed the before and after parties in Columbia.

[USC-IPTF]

tailgating before the game is fun at columbia, and five points after the game is great win or loss...better after a win though. ;)

[mathmajors]

When I win the Powerball, I'm going to buy all the Cock-A-Booses.