Last season my wife and I went to every USC game, home and away. That was a one time thing, so this year we didn't plan to do as many away games. Nonetheless, I went to Baton Rouge last weekend for the game. My wife stayed home, and a friend went instead.

We drove to Montgomery, Alabama on Thursday night and went into Baton Rouge on Friday. It was an uneventful drive, but on Friday morning in Montgomery we filled up with gas before heading out. While we were there a South Carolina fan was jumping a Kentucky fan's battery. The South Carolina fan had Lattimore written in large letters across the back of his shirt. The Kentucky people were thanking him and telling him how talented his son is, so I'm guessing it was Marcus's parents doing a good deed.

After checking into our hotel we went into town to check out campus and the city itself. The whole area is reminiscent of Florida, not the University so much but state. There are large, spreading trees almost everywhere which makes it difficult to take it all in at once. Many of the buildings on campus appear to have a Spanish influence which helps contribute to the Florida feel. no comments

The South Carolina Gamecocks suffered their first loss of the season to the LSU Tigers by the score of 23-21. Here are highlights of the defeat:

South Carolina lost to LSU on Saturday night 23-21. The Gamecocks led several times but were outscored in the fourth quarter to lose.

The defense really didn't play badly, but LSU put up 406 yards. The vaunted Gamecock defensive line yielded to a juggernaut of a rushing attack. The Tigers pretty much ran the ball between the tackles all night. That success led to a huge advantage in time of possession. In turn, that meant that in the 4th quarter the USC defense had been on the field most of the game and wasn't able to keep the Tigers out of the endzone.

A big reason the Gamecocks defense stayed on the field all night was the offense's inability to keep the ball very long. In the first half USC tried to establish the run, but they had very little success. In the second half they found more success throwing the ball. An offensive line that wasn't able to open holes for Marcus Lattimore was able to protect Connor Shaw.
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Florida: Will Muschamp notched his first signature win as the Gators out-toughed LSU in Gainesville on the way to a 14-6 win. Brent Pease put Mike Gillislee to work giving the senior 34 carries. Gillislee pounded out 146 yards and 2 TDs against a run defense giving up less than 90 yards a game. The Florida defense held LSU to a pair of field goals; both drives were either aided by penalties or due to a turnover deep in Florida territory. The Gators confidence continues to grow with each win.

South Carolina: Steve Spurrier loves to beat Georgia. Spurrier seemingly carries a grudge against the Bulldogs for a 27-10 loss during his senior season that cost him a conference title. In classic Spurrier form, the Gamecocks landed 3 body blows in the first quarter and effectively put Georgia out of the game. Down 21-0, Spurrier had extreme confidence in his defense as Connor Shaw threw a total of 10 passes as Spurrier used All American Marcus Lattimore to control the ball and eat clock. Florida and South Carolina are on a collision course set for October 20.

Holding steady:

Louisiana State University 


Established: 1860

Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Students: 29,549 (24,641 undergrad) 

Stadium: Tiger Stadium aka "Death Valley," capacity-92,542

Head Coach: Leslie Edwin "Les" Miles, 80-18 overall record in 8 seasons

LSU's 2012 Record: 5-1 overall, 1-1 SEC

Record vs USC: LSU leads the series 16-2-1, last meeting in 2008 with LSU winning 24-17

Check below for more details of what will happen this Saturday..... 

This morning LJ went on WACH Fox in Columbia to wrap up the Georgia game and talk LSU with Tyler Ryan. Joining them was Poseur, aka Stephen Baker, from And The Valley Shook. You may be surprised with the picks. Enjoy:

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South Carolina will be playing in alternate uniforms this weekend in Baton Rouge. The uniforms consist of gray jerseys with gray pants. The jerseys are just like our current jerseys in terms of pattern, but the dominant color is gray instead of garnet or white. I believe the pattern on the pants is the same as the military's ACUs or Army Combat Uniforms. It looks like a digitized camouflage.

My first thought when I saw the video of the uniforms is that I don't like them. To be fair, I probably wasn't going to like many alternate uniforms since I like the regular uniforms we have. That's how I was judging the uniforms: are they an improvement on what we currently have? For me the answer is no, but perhaps I'm not asking the question right.

First, should we be comparing the uniforms to our regular ones? If we were talking about making a permanent change, then the answer would be "yes, that's the standard." But that's not what we are talking about. We are only going to wear the uniforms for one game, so the standard should be, are they OK? On that front, I suppose they are. Though I am generally not a fan of most teams' special uniforms, I think these are OK, not much more, but OK.

Second, whose opinion should be important regarding the uniforms? Is it all about the fans? I don't think it is. The uniforms should appeal to the fans, of course, but the more important opinions are those held by the players and potential players.

At his press conference Tuesday Coach Spurrier said the players liked them. Since they are the ones who are actually going to be wearing them, perhaps their opinion counts. Plus, if the players like them, then it's probably likely that recruits like them as well. If that's the case then the uniforms may lead to a tangible gain for the football program by being more appealing to recruits. So for the hope of keeping recruits happy, I'm OK with the gray uniforms.

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Last week the Columbia Touchdown Club had Chuck Reedy, the Goose Creek Head Coach, come speak. Many remember Reedy's days as coordinator at Clemson in the 1980s and as offensive coordinator for South Carolina in 1998.

Reedy noted how both South Carolina and Clemson have produced better teams the last few years, and he had a theory to explain why that was happening. In short, the theory is that Clemson and South Carolina have kept the instate talent at home. He explained that in the 1980s, when Clemson and South Carolina were both having success, very few recruits that CU and USC wanted made it out of state. In contrast from 1990-2010 somewhere in the neighborhood of 17 NFL 1st round picks came from South Carolina but didn't attend a state school.

Reedy may be onto something, and it may explain South Carolina's three game winning streak over Georgia. On the Bulldogs roster there are exactly two scholarship players from South Carolina. Kwame Geathers of Carvers Bay and Dexter Morant of Manning are the only two. The Carolina talent has stayed home.

Conversely, South Carolina signed four Georgia players last season who also held offers from the Bulldogs. RB Mike Davis of Stone Mountain headlined the class. Joining him were S Chaz Elder of College Park, G Joe Harris of Lithonia and DE Jhaustin Thomas of Decatur.

Players like Stephon Gilmore, Alshon Jeffrey, Marcus Lattimore and Jadeveon Clowney are staying home, and that is clearly paying dividends. Plus, it looks like South Carolina is raising the bar even higher by not only keep theirs but also raiding Georgia for some of their prized recruits. The result? You saw it on Saturday night, 35-7.

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The Georgia Bulldogs came into Columbia, S.C. looking to flex their muscle against the South Carolina Gamecocks but it was the complete opposite. The Gamecocks took the Dawgs to the woodshed and defeated them in easy fashion by the score of 35-7.

The win was USC's 10th straight, marking the longest streak in school history.
Here are five lessons learned from the USC win:

1. USC's defense is one of the elite in college football.....UGa came in averaging 536 yards per game but USC held them to just 224. That my friends is a statement. USC's defensive line was way too strong for UGa and it showed in nearly every play. Hats off to Lorenzo Ward as he had the right gameplan and got his men to perform to his standards. If it is true that defense wins championships, well then USC is on the right path.

2. D.J. Swearinger is the heart of the defense....this young buck just plays with some intensity and the entire defense plays off his energy. Keep giving him red bulls before the game and keep him hyped up. He helped get the defense motivated to limit UGa's running back combo as Tori Gurley netted 39 yards on 13 carries and Keith Marshall ran for 37 on 12 totes. They also shut down Aaron Murray as he was 11-31-1 for 109 yards.

3. USC's Williams-Brice is one of the toughest places to play...over 85,000 screaming fans helped to create a special atmosphere and it was a advantage for USC. Seems we take the "protect this house" seriously.

4. USC must still work on its' field goal execution....I know that this is not a big deal but USC's kicker is 3-of-5 on the year. I do not want a USC win to come down to a FG attempt as it will make me goal bald worrying if he can make it. I need for USC to start nailing the FG attempts and wash out the doubt. Overall on special teams, it is a improvement but still must get perfect. And Ace Sanders is special in the return game...did you see this?

5. Coach Spurrier still has the fire....USC’s 35-7 win gave Spurrier his 250th career victory, including his pro and college records. The game planning for this game was spot-on. Yes, the Gamecocks attempted just 10 passes for the game while rushing 51 times as USC outgained Georgia 392-224 but it was the exact plan needed to win. Spurrier took want UGa would give. That shows he still loves to win as he did not try to "do it his way" as he is playing off the strengths of his team and combining that with what the opposing defense yields. A thing of beauty really.

Here is a video highlight of South Carolina's Ace Sanders "doing what he do" against the Georgia Bulldogs with this crafty punt return. Check out this video: