South Carolina 16 - (4) Ole Miss 10 : Well, that ranking was warranted, right? Jeez. These love-fests of teams that are a sexy off-season picks have got to stop. "But did you see how hot Ole Miss/Jevan Snead played at the end of last season?" Yes. I also saw a team that dropped some games they shouldn't have early. I also saw them beat an uninspired Texas Tech team (that didn't want to be there) in a bowl game. And finally, I also saw them buy into their own hype by not playing crisp football last night. Oklahoma St. did the same thing against Houston a couple of weeks ago, but at least the Cowboys looked somewhat competent. Ole Miss looked lost all game long. defensively I can give them a little credit, but the offense was vomit inducing. Pre-season Heisman candidate Jevan Snead had trouble just making completions. Other than an early drive and some Dexter McCluster speed runs, the running game was non-existent. I think we figured out how dependent this team is on running the football. This may have been the best thing to happen to this team. Because when they had success at the end of last season it was because they wanted it more.
As for the Gamecocks this is a huge win. The offense still has a lot of work to do but Garcia made plays when they needed them. A huge scramble down to the 2 yard line in the 3rd put South Carolina in better position to get one across the endzone. Steve Spurrier just has to find some kind of offense between the 15 and 5 yard line. It seems they can get things done when in the open field, between the 20's. But until they get inside the 5, it doesn't look good. But that D was nasty enough for their redzone offense not to matter. Ellis Johnson had Ole Miss stymied all night long. A TD pass and catch early in the fourth put the effort in doubt, but the defense rallied to hold the lead. And how good was Eric Norwood. This kid looks like a terror that could definitely climb up draft boards. He can play the run, cover the pass in zone, and his ability to rush the passer is amongst the best of any LBs in the country. His versatility is going to make him a commodity at the next level.
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