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Let it Rip: Fans on the Vandy loss

Posted on 09.07.08
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How will USC fare for the entire season?

What a surprise — Gamecocks lose to Vanderbilt. Actually, not much of a surprise.

Bobby Johnson is an excellent coach and hungry to prove himself. Spurrier? Holtz? They are relics and fairly uninspiring to young athletes. If the Gamecocks truly want to win, they cannot rely on hiring coaches who have already cemented their legacy elsewhere and must concentrate on finding what brought us our swagger back in the 1990s.

Yep, you got it: Steve Tanneyhill. As arrogant as he was, he won, and he inspired. Let’s give this guy a shot when Spurrier fully contracts the Chicken Curse. I think Tanneyhill is young enough to fight off the Curse and motivate these blue-chip athletes to give USC a shot.

JG WALKER

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The Vandy loss falls squarely on the shoulders of Steve Spurrier.

In his fourth year we’re still searching for an offensive identity. We don’t have SEC caliber talent on the offensive side of the ball.

To paraphrase Dennis Green’s famous postgame rant; “We are who we knew we were!”

This longtime season ticket holder is losing patience.

JOHN COATES

Dunwoody, Ga.

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I have no recourse. I was born in Columbia. I am compelled by generational loyalty to pull for my hometown team. If I believed in reincarnation, I could hope to be born in Athens, Tuscaloosa, Gainesville or Baton Rouge. Could the National Weather Service please name its “S” hurricane, “Sherman,” and put us all out of this misery (but not touch Ray Tanner’s field of dreams)?

Wait, there is a faint hope. I matriculated at that tiny school in Abbeville County. “Oh Erskine, my Erskine, when are you going to tee it up?!”

So far, six decades of uncompromising mediocrity. Could we call on the professors at Columbia’s Bible University to walk around Williams-Brice for six days, and then on a Sunday to walk around it seven times with trumpets and ... oh, you get the idea. What a way to look forward to Christmas each year!

JOHN ROPP, JR.

Orangeburg

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As a longtime Gamecock Club Member, I have supported my team through four decades of coaches. When USC hired Steve Spurrier to coach I was elated. There is not a better coach in America at any school.

Because of his hire, I bought a parking space at Stadium Place parking facility, considered a condominium purchase near Williams-Brice Stadium, and bought four seats in the new Champions Club. Just this year alone, I spent over $20,000 to have 14 seats for home football games.

I state all of this to say that I have paid my dues this year and get to ask a few questions.

What happened to misdirection in our offense? Every school we play does it, why not us? If our offense is based on the quarterback making the proper reads and obviously they are not, why not try misdirection?

Why can’t the offensive line play better? Against N.C. State they were terrible. Against Vandy, they did look better, but still there are problems in the middle. Can our offensive line coach fix this?

Our defense does look somewhat impressive but a SEC school with fast running backs will take advantage of our big linebackers with swing routes. Georgia runs a pass play with the fullback or tailback circling out of the backfield on a fly route. Will our linebackers be able to cover them?

Do our big boys have the speed and the smarts to be in the right place?

Do we have a plan on trying to block punts or should I just watch other schools do that? Do we have a punt return plan where we might see a punt run back more than 5 to 10 yards?

Do we plan to play our young talented running backs that looked good in the Spring Game? Do we plan to play our young talented receivers or continue to watch one receiver not play defense on a poorly thrown pass and it be intercepted again and again?

Am I the only one who is watching these things happen or not happen?

KARL H. SMITH

Hartsville

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I just turned my TV off because my time is too valuable to watch such shoddy execution in the USC-Vandy game.

Probably the worst performance was the team’s failure to stop the sweep and reverse type plays. There are only two ways to stop these plays — one is to have the fastest linebackers in the conference (we don’t) or two, make sure the man with the outside coverage penetrates and plants himself to force the play inside.

In 42 years as a season ticket owner, I can not remember a USC team that could consistently stop the around the end running play.

I hope they recover in this game, and I certainly hope they improve a great deal before they play Georgia or it will be really embarrassing.

ORIN BRIGGS

Columbia

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OK, so it’s Year Four of Coach Spurrier and question marks remain about the offense.

What did we hire this guy for? Thursday night TV appearances?

N.C. State is no Georgia, Florida or LSU. Not even a Kentucky. It sure would help to start a season without questions in the one area of competency that was supposed to be paid for up front.

Gamecock faithful better start passing the hat. At this rate, it’s going to take millions more to become head of the SEC class.

JEREMY GARLINGTON

Atlanta

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I felt so bad for Kenny McKinley as he stood on the sidelines supporting his teammates against Vanderbilt. I wish we had 44 players like him.

Some observations from the game:

Special teams: We expected so much more.

Defense: You let them run through you when it counted and Captain (Munnerlyn) lost his composure.

Offensive line: I wouldn’t feed them. They are hopeless — experienced but hopeless.

Quarterbacks: Neither of the QBs will ever be anything but average. They are great students, but average players. I think we may have a Taneyhill on the bench. Let’s go ahead and try to win with him as the future.

What worries me is this crowd of quitters is going to run coach Spurrier off.

There is no “Chicken Curse.” The players are just a bunch of “Shamecocks” with no heart, no discipline.

I’m disgusted.

BILLY HAWKINS

Dillon

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