Georgia showdown just the tip of the iceberg for USC
With LSU and Florida looming, Gamecocks face top-10 opponents in the next three weeks
South Carolina's matchup with Georgia on Saturday is arguably the biggest game in the program's history.
Until, of course, the next week should the No. 6 Gamecocks be able to take care of business against the fifth-ranked Bulldogs.
Talk about a murderer's row of elite competition. The upcoming three-game stretch for USC with Saturday followed by trips to No. 4 LSU and No. 10 Florida is a pivotal stretch not only for this season, but for the Gamecocks' growing national reputation.
Nobody's going to simply pass the torch to USC, it's going to have to seize it from a trio of schools that have historically enjoyed much more success on the big stage. USC's first five unranked foes were a combined 8-15, while the next three are currently 14-0. The Gamecocks have obviously turned the corner under coach Steve Spurrier, but the next three weeks will determine whether the team will undergo a nice 10-win season or propel itself into the national championship picture and a return to the SEC Championship game.
“It's sort of interesting we have a lot of big games coming up,” Spurrier said during his weekly news conference. “If you're fortunate to keep winning, they all get bigger and bigger as you go. It's a big game, but hopefully we'll have bigger ones as we go through the year.”
This is the first time two top-10 teams have met in Columbia and only the fifth time the Gamecocks have been involved in such a matchup anywhere. Off to its first 5-0 start in a dozen seasons, USC is looking to establish a school record with its 10th consecutive win and also trying to defeat Georgia three straight times for the first time.
But the bigger picture regards Georgia being the first of three big steps the Gamecocks are trying to make to rid themselves of perceptions they're still several strides behind the big boys. Still, Spurrier was sticking with the kid brother approach when putting the rivalry with Georgia into perspective.
“I think Georgia is our biggest conference rival, although we're certainly not their biggest conference rival,” Spurrier said. “They've got Florida, Auburn and in-state have Georgia Tech like we've got Clemson. We still have not beaten enough teams for them to consider us a big rival. We need to try and beat the teams that are close to us.
“(Georgia) should be a fun game. We look forward to these games and I'm sure Georgia does too. They have a rich tradition of history there and it's fun competing against them and fun competing against teams that know how to win also. Hopefully we can prove that we know how to win the game.”
USC certainly has proven its mettle recently against several programs with abundant history and national titles. Forget about the Gamecocks trying to get over the hump against the big boys as they've gone 6-0 over Georgia, Florida and Tennessee the past two seasons while beating rival Clemson three consecutive times.
Beating Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Clemson, I'm going to ask coach (Lee) Corso this weekend if he thought we could beat those in a year,” Spurrier said. “Things have changed around here a bit. Being very competitive with everyone in the conference is something that we're certainly proud of. We're not the best team, but we're up there amongst the best teams right now.”
Corso is the ESPN “College GameDay” analyst who exclaimed when Spurrier was hired that USC couldn't win a conference title in 400 years. The team lost to eventual national champion Auburn in the 2010 league title game and Corso and crew will be on hand Saturday in Columbia as the Gamecocks try to stay on the upswing. It's their first visit back since attending USC's 2010 upset of top-ranked Alabama.
“He made a statement years ago that we'd never win the SEC and so far he's right,” Spurrier said. “I encourage our fans to be nice to Lee Corso. I really believe he pulls for South Carolina a lot.”
link: http://www.goupstate...etter?p=1&tc=pg
With LSU and Florida looming, Gamecocks face top-10 opponents in the next three weeks
South Carolina's matchup with Georgia on Saturday is arguably the biggest game in the program's history.
Until, of course, the next week should the No. 6 Gamecocks be able to take care of business against the fifth-ranked Bulldogs.
Talk about a murderer's row of elite competition. The upcoming three-game stretch for USC with Saturday followed by trips to No. 4 LSU and No. 10 Florida is a pivotal stretch not only for this season, but for the Gamecocks' growing national reputation.
Nobody's going to simply pass the torch to USC, it's going to have to seize it from a trio of schools that have historically enjoyed much more success on the big stage. USC's first five unranked foes were a combined 8-15, while the next three are currently 14-0. The Gamecocks have obviously turned the corner under coach Steve Spurrier, but the next three weeks will determine whether the team will undergo a nice 10-win season or propel itself into the national championship picture and a return to the SEC Championship game.
“It's sort of interesting we have a lot of big games coming up,” Spurrier said during his weekly news conference. “If you're fortunate to keep winning, they all get bigger and bigger as you go. It's a big game, but hopefully we'll have bigger ones as we go through the year.”
This is the first time two top-10 teams have met in Columbia and only the fifth time the Gamecocks have been involved in such a matchup anywhere. Off to its first 5-0 start in a dozen seasons, USC is looking to establish a school record with its 10th consecutive win and also trying to defeat Georgia three straight times for the first time.
But the bigger picture regards Georgia being the first of three big steps the Gamecocks are trying to make to rid themselves of perceptions they're still several strides behind the big boys. Still, Spurrier was sticking with the kid brother approach when putting the rivalry with Georgia into perspective.
“I think Georgia is our biggest conference rival, although we're certainly not their biggest conference rival,” Spurrier said. “They've got Florida, Auburn and in-state have Georgia Tech like we've got Clemson. We still have not beaten enough teams for them to consider us a big rival. We need to try and beat the teams that are close to us.
“(Georgia) should be a fun game. We look forward to these games and I'm sure Georgia does too. They have a rich tradition of history there and it's fun competing against them and fun competing against teams that know how to win also. Hopefully we can prove that we know how to win the game.”
USC certainly has proven its mettle recently against several programs with abundant history and national titles. Forget about the Gamecocks trying to get over the hump against the big boys as they've gone 6-0 over Georgia, Florida and Tennessee the past two seasons while beating rival Clemson three consecutive times.
Beating Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Clemson, I'm going to ask coach (Lee) Corso this weekend if he thought we could beat those in a year,” Spurrier said. “Things have changed around here a bit. Being very competitive with everyone in the conference is something that we're certainly proud of. We're not the best team, but we're up there amongst the best teams right now.”
Corso is the ESPN “College GameDay” analyst who exclaimed when Spurrier was hired that USC couldn't win a conference title in 400 years. The team lost to eventual national champion Auburn in the 2010 league title game and Corso and crew will be on hand Saturday in Columbia as the Gamecocks try to stay on the upswing. It's their first visit back since attending USC's 2010 upset of top-ranked Alabama.
“He made a statement years ago that we'd never win the SEC and so far he's right,” Spurrier said. “I encourage our fans to be nice to Lee Corso. I really believe he pulls for South Carolina a lot.”
link: http://www.goupstate...etter?p=1&tc=pg
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