Paul Finebaum on USC’s upset win: ‘No way we could have seen that happening’
Nov. 21, 2022
South Carolina’s upset of No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday was a shock to many college analysts and opinion-makers. Paul Finebaum was one of those surprised by the Gamecocks. The SEC Network host talked about South Carolina’s 63-38 win on Monday during his weekly appearance with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on the “McElroy & Cueblic in the Morning” radio show. “Being there, you felt a vibe of confidence in Shane Beamer in the program, but I didn’t run into fans who were saying they were going to beat Tennessee,” said Finebaum, who spent Friday and Saturday in Columbia, broadcasting his radio and TV show and being on set for Saturday’s “SEC Nation” show from the Horseshoe. “.. That stadium at the beginning of the game, you felt like South Carolina was playing for a playoff berth as opposed to Tennessee.
“Tennessee has kind of had an easy run lately. They read the press clippings and they knew what they had to do. What they couldn’t overcome was a leaky pass defense that got blown up by Spencer Rattler in the game of his life.” Rattler, who transferred to USC from Oklahoma, turned in his best performance of the season by far. He was 30-of-37 passing for 438 yards and six touchdowns. He resembled the quarterback who was regarded as a Heisman Trophy candidate while at Oklahoma.
His 438 yards were a career-high, and his six touchdown passes were a program-best for South Carolina. And they almost equaled his season total of eight TDs coming into the game. “We were sitting there Saturday (morning) trying not to light him up,” Finebaum said of Rattler. “Tim Tebow had done an interview with him and we were rolling our eyes. Here we are with a great crowd and they were excited. We didn’t want to burst their bubble. “When it got to me, I said you couldn’t blame him. He got beat out by Caleb Williams as opposed to saying he hasn’t played worth a flip. There is no way we could have seen that happening.
Rattler’s performance had national analysts buzzing. SEC Network’s Takeo Spikes said Saturday night on the “SEC Final” show that said observers saw a different Rattler than the one from the previous nine games this season. “The one thing I saw he did tonight that he didn’t display in other games was, he was very decisive,” Spikes said. “He knew where he was going with the ball before the ball was snapped. It seemed simplified. I don’t know whether the offensive coordinator (Marcus Satterfield) did something to take some of the reading out of the plays. But everyone rallied around him.” The Gamecocks’ upset of Tennessee and Vanderbilt’s win over Florida on Saturday were big examples of the craziness that’s happened at times during the Southeastern Conference this year, according to Finebaum. “The SEC has been unusually quirky. You can come up with five games this year that you have no explanation for. This one will retire the trophy,” Finebaum said of USC-Tennessee.
Nov. 21, 2022
South Carolina’s upset of No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday was a shock to many college analysts and opinion-makers. Paul Finebaum was one of those surprised by the Gamecocks. The SEC Network host talked about South Carolina’s 63-38 win on Monday during his weekly appearance with Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic on the “McElroy & Cueblic in the Morning” radio show. “Being there, you felt a vibe of confidence in Shane Beamer in the program, but I didn’t run into fans who were saying they were going to beat Tennessee,” said Finebaum, who spent Friday and Saturday in Columbia, broadcasting his radio and TV show and being on set for Saturday’s “SEC Nation” show from the Horseshoe. “.. That stadium at the beginning of the game, you felt like South Carolina was playing for a playoff berth as opposed to Tennessee.
“Tennessee has kind of had an easy run lately. They read the press clippings and they knew what they had to do. What they couldn’t overcome was a leaky pass defense that got blown up by Spencer Rattler in the game of his life.” Rattler, who transferred to USC from Oklahoma, turned in his best performance of the season by far. He was 30-of-37 passing for 438 yards and six touchdowns. He resembled the quarterback who was regarded as a Heisman Trophy candidate while at Oklahoma.
His 438 yards were a career-high, and his six touchdown passes were a program-best for South Carolina. And they almost equaled his season total of eight TDs coming into the game. “We were sitting there Saturday (morning) trying not to light him up,” Finebaum said of Rattler. “Tim Tebow had done an interview with him and we were rolling our eyes. Here we are with a great crowd and they were excited. We didn’t want to burst their bubble. “When it got to me, I said you couldn’t blame him. He got beat out by Caleb Williams as opposed to saying he hasn’t played worth a flip. There is no way we could have seen that happening.
Rattler’s performance had national analysts buzzing. SEC Network’s Takeo Spikes said Saturday night on the “SEC Final” show that said observers saw a different Rattler than the one from the previous nine games this season. “The one thing I saw he did tonight that he didn’t display in other games was, he was very decisive,” Spikes said. “He knew where he was going with the ball before the ball was snapped. It seemed simplified. I don’t know whether the offensive coordinator (Marcus Satterfield) did something to take some of the reading out of the plays. But everyone rallied around him.” The Gamecocks’ upset of Tennessee and Vanderbilt’s win over Florida on Saturday were big examples of the craziness that’s happened at times during the Southeastern Conference this year, according to Finebaum. “The SEC has been unusually quirky. You can come up with five games this year that you have no explanation for. This one will retire the trophy,” Finebaum said of USC-Tennessee.
