Gamecocks rout NC state as 2008 college football season begins

Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks opened the 2008 college football season with a 34-0 rout of North Carolina State.  The win represented the 16th straight season opening victory for the legendary coach, but his team’s performance wasn’t the dominant beatdown the score indicates.  The Gamecocks offense struggled mightily in the early going, with junior starting QB Tommy Beecher looking awful.

Beecher threw 4 interceptions and went 12-22 for 106 yards before being yanked by Spurrier in the 3rd quarter, with the official reason given as a “head injury”.  There’s a good chance that this “head injury” could linger into next weekend’s game at Vanderbilt since for the second straight season backup Chris Smelley looked solid in relief of an erratic starter.  As a freshman, Smelley was effective in relief of starter Blake Mitchell during last year’s LSU game.  Spurrier has taken great pains to avoid a “quarterback controversy” this season, naming Beecher as his starter during spring practices.  That has done little to quell the opinion among many Gamecock faithful that the steady, hardworking and poised Smelley should have won the job over the arguably more physically gifted Beecher.  That was essentially the same dynamic as last year’s Gamecock QB controversy, and this game will only fuel the calls for Smelley to become the team’s top signal caller.

There were no controversies on the other side of the ball, however, as the Gamecock defense looked nasty.  They kept the team in the game during Beecher’s struggles, and completely shut down the Wolfpack in every phase of the game.  Defensive recruiting has been a priority during the Spurrier era, and that appears to be paying dividends under the tutelage of new defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson.  The Gamecock stop unit held NC State to under a hundred yards both through the air and on the ground (89 rushing, 49 passing).  They’ll receive a more challenging test next week at Vanderbilt, and certainly will have their hands full the week after when #1 ranked Georgia comes to Columbia but their performance against the Wolfpack gave notice that they could be one of the best Gamecock defensive units ever.

Next week’s game in Nashville against Vanderbilt is one that the Gamecocks should win, but the Commodores are far from the laughing stock of years past.  They may still not be in the same class of the top teams in the SEC, but they’re a scrappy, well coached team that will make for a tough challenge against conference opponents who don’t bring their “A Game”.  Vanderbilt also began play on Thursday, with a 34-13 victory over Miami-OH.  Spurrier will have to guard against a classic “look ahead situation”, as the Gamecocks have not only one of the biggest games of the year, but in the long history of University of South Carolina football as #1 ranked Georgia comes to town on 9/13.

The Georgia game has been a big deal since the Gamecocks joined the SEC and the hiring of longtime Bulldog pariah Steve Spurrier  has upped the intensity even more.  Now Georgia coach Mark Richt will bring his #1 ranked ‘Dawgs into Williams-Brice Stadium which will be in a state nothing short of pandemonium.  Georgia begins their  season on Saturday at home against Georgia Southern, and has another relatively easy game next weekend as Central Michigan comes to Athens.  They’ll no doubt want to keep a lot “under wraps” and no one may know just how good Georgia really is until they take the field against South Carolina.