Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] This episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks is brought to you by the Mason jar, New York City. The Mason jar is the official Gamecock bar for the New York City area. Fans and alumni of USC can come by the jar for some great barbecue, cold drinks, and of course, to watch the Gamecocks in any sport, all while surrounded by South Carolina memorabilia. If you want to get a slice of game day in Columbia, all while in the Big Apple, head to the Mason jar on East 30th street. All right, here we go.
[00:01:13] Welcome to episode two, seven of Cox Talking Gamecocks brought to you by the Mason jar, New York City. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 18 one to 2001 and hope you all had a merry, merry Christmas out there. Hope you've been able to relax and eat a lot of cookies and hang out, watch the Christmas movies, all the feel good stuff. Hope it's been a fun week for y'all. And again, hope y'all had a great holiday and a Merry Christmas out there. Santa treated me well. Santa, he knows how to play the hits, right? He has a way of doing that. Got a new game day polo, nice sideline polo, Under Armour garnet, which is great. I have a black one to sort of complement that one now for the next season. Also got some Gamecock branded slides and then also fun stocking stuffer. Got the handy dandy daily Gamecock trivia calendar, which if anyone who has been listening to me for a little bit now knows that that is a staple of the show. Come the summertime when things are a little slow, we'll do daily trivia and things like that. But appreciate you all tuning in. This is the last podcast of the year. Pretty crazy to say I'm not stopping or anything like that. Show is going to go totally on, but it's fun to look back on some of the fun times we've covered and talked about this past year. I mean, we had a postseason run from the baseball team, one that was really exciting. They had a fun year, but it was certainly not without drama and can certainly have you wanting a deep run from Mark Kingston and company this year. So excited and looking forward to that. But it is fun to look back and see that we had a final four run from the women's basketball team ending in heartbreaking fashion, but might just be a little bit of fuel to the fire that Dawn Staley needed as she seemed to plug a couple of holes that were evident from last season. And you're seeing some growth from some of the youth that was on that team. And, you know, the ladies are eyeing another spot in the final four this year. And right now, before our very eyes, we are seeing a seeming resurgence in men's basketball, especially when you look backwards to how things went in Lamont Paris's first year, you've seen him really bring some excitement and juice to that program. Going to talk about that in a little bit here. And then looking back on football, know it obviously didn't end the way that we wanted to. Didn't end the way anyone wanted to. We're not going to dive too far into that. But you did have some history making moments from Spencer Rattler and Xavier Leguette. I mean, these two guys had a couple of seasons that have put them in the record books. They are right there with some of the greatest names in Gamecock lore. And I think history will definitely look back very fondly on Spencer's time here and Leguette's time here. And I think when it's all said and done this season, it will be sort of a footnote in what they accomplished. Right? Like just the incredible personal accomplishments that they achieved. Like, yes, unfortunately, that team did not get to a bowl game, but they were able to make a lot of fun moments and some history along the way here. So, yeah, it was a fun year. And hey, here's to many, many more covering the Gamecocks with y'all here now, as far as looking back, week in review since the holiday and whatnot, not much to report on as of right now. Full disclosure, I am recording this a little bit earlier in the week than I normally do for the Friday shows. Normally that is Thursday night, but just because of holiday travel and whatnot, having to do this a little bit earlier now so things could change. But the biggest update that I have for y'all here comes from the football program as linebacker Stone Blanton announced that he is entering the transfer portal. And this one kind of stinks.
[00:05:40] It really does kind of stink. Of course, Stone, he was a starter, right? He started a ton of games in the last two years, was forced into action his freshman year, and then this year was there as the starter, I think, in the linebacker group this past season. I mean, he was that compliment to Debo. You just always saw him. He was a warrior, played through some injuries, was banged up at the end of the year, still went out there and competed. And this was a bit of a shock to see, especially just based off of how much playing time he had amassed over the last two seasons. A lot of times you see playing time as that primary factor about why a guy leaves. Now, of course you have nil. I'm not really sure what this could be about, but it wouldn't surprise me if he ends up somewhere closer to his home in Mississippi. If you remember, we were neck and neck with Mississippi State in his recruitment out of high school, but he also did want to play baseball. Maybe he'll go somewhere where he really can do that and be closer to home, but who knows? I also just thinking about potential reasons why here. I'm not sure if he was really that ideal fit in Clayton White's scheme. He just is what it is, right? He wasn't the fastest guy. He's not the fastest guy out there. And unfortunately it did show at some times. I was always a big fan of his. I loved seeing his development from year one to year two, albeit maybe slower than a lot of people would have liked. But he will definitely be missed and forever. Thank you for the memories for the Jacksonville State game that pick six. Incredible and best of luck to you, Stone. But from a fan perspective here, I do think the program will be okay. I think they are in a position to recover from this. You're going to have Debo and pup Howard. They're probably going to be your starters. Then behind them, I would imagine it's Bam Martin Scott and Mo Kabba. And then Jared Willis was someone who was coming on late last year that I would expect to have a lot more playing time. And then of course, you're bringing in two talented freshmen as well. And then maybe with this departure, Beamer looks to the portal himself to get a little more depth in that room there. But for the first time in a long time, we can actually say, I think the linebacking room will be okay. After losing a starter, which feels like forever, we have not been able to say that there. So, yeah, it was a bit of a shock to see stone enter the portal there. This one just kind of a head scratcher. No hard feelings, though. And again, I do think that the program will be just fine. And if anything, it makes it. You can get a little bit more excited because pup Howard, a guy who came in with a lot of expectations, a lot of high praise from the coaches, I think you're going to see him really flourish in what will be now his second full year with the program there. So that is all from news and updates that I got for you all here, but let's move on to games that have been played here, starting with the men's basketball team last Friday night, the men defeated Elon 70 to 43. This game was at home. And with that win, the Gamecocks have eleven wins on the year. And again, I've said it a thousand times. Last season the team won eleven games all year.
[00:09:20] I mean, this is truly remarkable. This is a fantastic start to the year. And all of the credit goes to Lamont Paris, who knew exactly what he had to do. And he made a deeper, smarter and more experienced roster, really thanks in large part to him utilizing the transfer portal so well. He just has these guys playing incredibly well. He just has them playing good. I know that's bad grammar, but they're playing good. They shoot the ball well, they play hard defense, they hit their free throws. Shocker. I know it's a foreign concept to some people, and this team can beat you in multiple ways.
[00:10:05] Now, I fully recognize that the rubber meets the road when SEC play starts, but to match last year's win total all before Christmas is just truly something to celebrate. It is. And it gives us fans hope, legitimate hope of a postseason appearance for the Gamecocks team, and really can give you hope and optimism for the job that Lamont Paris can do in years to come.
[00:10:39] But back to this game here, it was the Gamecock's defense that really was the story of the game. Holding Elon to just 43 points really smothered Elon. Didn't give them a lot to shoot and things like that was a slow start for Carolina though, as well. The shots were not coming too easy as the Gamecocks were only up ten at the half, but really did open things up in the second talon. Cooper, he had himself a night with a very productive stat line and I like his game because he normally will bring steady offense, but gets rebounds. He's a solid distributor, he's a good point guard, right? He can kind of do it all, but he has that ability to pop off and that's what happened in this game here. He went for 17 points and six rebounds. Miles studie 14 points and eight rebounds himself and Colin Murray boyles career high ten points. Really encouraging to see him ramp back up and have a couple of productive games before SEC play. He could be a big piece for this team down the line, even as the freshman next game for Carolina is Saturday afternoon, 02:00 p.m. This game is at home against Florida A and M. A and M is just struggling. No other way to put it. They are riding the struggle bus, sitting at two and eight on the year and riding a three game losing streak, all against power five opponents. So my quote of the game here is just impose your will in the first half.
[00:12:17] We've seen this Gamecocks team play down to opponents at times and they have had some games that were closer than they needed to be. That should not allowed to be the case in this game. I understand that the guys had about a week off, but everyone did. It was Christmas break for everybody. So let's have this game be in no doubt at the half and then let guys like CMB Jacoby Wright, Yugosuk, Josh Gray see a lot of playing time which ultimately will benefit everybody down the line.
[00:12:54] Moving over to women's basketball here, it's crazy.
[00:12:58] It's really been a while since the ladies were in action, but they will get back to things Saturday as well. Saturday at noon they are playing away at East Carolina. The Pirates are seven and three, sort of that top third or so of the american conference. And funny enough, as we saw with the men's game when they played up there, this can be a tricky place to play. I mean, that's actually kind of sort of the theme anytime you play ECU in anything. If you remember a couple of years ago in football, we went up there and they gave a hell of a fight. I mean, ECU is a big school. They take a lot of pride in their athletics and everything else, but nonetheless, here I do feel confident in the Gamecocks going into this one. My crow to the game is just keep the Pirates to 70 points or less. You've seen in their last couple of games they've been like 77, 75. So really suppress that a little bit and that would really give the Gamecocks plenty of room. At least it should. Plenty of room to spare if the ladies play like they have lately, which is scoring 80 90 plus, and hopefully they can end the year with a w. Hopefully both teams can end the year with a w. That would be a fun little way to close out the month and to close out the year as well. But as we all know, with the end of the year comes some of the most exciting, unpredictable, fun college football that we have. College football is back. We are neck deep in bowl season. I love it. And so with that, we're going to do a little bowl bonanza here. Going to give my picks and preview several bowl games, really kind of focusing on those bigger ones that are catching my eye that I feel like could be a bit more even as well. But let's get this going here. Bowl Bonanza 2023 and then I'll get you all out of here starting with the Sun Bowl. Oregon State versus Notre Dame. This game is Friday at 02:00 p.m. Super interesting matchup here as both starting quarterbacks for these teams will be out. Sam Hartman is opting out. I guess getting ready for the NFL seems like kind of a weird move. DJU is entering the transfer portal and that has to do, I'm almost sure, because Oregon State is obviously having to deal with the departure of their head coach, which is probably just all sorts of chaos. I know they have a couple other guys in the portal as well. So because of that I am going with Notre Dame minus six, but should be an interesting game nonetheless. Would not surprise me if this game is like ten to three at the half or something along those lines. Just teams really struggling to gain their footing on the offensive side. Next, let's look at the cotton bowl, which is mizzou versus Ohio State.
[00:16:07] I just can't believe I uttered that phrase. Just two teams I can just really do without. That game is Friday at 08:00 p.m.
[00:16:17] It's crazy. It's crazy to see Mizzou here in the freaking cotton bowl and credit where credit is due. As much as I hate saying it, they had a really good year. They had a very good year going to the freaking cotton bowl. It's just unbelievable. Ohio State has seemingly had a mass exodus as well. Guys going into the portal. They're starting quarterback amongst many, many others. Not really sure what's going on up in something. Something fishy is going on there. A lot of guys leaving. I'm thinking that Ohio State comes out a little dejected after the way their year ended and having a bunch of guys leave. Mizzou is playing for more. I'm going with the Tigers plus one.
[00:17:02] Next, let's look at the Peach Bowl. Ole miss versus Penn State. This game is Saturday at noon. This is a tricky know. Both teams had very good years. Ole miss has been in the news a lot lately because of who they're bringing into the program for next year. But don't let that trip you up because that does not affect what happens this Saturday and you're looking at a very solid offense in Ole Miss going against one of the better defenses in the country in Penn State and I'm really just not sure which side I like on this one. Spreads a little iffy, so I'm going to go with the under of 48 and a half. I think that defense is going to be a little tricky there and maybe both teams have a slow start as well, now, looking at the college football semifinal, number one, that's the Rose Bowl Monday at 05:00 p.m. Little New Year's Day action for you all here. Alabama versus Michigan. I mean, wow.
[00:18:01] We all know the drama that came with Alabama getting the number four spot to make this game. Still, we are still seeing the ramifications of that. Florida State suing everybody. Florida State is like better call Sauling, the entire ACC, all of college football. It's bananas. It is honestly bananas.
[00:18:24] My heart wants me to take Alabama here. You see Nick Saban in the semifinal as an underdog on top of having weeks to prepare, and it just makes me think that they will be ready for this game.
[00:18:40] However, if you look at the year Alabama had when they faced good teams, things just didn't come easy for them. They weren't really rolling. It took them a minute to get this thing going. They needed a miracle to beat Auburn and then Georgia pushed them to the edge and seemingly could have won had they not played. What I'm saying, they took their foot off the gas. They didn't have their foot on the gas to start the game. Let Alabama hang in there for much longer.
[00:19:13] So I think there's plenty of reason to say that Michigan gets this done. They were the better team all year. They were built for this. They're looking for revenge from last year's debacle in the playoff. So every reason in the world to think that Michigan gets this done.
[00:19:36] But you know what? Screw it. Give me Alabama plus two. Roll tie, baby. And then college football semifinal number two here. The Sugar Bowl Monday. 08:45 p.m. This is me old man yelling at the sky. 08:45 p.m. On a Monday night New Year's Day. Everyone has work the next day. This stinks like Monday scaries out the wazoo. And you know that game is not starting at 845. That game is going to start at nine.
[00:20:05] Unreal. Unreal. Texas versus Washington. This game is in New Orleans. So I'd fully expect this game just by proximity to be at least 60% texan fans, Texas fans, excuse me, in that arena, probably close to 70%. Texas has really impressed me this year despite having the one loss. Washington, though has answered the bell seemingly every time. People have doubted them and they play very much that complimentary football. They have good defense. They had a Heisman hopeful and quarterback. This one feels like though the clock will strike midnight on the Huskies and a home crowd pseudo makes the difference here for Texas. Put me down for the Longhorns minus four and a half.
[00:20:53] But with that, y'all, that wraps up this episode. Happy new year. I appreciate all y'all. Please follow me on social media, Twitter or X is Cox Gamecocks. Instagram is just the name of the show. Cox talking gamecocks. And always go Cox.
