Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks. Football is back after the bye week. Women's basketball beats our rival, and men's basketball keeps it going. Okay, here we go.
[00:00:53] Okay.
[00:00:55] Welcome to episode 354 of Cox Talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 1801 to 2001. And we're back, y' all back after a bye week, you know, took a little pause, you know, and it's been a busy, fun week across Gamecock nation, right? I mean, obviously football for the last week or so has taken a little bit of a backseat. Of course, there's still plenty to talk about, but we got a lot of action on the hardwood. There's college football playoff rankings being dropped, and, man, there is just a lot going on in the sports world right now. But I am glad to be back with y'. All. Ready for a busy, fun, action packed weekend with y'. All. We're right in that sweet spot leading up to Thanksgiving. Maybe you got a couple friends givings you're going to, getting some recipes together.
[00:01:53] Maybe you're starting to push a couple of work projects off till after, you know, hey, let's just circle back first week of December and then honestly, when you do that, you can push it off till the new year. But nonetheless, let's get down to business here. Got a lot to cover with y'. All. Starting off with a week in review, really just one score to go over here. This was Wednesday.
[00:02:15] Women's volleyball beat ole miss 3 nothing. That is some great news there. And there's going to be a lot more scores to review after this weekend. But we did have lots of action going on at Colonial Life arena this week. Starting off Tuesday night, the women's basketball team was in action and early season showdown with the team in the Upstate. And I don't know if it's me just being, you know, not locked in or whatnot. I feel like this didn't get a ton of fanfare. I mean, I know Clemson women's basketball is really nothing to write home around home about rather. But I don't know, I just felt like this kind of flew under the radar for the rivalry game that it is. But nonetheless, the Gamecocks getting a big early season w tacking it onto the Palmetto series and beating that team in the upstate 65, 37.
[00:03:13] Kind of felt like Carolina played with its food a little bit in this one, you know, really while in control for most of the game, you know, aside, you know, some runs and Things like that. It wasn't until the fourth quarter where the Gamecocks really impose their will and pulled away, right? It's like, obviously that's a very comfortable win. You might be sitting there saying like, what are you talking about? That's almost a 30 point victory. And yes, we were ahead and in control of the game, but, you know, maybe felt like there were moments where we could have put the pedal to the metal a little bit earlier. Joyce Edwards led the team with 18 points. Next game for the ladies is a big one. It's a Showdown of the USC's. Saturday night the ladies will be in Los Angeles taking on the fake USC for bragging rights. And that's a good game. I mean, obviously, you know, they've had some success out there and it's going to be a big time early season showdown. Going to be a big test. Carolina's dealing with. You got some injuries, we're dealing with, you know, some other issues and whatnot. So it's a, an early season challenge really for Don Staley and the squad there. And then on the other side of things, men's basketball, they were in action Wednesday night. The Q Zips at Colonial Life, taking on Presbyterian and cruising to an 81 to 61 victory. And just like that, the guys are 3, 0, very great. Obviously there was a really close fought game last weekend, but were able to comfortably get this one. And really the story of this one was the Gamecocks jumped out to a big lead in the first half and really took care of business from there. Lamont Paris even talked about being able to get some guys rotated in because there was that cushion.
[00:05:05] And this is, this is a good squad. You know, once again in this game you saw contributions from the benchmark Mongolian Mike leading the team with 13 points and undefeated, undefeated on both squads. It feels great to say that wasn't the case early on in the year, last season. So so far Lamont Paris team handling their business in the non conference schedule. Same thing with Don Staley as they work out some things as well. The next men's game is set for next Tuesday. A little bit of a breather, I guess, Tuesday against Radford. So hopefully the guys can keep it going after a strong start to the season there.
[00:05:46] But with all that going on, there still is football. There still is football to be played. It's, it's crazy, y'. All. I mean, I look at the schedule, I'm like, oh my God, there's, there's only three games left. You know, we have the Aforementioned playoffs coming into picture now talking about who's going to be in what conference game, like who can make a run and you know, it's been a wacky season. I'm not going to go down that rabbit hole again. But it's normally this time of year where, you know, you start to get pretty sad, you know, but I think just with how this season has gone and the starts and stops of it with the two buys, it's kind of just snuck up on me where, oh my gosh, there's only three games left. So obviously back after the bye week. The question really for this week and the rest of the way is what does Mike Furry do with the offense? But obviously this weekend Gamecocks are taking on Texas A and M in a vaulted rivalry game in College Station at noon. Finally, little break from the late games here this season. You know, again it's, it's been a, it's been a slog, but do we see November magic from Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks as they sit at 19 point underdogs going into this matchup. So what are the Gamecocks looking at in Texas A and M? Aggies are ranked third in the country, sitting at 9 0. And this is a good squad. There is no way around it. You know, I was thinking about it and it has felt like in years past when A and M has had good teams, they've always had a couple of clunkers. You know, there's been a head scratcher or two a game that they shouldn't have lost and they're trying to make up for later in the year. Obviously sitting at 9, 9 0. That is not the case. Mike Elko has these guys playing right. They always have a lot of talent there, but you know, it's just going to be a, a challenge to say the least there. Defensively they are incredibly solid. Mike Elko showing his expertise in that unit. I, I don't think you should expect anything too exotic from this group. They just play good, sound defense. They like to stack the box a lot, make it difficult to do a lot of things that you want to. And when we have seen those types of looks. Carolina has struggled offensively. They bring a more balanced attack than I think many people expect. Marcel Reed, their quarterback, has taken a step in his development, but they do rely on a strong running game. I think it's really easy to think of Texas A and M. Marcel Reeds, the playmaker. He's doing everything for them. That's not necessarily the case. You know, he's good he has taken that next step. He's flawed.
[00:08:37] But they do rely on strong offensive line play and the running backs to move that offense. So what are you, the Crows to the game here offensively?
[00:08:50] Start fast and stay fast.
[00:08:54] I think of this game as you really are asking a lot here, right? Like you're asking to have a moment in this season and if the miraculous should happen and Carolina wins this as a 19 point underdog on the road with a new offensive coordinator, it's going to be because of that, right? I think you're going to need to jump on them early and often, right? Like early in the game, in that first half, in that first quarter, Mike Furry needs to be so different and attack this thing where A and M doesn't have the answers right away because there is not the tape out there. And Mike Furry has probably come up with some of his own ideas and maybe this whole season has been sitting there thinking why don't we get Mazio more involved, why aren't we feeding Vandravius more than we are? We should be sending harbor on these deep shots more than we are, things like that.
[00:09:56] Now A&M's a good defense, they have a very smart defensive staff. I would expect them to be able to make some adjustments in game to counter some of these things. But. But if you start fast and you can jump on A and M to a 14 to 3 lead let's say or something like that and you can just say we are going to hold on for dear life in the second half.
[00:10:25] That's I think how South Carolina can win this game. It's going to be because you got on them early and often and you were able to fend off a couple of drives and of course you sprinkle on some scoring. But yeah, that's my first crow to the game there. Second one, break the old tendencies. I kind of alluded to that. But the things that have hurt this offense up to this point in the season, you need to break them. Being good on third down, right? Not getting behind the sticks a lot, not having self inflicted wounds, making sure that you are staying balanced enough, right? Getting the ball to your playmakers, setting things up for the Norris to make him have those plays right and just being able to convert on those tough downs. So all the old tendencies, you need to break them and I think that's naturally going to happen just with a new voice. I think Furry is going to bring a more aggressive approach to this offense.
[00:11:24] That's just a hunch but I think when you looked at what South Carolina tended to do under Shula. We tended to, you know, have a couple of good drives or whatever, and then he would turtle up and try to play keep away. I don't think that that's what Furry is going to do by nature, but I think Beamer and the rest of the staff is going to say, hey, like, we got three games at this thing. We got to just send it. Because when we do push the ball and when we do move the pocket and when we do incorporate play action and when we do get those short to medium passes to the flats with the tight ends, we tend to do well. And I think they're just going to hammer down on the things that they do well. But I also do expect a couple of new looks that we have not seen. I think because of the bye week, Furry has had the chance to get a couple of things built in this that he thinks are effective and that hopefully really play to the strengths of our offense. So you got to be able to zig away from the things that we had been seeing before. And then my third crow, it kind of ties it all together here. Get the ball to the playmakers, right?
[00:12:30] You have a Vandravius Jacobs who has come on strong this year. He's been quiet, I feel like the last couple of weeks. Let's get him more involved. I said Maze o Bennett before. That's. That's a guy who's a playmaker. You know, we haven't really talked about him at all this year except for instances of you got to get on the ball more, let's see him more involved.
[00:12:49] You know, harbor keep getting him involved. But I think with Furry and his direct experience to this wide receiver group, I think he knows what's in that group and I think he's going to scheme up some things to get some of these playmakers, the Bookers, the ball, the ball ball more effectively than shooting defensively. My first Crow here is B. Gap sound. You're going to have some read read options, some RPOs, things like that from A and M. You have to be gap sound in that, right? You cannot take the bait. You can't be out of position because otherwise that is how they hit you for the big gains on the ground.
[00:13:30] Second crow limit Reed on the ground. In the game last year, Carolina, we were very effective, if memory serves, in doing that. Of course, Reed had a couple of big runs, but he was mainly bottled up.
[00:13:46] And if you are able to do that and make him one dimensional, he can be prone to Mistakes, which ties into my third crow, which is strong play in the secondary. I've said this before at other games, but you got to have strong play from the secondary. In this one, I saw some stat along the lines of A and M leans on the longer throws where they're not necessarily chucking it deep all the time, but. But I think it was like 20 yards or more. They rank pretty high nationally in pass attempts, right. So they're not necessarily dinking and dunking it. I think their thought process is if we're going to try something for 2, 3, 4 yards, we're just going to power run it or we're going to try and let our athletic quarterback take it that much. Right. So I think when they're going to the air, they tend to air it out a little bit more. Which, you know, when you think about it, you have a star pass rusher, Dylan Stewart, and a defensive, you know, front really that's been getting better week over week this back half of the season. And then you have a strong veteran led secondary like that could play into the hands of South Carolina a little bit.
[00:15:02] And that's why you need good play from these guys. Because if they are, if you're not at a, you know, if you're at a position you're not in phase, they connect on a couple of these things. Like those are back breakers and you know, if the Gamecocks are able to jump out in this thing, right. Like, it's going to be imperative to try and keep A and M out of the end zone early. Right. Really often. But if there's a scenario where Carolina.
[00:15:30] Let's just say Carolina gets some points. I mean, the first drive would be pretty remarkable with OC on the road and everything, but let's just say, like get some points maybe in the second series. Right? Like, or in the second drive, rather, if we're able to get the ball back quickly and then you can double up on that, that's huge. And so that's hopefully what we can see a little bit more. I'd love to see some more complimentary football, which is what we saw in these games where we had been in but just hasn't been all the way. Right. And I'm hoping that with a new offense, if it's needed, you can get that clutch drive late in the game that was missing from this group.
[00:16:18] You know, like, Furry knows the playbook, right? Furry knows these players and I think the guys have hopefully bought into him. The bye week, I think, allowed for extra game planning. Carolina is going into this game very healthy.
[00:16:35] And I think a new voice in this moment could be exactly what South Carolina needs. But I mean, overall, for this game, it's exactly that. It's. It's the turning of the page for this team, and what that means is yet to be determined. But for me, I.
[00:16:52] I feel more hopeful than I have in the last several weeks that this team can put together a plan that holds water for four quarters, which I know is not asking for a lot, but, you know, previously was just hoping that you saw something that just broke the mold of what you had seen before. Right. We're trying to convince ourselves that all of a sudden the offense was going to wake up.
[00:17:17] There's a wake up call now Shula is out furry. An energetic guy is now in charge of this group. And I think his personality is what the group needs right now. You know, of course, it's still a huge challenge. You know, A M, their third ranking is, is not a fluke. Right. And College Station has not been kind to South Carolina in the past.
[00:17:43] And again, you're just kind of hoping that the somewhat unpredictable nature of having a new play caller with new energy brings a positive change for that group. And then the defense continues to level up.
[00:17:58] And again with that new offense, if you find yourself in one of these games, or in fact in this game like you have been previously, it's a fourth quarter game, Alabama game, Mizzou game, etc, maybe now we can get that clutch drive like I just said.
[00:18:16] So I'm hopeful that we can see some exciting football. Like, if nothing else, let's see some momentum, right? And we'll see where it takes us. But. All right, let me give you all my six pack of picks and then I will get you all out of here. In the ACC, I'm going Duke minus five and a half versus Virginia. I didn't write that down, but Big 12 UCF versus Texas Tech over 48.5. Big 10 Iowa plus six and a half versus USC in the SEC, I'm going Texas versus Georgia under 50 and a half. That's going to be a great game. And then in the group of five, give me North Texas minus 17.5 versus UAB.
[00:18:59] But with that, y', all, that wraps up this episode. Please follow me on social media, Twitter or X is Cox Gamecox. Instagram is just the name of the show, Cox Talking Gamecocks. And please like subscribe and review the podcast. I appreciate all y'. All. Go Cox.
