Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] On this episode of Cox Talking Gamecocks, game day comes to Columbia as the South Carolina Gamecocks face a top 20 opponent in Williams Bryce Stadium. Okay, here we go.
[00:00:56] Okay.
[00:00:58] Welcome to episode 259 of Cox Talking Gamecocks. I am your host, Tim Cox, where I will keep every episode from 1801 to 2001. And let me just say it. The vibes right now in Gamecock country, they're simply immaculate. The vibes are immaculate. It's such a cool moment that we're living in right now, where the eyes of the college football world are really all on Columbia. And it's just a special feeling. It feels great. And just interacting with other Gamecock fans, being on social media, seeing the excitement in Columbia, and just anywhere that is talking about South Carolina, it is just so cool to see right now. And it just feels. It feels good.
[00:01:52] It feels good. And the vibes are immaculate. All the mentions on social media, you know, they've really been great. Like, oh, Columbia is a fun city. It's so great to be back there. You got Josh Pate saying, you know, the most underrated atmosphere in college football belongs to the Gamecocks. Fantastic stadium, things of that nature. You got other folks saying that it's just a die hard fan base. All of these things that we know to be true, that other people have seen in bits and pieces, and it just all is sort of coming together right now. And I recognize that this isn't the first time that game day has come to Columbia, but it's been a while. It's been ten years. And just think of all that has changed in those ten years, right? Not just in college football, because it looks a world different compared to that, but just culturally and socially. Like, yeah, people could talk about Williams Bryce Stadium and things like that, but now there's Justin King and his team and all the work that they do to promote all the great things that go on in Columbia and around Gamecock football. You have guys like the McAfees of the world, right? Like the pates of the world. These guys who have these platforms that regularly reach thousands of people.
[00:03:20] And now they get to hear about Columbia, and they get to see it firsthand, because these guys are going to be in town before Saturday, doing their shows, talking to players, talking to coaches, talking to fans. And it's just a really cool moment for our city, the program, and everything like that. So it's just. It feels great, and it's just really, really cool. Now, gonna jump into the whole preview for the game. Here I am recording this episode earlier in the week than I normally do. Because I am traveling this week. I'm still going to be able to watch the game. We don't have to sweat that, but just going to be moving and grooving mid late week. So I wanted to make sure I could get this in for all y'all. So with that, there's no other scores for me to report on right now. But it is just still so cool to see this palpable buzz that is around this game here. And it just is.
[00:04:26] The stage is set right, like game day coming into town with all the hype going into Gamecock park, which talk about something that's improved since the last ten years, right? Gamecock park across from the stadium. They're opening that thing up at 06:00 a.m. i to try and get people there. The pit opens at 630. They're giving away t shirts. They got free shuttles. It is just so cool to see the efforts that not only the football team and ESPN are going to, but our own athletic department to make sure that this thing goes off without a hitch and they get to fully see the fandom for South Carolina. Here you got Shane Beamer calling for fans to get to Willie B as early as possible. And it is an announced sellout. I think this game probably would have been hype and trending towards that anyway, but with a noon game, sometimes you just don't know. Confirmed, announced sellout. They. They announced that Monday or Tuesday, like, just super early. Wasn't even a question.
[00:05:34] And I was thinking about this earlier because, yes, it's early in the year and things like that. And, you know, there's been some games that have been hyped up in the Shane Beamer era. Right. There's been moments that you're like, okay, this is a big one. And he's called for the fans to get there. And there's been some good videos and things like that. But this one, I don't know, it does feel a little different. And so I went back and kind of confirmed my thinking here. But it's the second 20 start under Beemer. You have to go back to his first year to have that. Right. So the last two years I have. It hasn't gone that way. But this is the first 20 start that includes an SEC win. Right. His first year, I think it was Eastern Illinois was the first team. And then you had Eastern Carolina, which you won by the field goal. So you're having statistically, you know, the best start that you can have. Two and o. Right. But in my mind and probably anybody else's, this is the best start that South Carolina has been off to under Shane Beamer. Just from the standpoint of you went on the road in the SEC and you got that second win and you're coming home undefeated. And it's crazy to say that because like a week ago we were not really saying that, right. And it's just this moment that we have all been waiting for. And that is college game day again, showcasing our city and our program once more. And really, I mean, just, I don't even think the most optimistic of fan would have penciled in game day for this matchup, but it is certainly a privilege. And with that though, comes heightened expectations and some pressure, right?
[00:07:40] And in the past we've seen Gamecock teams succumb to some of that pressure that comes with a little extra attention and things like that. We've seen that under Shane Beamer. We've seen that before Shane. So his challenge, and this beamer is right, is to not allow that to happen.
[00:08:03] And my hope, and he also alluded to this a little bit in his press conference, is that the veteran leaders that are on this team help keep everybody in check. And I think that these veterans will say, hey, we were here for some of these bigger wins and here's how we can keep momentum up or here's how we keep sort of that, that focus, right? Put some of those blinders on. You know, if you listened to my interview with Kai Kroger, he talked about they're having these regular player led meetings where the name of the game is really accountability. And sometimes they're five minutes, sometimes they're the, you know, 15 plus minutes. And I think that's the sign of the culture of we're going to hold each other accountable here. And I think in these types of meetings with these types of leaders in every unit, right, offense, defense and special teams guys who have been here for a while, I think that will help in this scenario, right? And that doesn't guarantee a win. It doesn't guarantee anything, really. But what I think it can help with is coming out and trying to do too much, right, playing out of your skin, right, not doing your job, losing focus. It's just, hey, we got here and we got these extra fun things for our school because we went and did our job and we prepared the right way and we went out there and executed to the best of our ability.
[00:09:40] So if we just do that again, we can be in this fight and that's all you can ask for. Right. That's all you can ask for from coaches leadership. Just do your job, be in the fight and be in a position to be on the right side of it.
[00:09:54] Right now, looking at this game, Carolina is sitting at seven point underdogs. That line has shrunk a little bit from when it originally opened. But if that's any indication, this tells you that Vegas expects a close game. Now, last week, Beamer said that they were using the term street fight for what they felt was coming up in their matchup against Kentucky. Well, I think that this week will be another hard fought game that is very physical and taxing on both sides of the ball. Right. Might not be this.
[00:10:35] You know what you're getting. Like Mark Stoops has this team identity. You've played them year in and year out. You know what you're getting, right. We haven't played LSU for a little bit, but it's definitely going to be a well coached and taxing game here. So what are the Gamecocks looking at in the LSU Tigers here? 16th ranked LSU comes to Columbia sitting at one and one. It's funny because when I was, you know, thinking about, I'm like, oh, we got a couple two and O teams here. But, you know, I almost forgot like that opening week one game against Southern California out in Las Vegas, they lost that game. They lost that game late by a touchdown. But LSU is always a team that is loaded with talented. They've recruited well for years. They were able to use the portal well now. And Brian Kelly, for all of his faults, for whatever you may think of him one way or the other, he is one of the top coaches in college football. And really because they dropped that opening week game, their margin of error for reaching the playoff, which is their goal for sure, is razor thin. So they will certainly be coming into Williams Bryce on a mission. But going into this season for LSU, their emphasis was to improve the defense and they brought in former Mizzou D defensive coordinator here to help them with that. Shane Beamer talked about how Mizzou has given South Carolina fits over the last few matchups, as we very well know. So he was actually watching tape from those games, from the Mizzou games to get an idea of what they'll be trying to do. LSU did lose a big defensive tackle to injury just the other day, but the thing with LSU is that they always have talent. I think they might be a little young now on the defensive line, but again, it's just a deal where they're going to be loaded. You know, they've looked good defensively so far this year. So once again, getting Lenoris into a rhythm early and feeling comfortable, especially given how he looked at home last time, is going to be paramount in this game.
[00:12:59] Offensively, LSU has also dealt with some injuries. I think they got some running backs that are banged up, but their new quarterback seems to have settled into that role fairly well. But this is going to be the biggest test for him, right? Like he has not started a true road game in the SEC before. I mean, he's only started like four freaking games, right? Three, I think the bowl game. You know, he hasn't played a ton. He's an older guy, he waited his turn, all that jazz. But this is his first time coming into what will be a hostile environment at a true road game. Right? And you got this defense, by the way, that's on fire right now. So a matchup because of that is to keep an eye out on their offensive line. We knew they were going to be good going into this year, but I think I saw this correctly and, you know, if I'm wrong here, don't yell at me, but I'm pretty sure that LSU has not given up a sack once so far this year. And so now on the road against a very good defensive line that will be put fully to the test. So really, I mean, tldr of this game probably boils down to a lot of that, right? Who wins that battle along the line of scrimmage, right? So very interesting. Something to keep an eye out on. But let me get into my crows of the game here for any new listeners. I don't do keys to the game. I do my crows to the game because we have our rooster crow overall for the team here. My crow to the game is handle the expectations well. Right? Talked a little bit about this already, but all week this team has heard how good they played in Lexington. They've seen all the hype with game day. Some of them are doing interviews, but they need to know that pressure is a privilege. And ultimately, like, we want more of this, right? Like you want more of this, you want more attention on you, you want raised expectations, you want nationally televised games, you want sellout crowds, right?
[00:15:22] So it's not something to shy away from.
[00:15:26] The only way to keep all of that and to get all of that is to bring that same edge and intensity that they showed in Lexington last weekend.
[00:15:40] So it's not about being Superman, right? Do your job, execute well and let's see what happens.
[00:15:49] But looking at the defense here, my first crow to the game is the pass rush has to stay hot.
[00:15:56] You know, I was going to put a number out there, right? Something like get at least two sacks or something along those lines. But against such a good offensive line, I didn't feel that was necessarily fair. So I'm just going to give myself a little bit of leeway here and just say that they need to stay disruptive, right?
[00:16:18] You got to get one, though. You got to get at least one. You just have to. You absolutely have to, right? Like this pass rush being effective makes everyone else better. And if they can speed up the clock inside Nuss Meyer's head, even just a little bit, he can be prone to mistakes and we can take advantage.
[00:16:39] My second crow on the defensive side here is the secondary needs to ball out. You know, as typical with LSU, they have good receivers. Kyron Lacey looks to be the real deal. And last weekend against Nichols, they just threw it all over the yard, right? Granted, it's Nichols, but they went out there and just threw it and just connected time and time again.
[00:17:03] Now for the Gamecocks, so far this season, O'Donnell fortune has been as solid as you could ask. But you also got guys like Vicari, Swan, Swain, Kilgore, Nicki, man worry, you know, they've all shined. This group needs to come out ready for the challenge because unlike Kentucky, LSU is going to continue to want to attack through the air. Okay? This is not a team. At least I don't foresee this happening where they're just going to give up the pass like you saw Kentucky do, right? They're going to keep going because their best players are Nuss Meyer and they're wide receivers.
[00:17:46] So the secondary's job is ultimately to limit the explosive plays, stay in phase with their man and keep everything in front of them.
[00:17:57] And, I mean, so far, you know, through two games, this defense house has come out ready for a fight and playing for each other. Right? If, if the pass rush gets to Nussmeyer, it helps the secondary. If the secondary sticks to their assignments, it helps the pass rush. And if all that works together, Debo and the linebackers can fill in the gaps, help stop the run, which actually has not looked that great for LSU so far. So if really you can do a good job of containing their passing game, maybe forcing their hand to run a little bit, that might just play into our hands a little bit. Now on the offensive side of the ball here, my first crow is you just have to get rocket Sanders going, period.
[00:18:43] We saw some life in the run game in that second half against Kentucky and that needs to keep up in their last game against Nichols. Okay, Nichols.
[00:18:54] LSU gave up over 100 yards to the starting running back.
[00:18:59] This LSU defense is new and improved from last year, that's sure, but they are still a work in progress. And this is just simply why you brought Rocket Sanders to South Carolina. You need a bell cow, all SEC potential type of running back to carry the workload for your team and take the pressure off your young quarterback.
[00:19:22] He's got two games under his belt. Fair to say the rust is shaken off and I don't doubt that rocket can claw his way to a decent looking stat line with some good individual efforts. Kind of like you saw on that touchdown against Kentucky. But this offense needs to get him a couple of explosive runs to keep the LSU defense honest.
[00:19:49] But you really got to get Rocket going in this one. Can't become one dimensional.
[00:19:55] Brings me to my second crow for the offense here, and that's protect the football, which I know is not a groundbreaking idea. But you know, this offense, particularly Lenoris, has turned the ball over a little bit, right? I mean, interceptions, one thing. You know, he's put the ball on the ground a few times through the first two games. This year against Kentucky, you got lucky where you were able to recover those things of the fumbles. That is right. But you can't hope for the lucky bounces. You need to eliminate them from even happening, especially if the weather does not cooperate this weekend. Ball security needs to be a top priority.
[00:20:38] So overall for this game, the only thing to say is that this feels like a huge moment.
[00:20:47] It feels like a huge moment for this team in this particular season, but it also feels like a huge moment in Shane Beemer's tenure.
[00:20:58] This team is on the edge of a really great opportunity, and Beamer said something along these lines, but he said that they'll either look back at this week and say, wow, what they did against Kentucky and LSU propelled them to heights that maybe a lot of people didn't see coming.
[00:21:21] Or you look back on it and you say that was an opportunity wasted.
[00:21:28] It's right there in front of them. You know, LSU, they're a good team. They are a well coached team and they're going to come into this game prepared. There's no doubt about that. Brian Kelly, he knows how to win on the road in college football, but this is also an opponent that is not perfect. Their defense is a work in progress. Their quarterback is still growing into the job. The running game has been suspect and they're dealing with injuries on both sides of the ball now.
[00:22:03] Similarly, South Carolina is also a team that is work in progress, but this is a team that is seemingly coming together before our very eyes and goes into this game, yes, with some expectations, but they really have nothing to lose.
[00:22:21] So they can go out there and play fast and play free because they're not the ones who are feeling all this pressure from dropping a weak one in a heartbreaker like LSU did.
[00:22:34] This is definitely the biggest challenge that this team has faced in this young season, but they are at home with all the momentum on their side.
[00:22:44] Lenoris has to get a couple of throws early to settle down and this offensive line needs to do their job and protect him.
[00:22:52] You know, there's more playmakers on this team than a lot of people give credit for.
[00:22:58] Williams Bryce, Rain or Shine is going to be rocking. It's going to be jumping, and the rain will just make it more dramatic.
[00:23:09] That Mizzou game a few years ago, Georgia.
[00:23:13] Right? These games that have been in the rain, get after it.
[00:23:19] Wherever you are watching this game, in person, on tv, at home, on the road, whatever it may be, you root the boys in. Let's see what these guys can go out there and do. Buckle up. It's gonna be fun with that. Let me give you all my six pack of picks and then I will get y'all out of here really quick here. AcC I'm going duke -16 and a half versus uConn. That's kind of a gross bet. Gross game. We're just. I just have no faith in UConn football. Big twelve. Give me Colorado versus Colorado State over 58 and a half.
[00:23:58] They scored a lot of points last time they played big ten. Oregon State. Give me that. Plus 16 versus Oregon in the civil war. Sec.
[00:24:08] I'm going Ole Miss -23 and a half versus Wake forest. And then my extra pick is Alabama versus Wisconsin under 51 and a half. And then my group of five, I'm going New Mexico State versus Fresno State over 47 and a half. But with that, y'all. That wraps up this episode. Please follow me on social media Twitter x is Cox gamecocks. Instagram is just the name of the show. Cox talking gamecocks. And please, like, subscribe or review the podcast. I appreciate all y'all. Go Cox.
