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.
[00:01:11] Okay.
[00:01:13] Welcome to episode 180 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 I just want to kick this episode off with wishing a very, very special birthday to none other than our very own Spencer Rattler. Happy birthday, Spencer. I'm not going to sing for you here, but happy birthday. I guess by the time you all are listening to this, it will be happy belated birthday. But really cool to see Spencer Ratler's birthday. It's crazy. He's only 23. I mean, sometimes I think it's easy to forget that these players that we follow and we cheer for are kids. They're college students. It's crazy. I mean, Spencer Rattler is about to go play a game this weekend in front of 100,000 people on national television at 23 years old. At 23, I was hoping that I could make it to the bar in time for the happy hour special. Like trying to pinch pennies and trying to get a drink after my entry level job paying nothing. It's just talk about different life experiences. And if you had asked 23 year old me, I mean, if you asked current me to go play in front of 100,000 screaming fans on national TV, I'd probably poop myself. Like just facts. These guys are literally built different.
[00:02:48] Hopefully Spencer Ratler can deliver himself a birthday present Saturday night and a nice present for the rest of us in gamecock nation here. I'm going to get into all that in a bit. Got a big preview for you all. But before I get there, let's have a little week in review from around USC athletics. Starting with Tuesday, the men's soccer team lost to USC upstate. Four nothing, four nil, if we're talking soccer terms, feels like a little bit of a rough season for that squad. I got faith they can turn it around, though. And then on Wednesday, the men's golf team beat Kentucky three to two. It's always exciting. Way to go, guys. And then we're talking basketball. That's right. We're talking men's basketball. As Lamont Paris picked up a commitment from class of 2025 forward.
[00:03:44] I have a typo here, Hadib assimian big explosive forward from Greenville. He's staying home, said he wanted to start this class off strong, but very exciting. Very exciting to see lamont did a lot of work this past season through the portal and through the high school recruiting ranks and he's already off to a hot start in the next class he is working on. So welcome home. Excited to see that squad. Probably know we're coming up in October where it's really good for professional sports. And then right around the corner from there, college basketball be kicking off. Wow, tipping off, I should say. Got my sports all confused here. But speaking of kicking off here, Saturday night the Gamecocks are taking on the 21st ranked Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville. Big game, lot of build up to this one. Carolina is currently sitting as twelve point underdogs on the injury front. From the South Carolina perspective, amarian Brown should be back according to Shane Beamer. That is huge.
[00:04:54] I think Eddie Lewis has done a nice job filling that role, but I think when you have your full squad, your experienced need, you want everyone back. And I think AB can have a big role for this team, not just in this game, but moving forward. So it'd be great to see him back on the field. But this game specifically, I mean, it has to be circled for both teams, but you know that especially for Tennessee after the beat down. They suffered from Carolina last year as multiple score favorites, having their playoff hopes crushed before their very eyes. Willie b storming the field. You know that they have this game circled in a big way. And just quickly to look back on that game last year, I mean, that is one of the games where you will always remember who you were with, where you were, how you celebrated. I get chills thinking about it.
[00:05:57] We can look back, hopefully we're looking back in this program and we can say that was the launch pad, right? That was the starting point for something really special. But the truth is this has been a very back and forth, hard fought matchup between these two programs for like 20 years. So got some cool stats for you here. Since 2005. That's when Steve Spurrier came to South Carolina. This series record is nine and nine with South Carolina averaging 26.6 points per game and Tennessee averaging 26.4 points per game. Credit to Colin Taylor for posting those stats online. But I mean, wow.
[00:06:47] So what that tells you is across decades and different coaches, these two programs have had close battles and often very important ones.
[00:07:02] There was also a stat thrown in there where the home team tends to favor them, but I'm not going to worry about that this weekend.
[00:07:11] But it doesn't seem that that's going to change this mean for South Carolina. This is a chance to drastically turn around the first half of the season and to think about the potential of being three and two going into the bye week. And really from there you can look at the rest of the schedule and feel pretty good about the matchups you have left. And you can feel pretty good about the possibility of ending the year really, really well for Tennessee. On the other hand, this is a team that had very high expectations coming into the season and they're looking to get back on track after losing to Florida a couple weeks ago. So really, both teams have a lot to play for this year. And it's just funny because the matchup, it just feels different than last year, right? Like, I don't really know where my thoughts are because last year South Carolina was coming off a Horrendous loss. You were kind of resigned to the fact that you're like, all right, probably six win know, let's just hope we don't get embarrassed. Too bad. Tennessee was a machine. They were kind of obviously that was turned on its head, but going into the game, it had a distinct feel. Whereas this year I'm kind of like, you know, this is not the Tennessee team that was them last year. And I think we in college tend to, especially early in the season, look backwards and say that's going to dictate what's going to happen this current season. I think a lot of people did that with Tennessee. They said they're only going to be the same, if not better. That's not the case. They do not look the same. They're still explosive. Yes. It's just not the same. It's not. Hendon Hooker and Jalen Hyatt blowing everybody away from the South Carolina side.
[00:09:12] You actually feel pretty good about your offense. You have one of the better passing attacks in the country and the SEC Spencer Rattler is playing out of his mind. Yes, you have those question marks. Can you get the running game going? Offensive line still needs some work. So you are concerned about this game and you're worried about can the defense slow down a Tennessee attack? Which is still prolific.
[00:09:38] But I'm kind of going into this game as like, you know, I feel like we can hang with these guys and it feels like it's going to be a close game.
[00:09:48] At least that's how I'm feeling right now. Whereas last year you're kind of going into the game like, man, this is a challenge of challenges, right?
[00:09:57] Right now I look at this and it's just like, dang, this game's in neland. That's the hardest part of it, really. So I don't know, it just has a different feel than last year. And I think there's a little bit of hope, more optimism maybe amongst our fans. Social media has been an absolute bloodbath between our fan bases, by the way. I mean, my goodness, I think the gamecocks broke the Volunteer fan base from last year. I honestly do. I think it just broke their brains. They just don't know how to act. My goodness. Just vile, disgusting, annoying people. A side tangent here, Tennessee. I've said it since I've started this show, they have slowly climbed the ranks of most annoying teams to me, teams that I just hate like it used to be. One a one b. Clemson. Georgia. Like, put Tennessee right there too. One A, one B, one C, maybe even B, but just my goodness. Anyway, what are the Gamecocks looking at? At the Tennessee Volunteers here. The Vols are three of one on the year. They are owing one in the SEC. The only real test that they have had this year was Florida, and as I mentioned, they did lose to them. They started slow week one against Virginia, but got it together, ended up putting up a lot of points. But other than that, they've just played Cupcakes and UVA is also kind of a Cupcake. So they've really only had one test and it was to Florida. And they know Beamer mentioned this. And it's true that this Gamecocks team is more battle tested than a lot of other teams right now, and that is definitely true when you compare them to Tennessee.
[00:11:46] South Carolina has already played a SEC game on the road in a tough environment. They've gone up against big scoring offenses in North Carolina, and they've gone against a tricky defense in Mississippi State. So they are definitely battle tested.
[00:12:07] Now, going back to the balls here, they're still a team that prides itself on playing very good offense with tempo, getting chunk plays. But again, it's not the same team we saw last year. It's different guys out there. It's a different feel, and I think we have to keep reminding ourselves that. And on the flip side, this is a different South Carolina team. It's an offense you can actually kind of trust, believe it or not.
[00:12:35] And despite what the media tried to tell us in the offseason, joe Milton's ability to throw a ball 70 yards without pads on, believe it or not, shocker, it did not translate to automatic success on the field.
[00:12:49] Now, they have been very balanced this year.
[00:12:53] I saw some stat online where generally speaking, they hover around 30 pass attempts in a game and 30 rush attempts in a game. They have made it a point to be very balanced and they've had success on the ground too. So despite maybe a slower start to this season compared to last, this team will make you earn it, especially in Neeland against a crowd that is looking for revenge.
[00:13:20] So what are my Crows to the Game here? Any new listeners? I don't do keys to the Game. We have our rooster Crow, so I have my Crows to the Game for the whole team. Crow to the game is communication. Neelin is going to be very, very loud and communication is going to be vital for each phase of the game to succeed on defense. My first crow is keep Tennessee to 100 or less. Rushing yards can be sort of a tall order when you look at their season totals, but Florida did that with room to spare. Beamer has an incredible record when his teams do this. In general, Tennessee again has made it a point of emphasis rather to stay balanced and effective on the ground. So it's going to be a challenge.
[00:14:08] But if the Gamecocks can take this part of their game away from them more than they're used to, I think it could force them into mistakes through the air.
[00:14:19] My second crow to the game is Spy Joe Milton. He can make you pay with scrambling and that just cannot happen. I personally would love to see Debo Williams spy him for a lot of the game and make him pay if he tries to scramble or go outside.
[00:14:36] Milton, there's these reports that maybe he's not 100% going into this game. That's definitely something to watch. They have a big five star freshman on the bench, but I think Milton's their guy. I don't think there's a ton of truth to that. He played just a half last game, looked fine. So something to watch, something to make note of. But nevertheless, if he's out there, don't let him scramble for much.
[00:15:02] My third crow to the game.
[00:15:05] This is for the defense, of course. Still make adjustments as needed, but when needed, clayton White, he's come under some scrutiny lately. I'm not going to get into that. But he has shown the ability to make adjustments.
[00:15:21] But often, in my opinion, he waits until the half to do so. For better or worse, that's when things change.
[00:15:30] You can't wait that long to make changes against a team like Tennessee that can score so quickly.
[00:15:38] So if Tennessee is able to move the ball at will early, clayton White needs to make a decision and make an adjustment then, and he can't let it get out of hand and wait to the half to then clamp down on the offensive side of the ball. My first Crow is control the time of possession.
[00:15:59] This is not to say that Carolina should not be aggressive, but you want to be in a position of strength in this game. So if the Gamecocks can control the line and the time of possession, keeping Tennessee off the field, that means you're winning at the point of attack.
[00:16:20] You've got your run game going, you're making plays, and you're extended drives right?
[00:16:26] And in a hostile road environment, nothing can beat them better like death by a thousand cuts and moving the chains over and over and over again.
[00:16:38] Again, that's going to take a team effort.
[00:16:41] But obviously it means Spencer's making the throws when he has to, and the running backs are doing just enough to keep the chains moving.
[00:16:49] Which leads me to my second Crow here, sort of the mirror image of the defense and that's rush for over 100 yards. If you're effective with the rush, it will force Tennessee to honor that, maybe stacking the box a little bit and that should open passing lanes for Spencer. That's what you saw last week against Mississippi State and now that there's tape on it, Tennessee has to at least respect that and respect that maybe the Gamecocks are not as one dimensional as they looked in the first couple of weeks.
[00:17:23] My third quote of the game is I'd like to see, you know, Trey Knox. He is certainly clearly tight end one. He's the featured tight end. He's come along nicely. I like him a lot as a player. Simon, to me though, it just feels like a matchup nightmare and we haven't really seen too much of him. So this feels like a great spot to play. Sort of a new card for Dawa Loggins. Right?
[00:17:50] We're four games into the season, you've faced a couple of power, five teams, a couple of SEC teams. Maybe Josh Simon needed to get his feet underneath him a little bit. Coming up in level of competition.
[00:18:03] Just feels like this is a moment for Dawal Loggins to play a new card that he hasn't. Maybe that's Nick harbor, too. But Josh Simon at least is a little bit more of an older guy. He's experienced. I'd like to see him more involved overall for this game. Y'all, this is a big spot.
[00:18:24] Last season Shane Beamer brought his team on the road at night against a top 25 SEC opponent and won.
[00:18:34] That was against Kentucky.
[00:18:36] Can he do it again?
[00:18:38] Can he do it in a very raucous environment? Probably a more raucous, you know, against the better team, right?
[00:18:49] Can he do it again? Because if this Gamecocks team can go into Nealand at night and get this upset win, then every other game left on the schedule has to feel winnable and all the possibilities in the world are still in front of you.
[00:19:09] But again, the team can only worry about what's in front of them, and what's in front of them is a highly talented team that is out for revenge. Now, I also think that there's definitely more pressure on Tennessee in this know, so we'll see how they handle that. Maybe they don't handle it that well as the game progresses. If you watched their game against Florida when that game was clearly not going to go their way, you saw players acting disrespectfully. There was that guy who tried to punch the guy you had hypo calling a weird timeout that caused a lot of that.
[00:19:49] Maybe if this game is tight or if they're losing late, maybe cracks begin to show.
[00:19:57] And again, I do think there is just more pressure on them because they are trying to live up to what the team did last year. They are you're south Carolina? This was a game that people before the season probably didn't think was going to go your way. In my season prediction, I didn't really have it going that way either, but circumstances have changed. This looks like a very close game, potentially, right? I mean, I feel confident in our offense to go out there and do their thing. Spencer is playing at a very, very high level. Leguette is looking all world.
[00:20:33] I think we will see another wide out or tight end step up in this game. And I see the run game as being fine. Maybe not great, but fine.
[00:20:43] So the question becomes, can the defense get those big stops?
[00:20:48] Last year they were able to. Last year they were disruptive in this game at multiple levels. Tennessee is going to get theirs, right? Shane Beamer said as much. Right. They are going to get their completions, their first downs and their scores.
[00:21:03] But can you keep the play in front of you and make it difficult enough for them to do that?
[00:21:11] This is the third time now that Shane Beamer and company have faced this team and this offense. So you have to believe that they have a pretty good idea on how to prepare for them and slow them down just enough. This should be a wild one. Absolutely and forever. Go Cox. I'm stoked for this one. Screw Tennessee. Screw them. Let's go up there and win this game.
[00:21:35] I'm jacked up. Let's go.
[00:21:38] All right. I'll get y'all my six pack of picks and then we'll get you out of here. Starting with the ACC going Friday night lights again. This hurt me last week, but we're doing it again. Louisville minus three and a half versus NC state. The Wolfback screwed me last week, so now we're going against them. Big twelve. Nice game here. Kansas at Texas. Give me over 61. Just a good old fashioned big twelve over big Ten. Indiana plus 14. And a half verse. Maryland, pac twelve. Oregon, -27 versus stanford, oregon is quickly becoming one of those teams that just beats the crap out. Of everybody. They'll probably have a tough game at some point, but I don't see that being stanford, SEC, interesting game here. I'm going Kentucky. Minus one versus Florida. I'm still not convinced Florida is really all that great. I think Kentucky is a very tough matchup. They win the game and then group of five, give me South Alabama versus JMU over 49. Just because I like it. But with that, y'all, that wraps up this episode. Please follow me on social media, twitter or x is Cox gamecocks. 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.
