Is a Defensive Cock a Cock at All?

Doesn't look like the Gamecocks are expecting much from their offense either. Will the Braves game Saturday night be higher scoring than the Dogs affair? Dear Lord, how I would love to hang fifty on SOS, especially this week!
Morris: Call single-digit wins 'walking up the score' | GoGamecocks

There is not a USC fan who would not joyously take a 3-0 victory over Georgia on Saturday and brag to all of his friends about it for most of the next year. Not one of those same fans would turn down a slew of SEC victories in which USC barely cracked double figures on the scoreboard.

Understandably, Spurrier has a difficult time with such a concept. This is the man who injected fun into football in the Southeastern Conference. This is the guy who became known as an “offensive genius” at Duke and Florida because he drew up daring ball plays perhaps better than anyone in college football history.

While it might be OK for USC fans to begin thinking of Spurrier some day soon as a “defensive genius,” it is awfully hard for the Head Ball Coach to swallow such talk. Even his Florida teams that featured outstanding defenses were rarely recognized for anything but having the ability to score on any play from any place on the field.

Defense rules in USC-UGA games | GoGamecocks

“It’s not ... two WAC teams going at it early in the season, where it’s wide open,” USC play-by-play announcer Todd Ellis said. “It’s just smash-mouth defense, let’s see who will make a mistake or not.”

The Gamecocks had a couple of costly mistakes in last year’s 14-7 loss — a pair of fourth-quarter turnovers inside Georgia’s 20-yard line that sealed their fate.

Ellis, a former USC quarterback, believes the schedule is partly responsible for the low scores. USC has been Georgia’s first SEC opponent since the Gamecocks joined the conference in 1992.

The early-September date comes when coaches are trying to determine who their best playmakers are, and are using more conservative game plans than later in the season, according to Ellis.

Spurrier said the Gamecocks were too conservative in their 7-3 win at N.C. State. USC threw downfield three times and was reluctant to give tailback Jarvis Giles many touches after the freshman lost 9 yards trying to cut back on a second-quarter run.