The Verdict: The moment isn’t too big, because it’s not a big moment
South Carolina football superfan Chris Paschal writes a weekly column during the season for GamecockCentral called “The Verdict.” Chris is a lawyer at Goings Law Firm in Columbia.
“It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium” is one of my favorite books. It was written by John Ed Bradley, an acclaimed author and former LSU offensive lineman. Bradley was also heavily featured in the SEC Network series Saturdays in the South, where he spoke about Tiger Stadium and what it was like playing in front of one of the rowdiest and loudest fanbases in the country. A night game in Tiger Stadium, so I am told and from what I have read, is unmatched in our beloved sport.
The problem for the Bayou Bengals of Louisiana State is that this game is not being played at night. And even more importantly, it’s not being played in Tiger Stadium. At high noon, the LSU Tigers will travel to a sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina to face the best Carolina team (at least talent-wise) in roughly a decade. (Yeah, I said that.)
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College Gameday will be here. Many of the sports dignitaries will be here. Nick Saban will be sitting in Williams-Brice Stadium. Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will be up in the booth calling the game for ABC. Josh Pate will be roaming the sidelines. On his show earlier this week, Jake Crain said that Shane Beamer has been building towards a big, program-defining moment and that this LSU game is that moment.
To paraphrase Joe Pesci in the movie My Cousin Vinny, “let me see, what else can we pile on? Is there any more (crap) we can pile on to the top of the outcome of this (game)? Is it possible?”
All of that can be true, in fact all of that is true, and it doesn’t really change anything for this program. The window dressing may look different this week than it did last week, but nobody outside of the state of South Carolina (or even maybe outside the Long Football Operations Center) actually thinks this Gamecock team is for real. Listen closely to the media, the pundits, the opposing coaches, the rival fans, and what you hear is a lot of surprise and a lot of doubt.
There is a reason why LSU is favored by a touchdown despite playing on the road without its starting running back and starting defensive tackle. There’s a reason why the overwhelming majority of predictions will be in LSU’s favor. There is a reason why the comments section of YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram are full of fans saying College Gameday should not be in Columbia this weekend.
The reason is because LSU is supposed to be here, but Carolina is not.
[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-LSU football game]
The moment won’t be too big for Carolina this weekend because stripped of the pomp and frills, the national media and SEC elitists don’t actually think this is a big moment. Big moments are evenly matched teams playing in consequential games.
I will put this as bluntly as possible: the talking heads in Bristol and Charlotte and Birmingham don’t think this is a consequential game between two evenly matched teams. Carolina is clearly the underdog in its own stadium with many people convinced they cannot win the game. If Carolina is to win, this will be the same song, different verse from just one week ago: Carolina must play mean and play like the doubted, hungry dog.
I was in Lexington, Kentucky last weekend. It was incredible. Kentucky fans were convinced they were going to whip the Gamecocks like a rented mule. So were 90 percent of pundits on SEC Network, ESPN, On3, 247Sports, and every other media outlet, radio show, and blog in the country. This team has the talent to prove a lot of people wrong.
I said this a few weeks ago and I meant it: this defense is deep. This defense is fast. And this defense is physical. We saw that in Kentucky. But we also saw, against one of the best defensive front sevens in the SEC, our offensive line can compete and fight hard.
My favorite play for this offensive line was on 1st and Goal from the six-yard line with 34 seconds left in the third quarter. Carolina ran what looked like power. Kamaar Ball and Vershon Lee double teamed Deone Walker and washed him down the line. True freshman – TRUE FRESHMAN – Josiah Thompson sealed the inside four technique for Kentucky to create the hole for Rocket Sanders. But the best part was watching the pulling Torricelli Simpkins who pile drove Kentucky’s edge defender into the dirt. Tight ends Brady Hunt and Josh Simon took linebackers for rides as Rocket Sanders exploded into the end zone. That’s the type of football this rushing attack is capable of.
And we are going to need to see it this weekend. The weather looks like it could be sloppy this Saturday in Williams-Brice. Against this LSU defensive line that their own fans and beat writers label as thin and inconsistent, it will be imperative that Carolina wins the line of scrimmage and establish the run game. If Carolina can do that, we win this game.
Because while impressive as this LSU passing attack is, Tiger quarterback Garrett Nussmeier has yet to be sacked this season. That will change this Saturday, and I think it will change early in this football game. Does that change the LSU passing equation at all? Possibly not. Nussmeier is a veteran who despite never being named the starter has played a lot of football.
But Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandergriff was a veteran quarterback who despite never being named the starter had played a lot of football, as well. If the weather, and the defense, and the run game, and the crowd become a factor in this game, Carolina will be ready for the moment, regardless of whether this is a big moment or not.
