Monday, December 31, 2012

South Carolina will wear you out

Anyone that watched the Chick Fil-A Bowl pitting a very good LSU team against the Clemson Tigers couldn't help but notice what was happening towards the end. It seemed like on every play, another LSU player was down on the field, gasping or grimacing. That's because the Clemson Tigers flat wore their butts OUT. Though Clemson only won that game on a last second field goal, the score shouldn't have been anywhere near that close. Clemson dominated throughout in just about every statistical category, including time of possession, sacks, first downs, and passing and rushing yardage. It finally caught up to LSU in the fourth quarter, with their players going down like the Rockettes during the Little Drummer Boy routine.

On New Year's day, the Michigan Wolverines will square off against another team from the Palmetto state that is even better in the Outback Bowl. The South Carolina Gamecocks. Yours truly suspects the same scenario might very well repeat itself. Those dudes from South Carolina will get after you for the WHOLE game, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised to see the Wolverines gasping and grimacing in the fourth quarter as well.

The Gamecocks are vastly superior to the Wolverines in a couple quality/quantities that can't be taught. Overall team speed. Speed kills, and the Gamecocks are not only fast, but extremely athletic on both sides of the ball. Plus they play hard from start to finish.

On a related note, I find it comical there are those that suggest Michigan is carrying some sort of torch into this game for the Big 10, or 12, or 14, or whatever they are these days. Oh really? Last time I looked Wisconsin was the Big 10 champion and will be playing in the Rose Bowl against Stanford. Further, Ohio State went undefeated this year and, if they weren't banned from post-season play due to infractions committed by others before them, would quite likely be playing in the national championship game against Notre Dame. How could the pollsters keep an undefeated Ohio State team out of such a game in favor of Alabama, which got knocked off -- at home -- by Texas A&M?
I don't want to hear about how close the scores of some of their games were. They won -- all of them. At the end of the regular season, the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish were the only two major college football powers to be undefeated. What else matters?

To boot, Ohio State now has Urban Meyer as their head coach. His track record speaks for itself. Michigan has Brady Hoke, who seems to come across more like a high school gym coach, but quickly got into the typically arrogant Maize and Blue mode, even as a rookie. Which would you rather have recruiting for and coaching up YOUR team in the foreseeable future?

At best, right now Michigan is the 3rd best team in the Big 10, playing in a second tier bowl game. Hardly what an objective fan would consider flag bearers for the conference.

And yours truly suspects the Gamecocks will wear THEIR butts out too by the 4th quarter.

We'll see.

No matter what ----

HAPPY NEW YEAR




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