The South Carolina Gamecocks have reached the halfway point of the season and have a record of 5-1 and 3-1 in SEC play. In our recent podcast, we stated that the Gamecocks at this point should be undefeated but they are not due to a loss to Auburn at home.
With that being said, there is no disappointment for being 5-1 and leading the SEC East. Happy with that, especially when you look at some of the early games that could have easily gone differently. Sort of like the old saying – “be happy with what you got.”
True but the team has unprecedented talent and expectations are high after a 2010 SEC East crown. Getting to the SEC Championship again and getting to a BCS bowl is the goal for 2011.
The road to fulfilling those goals is a bumpy one with Florida and others still yet to be played but every game remaining USC has a legit shot to win.
Here we sit at the halfway point of the 2011 season so let’s issue the midseason report card:
The Good: In thinking of the best unit, got to go with the Gamecocks secondary. They have gone from last in the SEC in 2010 to first in the conference at this point in the season. By doing so, they have made the USC defense so good.
In talking about positive players, got to go with Marcus Lattimore on offense and Melvin Ingram on defense. Ingram has scored three touchdowns – two on fumble recoveries and one on a fake punt. He leads the SEC and is tied for 11th in the country with 5.5 sacks; he is also tied for fourth in the SEC with 7.5 TFLs. Lattimore is a machine as he checks in as the nation’s sixth-leading rusher at the halfway point with 779 yards and nine touchdowns in six games, an average of 129.8 rushing yards per game. He also has 16 catches for 163 yards and one touchdown. With 29 career touchdowns (including three receiving), he ranks third in career touchdowns in school history and is just four away from the record co-held by George Rogers and Harold Green.
The Bad: The loss to Auburn was bad and should not have happened. USC’s offensive was ineffective in that game and hope to never see that again. Let’s not jinx in by talking about it.
The Ugly: Distractions. From Spurrier and Ron Morris to Stephen Garcia and off-season mischief. I hope for one day as a South Carolina fan to go a full year with no distractions involving the football team. The Spurrier and Ron Morris thing was laughable but a distraction (maybe intended?). The Garcia drama is now over and we hope for the best for him. This is Connor Shaw’s team now and let’s rally around him. Speaking of distractions, USC saw some players get suspended going into this fall campaign, had a NCAA issue to deal with, a DUI charge against a player….well let’s stop there as you get the point. Time to put all that nonsense behind and focus on winning the SEC East.
The first half is done and now time to finish 5-1 or better in the final six games. That is what it will take to reach to goals of winning the East and making it to a BCS.
