Saturday Show-downs...from the SEC

In the game of the day, how will Virginia Tech's young trio of running backs do when facing Alabama's staunch run defense led by nose guard Terrence "Mount" Cody? Freshman Ryan Williams will start in place of injured Darren Evans, but he'll be fighting for carries with fellow freshman David Wilson and sophomore Josh Oglesby.
While Georgia head coach Mark Richt puts his 10-2 road record versus ranked teams on the line at No. 9 Oklahoma State, 2 of the nation's best wide receivers will be on display. Cowboy junior Dez Bryant deservingly gets a lot of love, but there aren't many out there with more potential than Bulldog sophomore A.J. Green.
There are several new quarterbacks taking over the reigns at high profiles programs in Week 1. Most notably they are: Jarrett Brown (West Virginia), Joe Cox (Georgia), Blaine Gabbert (Missouri), Greg McElroy (Alabama) and Dom Natale or Tom Savage (Rutgers). In some cases, they're filling the cleats of an all-timer at their school. That's never an easy assignment, no matter who you line up against.
Is Ole Miss ready for its close-up? Much has changed in the last year for the Rebels. Are they ready for the spotlight that comes along with a target? Sunday's short drive up to underrated and over-motivated Memphis will provide the initial indication. The SEC Rocks!

Upcoming Games

Alabama V.S. VA Tech

Arkansas V.S. Mo St.

Auburn V.S. La Tech

LSU V.S. U Wash

MSU V.S. JSU

Ole Miss V.S. Mem

Florida V.S. Char

Georgia V.S. Ok St

Kentucky V.S. Miami

Tennessee V.S. W Ken

Vandy V.S. W Car

Gamecocks have a Defensive Struggle...Out-Last NC State 7-3

Well,Steve Spurrier does it again,19-1 with season openers, with a 7-3 victory over NC State. The player of the game was Eric Norwood of South Carolina,with 8 tackles and 2 sacks The final back breaker for NC State came with 3:28 on the game clock. After a pass interference call by (SEC) officials that placed the ball on the SC's 32, being behind by 4 a NC State pass into the endzone between 2 SC defenders was dropped by (86) Jay Smith. South Carolina took over on downs at the 3:03 mark after (5)Gilmore(SC) broke up TD pass to (5)Williams(NCSt) The SEC Rocks! Scoring Summary
1ST QUARTER
SCAR 7
NCST 0
09:10
Brian Maddox 1 Yd Run (Spencer Lanning Kick) 3RD QUARTER
SCAR 7
NCST 3
FG
00:55
Josh Czajkowski 43 Yd
Team Stat Comparison: (top)USC vs NC ST
1st Downs
16
11
3rd down efficiency
5-15
5-14
4th down efficiency
2-3
0-1
Total Yards
256
133
Passing
148
74
Comp-Att
13-22
13-25
Yards per pass
5.9
2.4
Rushing
108
59
Rushing Attempts
42
31
Yards per rush
2.6
1.9
Penalties
3-45
4-23
Turnovers
1
1
Fumbles lost
0
1
Interceptions thrown
1
0
Possession
32:25
27:35
South Carolina Passing
S. Garcia
13/22 148 yds 6.7yds 1 int.
North Carolina State Passing
R. Wilson
12/23 74 yds 3.2yds
M. Glennon
1/2
Team
13/25 74yds 3.0
South Carolina Rushing
B. Maddox
23/66 2.9 1td
P. DiMarco
5/19 3.8
S. Garcia
8/16 2.0
J. Giles
5/13 2.6
Team
42/108 2.6
North Carolina State Rushing
J. Eugene
9/36 4.0
T. Baker
8/24 3.0
J. Washington
3/16 5.3
R. Wilson
11/(17)(1.5)
Team
31/59 1.9
South Carolina Receiving
M. Brown
3/54 18.0 33yds
W. Saunders
4/50 12.5 30yds
T. Gurley
4/34 8.5 14yds
A. Jeffery
1/5
P. DiMarco
1/5
Team
13/165 12.7
North Carolina State Receiving
G. Bryan
4/22 5.5 8yds
O. Spencer
1/15
S. Howard
2/13 6.5 7yds
J. Williams
2/10 6yds
T. Baker
2/8 4.0 5yds
D. Davis
1/6
T. Gentry
1/0
Team
13/107 8.2
South Carolina Fumbles
D. Stewart
0/0/1
North Carolina State Interceptions
M. Lemon
1/0/0
South Carolina Tackles
C. Matthews
2/2/2
E. Norwood
2/2/2
D. Taylor
2/1/2
N. Pepper
1/1/1
North Carolina State Tackles
R. Smith
1/1/1
S. McKeen
1/1/1
A. Cole
1/0/1
South Carolina Kick Returns
C. Culliver
2/39 24yds
North Carolina State Kick Returns
T. Graham
2/39 25yds
South Carolina Punt Returns
A. Auguste
2/7 6yds
D. Taylor
1/12
North Carolina State Punt Returns
R. Smith
1/31
T. Graham
1/11
South Carolina Kicking
S. Lanning
0/1
0.0
North Carolina State Kicking
Czajkowski
1/1 43yds
South Carolina Punting
S. Lanning
6/249 55
North Carolina State Punting
J. Ruiz
6/236 52yds

USC V.S. NC State

USC:7
NC STATE:3

Follow the LSU Equipment Truck ("LSU 1") as it travels to Seattle.

"LSU 1", the Athletic Department's Peterbilt equipment truck, left Baton Rouge for Seattle on Monday morning. Follow the progress of the 2-man crew (Bobby Duke and Arnold Springer) as they travel across America for the 2009 football season-opener against Washington.
Since 2004, LSU football has traveled in style around the southeast, but never as far as Washington state.
If you see the truck in your hometown, please post it to LSU's Facebook discussion page. They would love to hear from you. The SEC Rocks!

Pay to play... NCAA lets Alabama Duo off the Hook...so to Speak

Heading into their huge season opener against No. 7 Virginia Tech, No. 5 Alabama will have 2 of their starters thanks to a favorable ruling by the NCAA.
According to a press release issued by the NCAA, the organization ruled that wide receiver Julio Jones and running back Mark Ingram will have their eligibility reinstated and the duo will be allowed to play provided they reimburse to a charity an amount of money equal to the impermissible benefits they received from Curtis Anderson, an Athens businessman and friend of Jones prior to his coming to Alabama.
The investigation stemmed from a fishing trip earlier this year paid for by Anderson.
Alabama conducted it's own internal investigation, and turned over the findings to the SEC. In turn, the conference released the findings to the NCAA.
The focal point of the Tide's findings was that Anderson was not a booster of the program, nor had any association with the university other than his friendship with Jones. The SEC Rocks!

UGA's King won't make trip to season opener

Caleb King, Georgia’s No. 1 tailback at the start of preseason practice, won’t be on the plane to Oklahoma State for Saturday’s season opener.
Georgia set its 72-player travel squad Wednesday, and King was left off because his hamstring — injured Aug. 12 — has not healed enough for him to play, coach Mark Richt said.
King has not participated in contact work since the injury and is still not running at 100 percent, Richt said. “He was running, I’d say, at least three-quarters speed [Wednesday],” Richt said.
Also absent from the travel squad: defensive end Kiante Tripp, who has an injured shoulder.
It has been clear for almost 2 weeks that Richard Samuel would start at tailback and be backed by Carlton Thomas in the opener, but Richt had said King would make the trip if he was running full-speed by mid-week.
Richt said “I would think” King will be ready to play in the Sept. 12 home opener against South Carolina.
Walk-on Kalvin Daniels will be the Bulldogs’ No. 3 tailback Saturday, although freshman Washaun Ealey also will make the trip. The SEC Rocks!

Decision on surgery for Gators' Debose delayed

A decision was expected this week on how to treat a hamstring injury suffered by freshman wide receiver Andre Debose.
However, that decision has been delayed, the Gainesville Sun is reporting.
"There's one or two other things that we're going to look into, make some phone calls," head coach Urban Meyer said. "I looked at the family (and asked), 'Are you OK with that?' They said, 'Yeah, that's great.'
"He didn't practice today. We're going to shut him down for a while regardless."
UF medical personnel will research the injury further, present their findings to the family, then go from there.
It's believed Debose suffered the injury running in the state high school track meet earlier this year. It was initially thought to be just a run-of-the-mill hamstring strain, but now the program is of the belief that there is at least a slight tear.
Regardless of what's found, Debose is expected to miss a significant number of games in 2009, if not the entire season.

USC vs N.C. State Early Update

To wait 2 years to recover from knee surgery and to get the game jitters. NC State not a great start. On the other hand, 4 plays for 14 yds, Maddox 10 scores, carries all 4 times Gamecocks 7-0 at 13 :10 in the 1st. The SEC Rocks!

Remember This...South Carolina vs N.C.State...How About Last Season

The Gamecocks have opened the season on the road 25 times in 115 years of football at the intercollegiate level. In those games, the Gamecocks are 7-18 for a .280 winning percentage. The last road opener came in the 2006 season when South Carolina notched a 15-0 victory at Mississippi State. This is only the 3rd season opener on the road since the 1999 loss at NC State; Carolina is 2-0 in those contests with the win over MSU and a win over Vanderbilt in 2004.
South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier is 18-1 in season-opening games in his 19 seasons as a collegiate head coach. The only loss in that stretch was ironically a 27-21 loss to the Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia on Sept. 2, 1989, when he was the coach in his final season at Duke. That Blue Devil squad went on to win the ACC title. The Carolina victory was led by the great Todd Ellis, who is now the play-by-play voice of Gamecock Football. Since that time, Coach Spurrier has won 16 straight season opening games with his squad scoring 40 or more points in 10 of those 16 games. Git R Done...7:00 Today! The SEC Rocks!

Gamecocks Travel To NC State For Thursday Opener

The University of South Carolina opens its 116th season of intercollegiate football, dating back to 1892, and the 2009 season on the road against the NC State Wolfpack on Thursday, Sept. 3, in front of an ESPN national-television audience at Carter-Finley Stadium. This is the 102nd-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 527-530-44. The 2009 season marks the 40th anniversary of school's only conference championship, which came in the 1969 season when it posted a perfect 6-0 record to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title in Paul Dietzel's 4th year.
• This is the 4th time in 5 years that South Carolina has opened its season with a nationally televised ESPN game on a Thursday night. The Gamecocks are 3-0 in those previous contests, with wins over NC State (2008), Mississippi State (2007) and Central Florida (2005).
• South Carolina is 75-36-4 (.670) all-time in season-openers. The Gamecocks have won 9 openers in a row and 12 out of their last 13. The only loss in that stretch - a 10-0 setback at NC State in 1999.
• Of the Carolina starters in last year's season opener against the Wolfpack, 12 of the 22 are still on the Gamecock roster (6 offense, 6 defense).
• The Gamecocks were picked to finish third in the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division for the first time since 2001. The selection snapped a seven-year string of South Carolina being tabbed for the fourth spot in the SEC East.
• Only Clemson (106) and Georgia (61) have faced South Carolina more times than NC State (56). The SEC Rocks!

Gamecocks Geathers medically cleared, will serve one-game suspension

Starting defensive end Clifton Geathers has been cleared medically by the South Carolina medical staff, but he will not play in tomorrow night's season opener against North Carolina State as he serves a 1- game suspension.
The broken orbital bone in Geathers' face was deemed healed to the point where he could return to the field of play. However, the reason for the broken face, a fight with a nightclub bouncer and a struggle with police officers that led to an arrest and 3 charges is why Geathers will not play tomorrow night.
The good news for the Gamecocks, though, is that serving the suspension against the Wolfpack will allow the starter to play in the SEC East opener against Georgia the following week. The SEC Rocks!

Gators' opener a no-go for Doe

As expected, linebacker Dustin Doe has been suspended for Florida's season opener, head coach Urban Meyer has confirmed. The linebacker pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license and driving without a valid license earlier this year, and had been suspended for most of summer camp. He returned to the team from that suspension this past weekend.
Doe's suspension could even extend beyond the first game as Meyer described the LB's status as "week to week".
In the last 2 seasons, Doe has started 15 games for the Gators.

Saban won't say if he will bench Jones, Ingram if Alabama doesn't hear from NCAA before game time

Julio Jones' status for Saturday's opener against Virginia Tech appears to be in the hands of the NCAA. Alabama coach Nick Saban talked this morning about the fuzzy opening-game status of wide receiver Julio Jones and running back Mark Ingram, defensive end and Monday shooting victim Brandon Deaderick and linebacker Cory Reamer, who has been sidelined with the flu.
Saban was asked if Alabama does not get a ruling from the NCAA by Saturday on the fishing trip that Jones and Ingram took in the spring, is he planning to sit the two starters out of the 7 p.m. game against 7th-ranked Virginia Tech?
"I think that is up to the NCAA," Saban said on the first of what will be a weekly Southeastern Conference teleconference with reporters. "It's not my decision to do anything."
Alabama investigated the trip and reported its findings to the SEC, which put the case in the NCAA's hands. The SEC Rocks!

Alabama's Coach Nick Saban releases statement on Deaderick shooting

Alabama starting defensive lineman Brandon Deaderick remained hospitalized this afternoon following a shooting late Monday night, but is expected to be released from the hospital at some point today.
Deaderick was shot in the forearm during a robbery gone bad -- are there any that actually go good? -- although the injuries he suffered were not considered life-threatening.
There is still no word yet on the lineman's availability for the season opener.
Here's head coach Nick Saban's statement on the the shooting.
"We feel very fortunate that Brandon is doing well and that this is not a more serious situation," Saban said. "We are hopeful that his condition will continue to improve as we expect him to be released from the hospital later in the day today.
"Our concern at this time is for Brandon's continued recovery as our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family, not about when he will return to football." The SEC Rocks!

Kentucky Opens Season Against Miami in the 'Rumble at the River'

Billed as the “Rumble at the River,” the game is the season opener for both teams. Under coach Rich Brooks, Kentucky begins its quest to earn a 4th-consecutive bowl bid for the 1st time in school history. Miami enters a new era with the debut of head coach Mike Haywood, former Notre Dame offensive coordinator.
UK comes into the opener with an active non-conference win streak of 14 wins, the most since a 17-game string of victories from 1954-1960. The current run includes a 25-19 victory over East Carolina in the 2009 Liberty Bowl marking the first time Kentucky has won bowl games in 3 consecutive seasons. The Wildcats return 10 starters from last year’s squad; 6 on offense and 4 on defense.
RedHawk 1st-year coach Haywood will direct a team that returns 13 starters from last season. Kentucky and Miami last met in the 1991 season opener in Lexington with the Wildcats edging MU 23-20. UK leads the all-time series that dates back to 1894, 6-4-1. The SEC Rocks!

Kiffin States that Vols center, McNeil's career may be over

Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin said there is a good chance center Josh McNeil’s football career is over.
McNeil is exploring the possibility of another surgery on his injured left knee.
Kiffin made the remark at Tuesday’s media day. Other comments from Kiffin:
- He is unsure who will start at right offensive offensive tackle on Saturday against Western Kentucky. Former Maryville High School standout Aaron Douglas and Jerod Shaw are listed as co-starters.
- He expects to play nine defensive linemen in the course of Saturday’s game.
- He is unsure how he will distribute snaps for the running backs. Kiffin said much will depend on how the freshmen react in their first college game.
- He said he plans to play starting quarterback Jonathan Crompton the entire game except when receiver Nu’Keese Richardson is used.
Injury report: Running back Tauren Poole is recovering from a concussion. His immediate status is unknown. Tight end Ben Bartholomew is questionable for the game with a sore ankle.

Alabama football player Brandon Deaderick shot

University of Alabama football player Brandon Deaderick was shot late Monday night in an apparent robbery attempt at Rivermont Apartments on Rice Mine Road.
Tuscaloosa Police Chief Steve Anderson said a UA football player was the victim, but would not release his name. Other law enforcement sources identified the player as Deaderick.
The player suffered one gunshot wound to the forearm, which Anderson said was not life-threatening. The chief was at DCH Regional Medical Center at about 11:30 p.m. Monday night and had spoken with the victim.
The player was in the parking lot of Rivermont Apartments about 10 p.m. when he was approached by a man wearing dark clothes, a dark ball cap and a blue bandana over his face. He did not know the man, who pointed a gun and said “Give it up,” Anderson said.
When he refused, the assailant fired the gun, striking him in the arm.
Police were still searching for the shooter in the Rice Mine Road area as of midnight.
Alabama football coach Nick Saban was not immediately available for comment.