How critical is the South Carolina game?

[MANAFOLD]

This game is just as critical for the Gamecocks. We play a very tough schedule this year, some say 3rd toughest in the country so every game we have a chance to win, we have to play hard and try to come out on top. The fans at Willy B will be ready. Hope our football team is also. Lets hope for a good hard fought game with no injuries to either team.
PS. We just spent 14.5 million landscaping around the stadium and hope you fans coming down to the game enjoy the added comforts this project brings to your game experience.

 

[ukalumni00]

This game is just as critical for the Gamecocks. We play a very tough schedule this year, some say 3rd toughest in the country so every game we have a chance to win, we have to play hard and try to come out on top. The fans at Willy B will be ready. Hope our football team is also. Lets hope for a good hard fought game with no injuries to either team.
PS. We just spent 14.5 million landscaping around the stadium and hope you fans coming down to the game enjoy the added comforts this project brings to your game experience.

Agree, but in KY's case, the program has a lot to prove whereas SC has already proven they can be a competitive SEC program. This is a winnable SEC road game and KY has not won one since 2009. A KY win would mean 10X more for this program than a loss would be for SC. A KY loss is not the end of the season, but a win would catapult the vision Stoops and his staff are selling to recruits and sets up an incredible showdown with FL the following week.

 

[Caveman Catfan]

It will be hard, but not impossible, to win the national championship if we lose to USC. It is a road game, in a tough environment and early in the season. So, we might be able to recover, but doubtful. I think USC is better than V Tech was last year. OSU lost to V Tech at home and still won the NC. But, we do not play in the Big Ten. Getting though the rest of the SEC without a loss would be difficult, to say the least.

Win in Columbia and we do not have to rely on others.

 

[footballfanatic77]

^

 

[darkshadesofblue]

Yeah neither USC or UF is REQUIRED to go bowling...but you've got to start winning somewhere. I like the odds of winning either of those games better than the odds of beating Mizzou...their rotation of QBs seemed to work well and their lines appear stout enough. Hansbrough being out is a big loss for them in the run game, but I'm sure he will be back in time to play UK.

The Florida and South Carolina games win/lose could set the tone first half of the season going into the second. If we lose both of those games, the team's confidence level will be down going into the Missouri game. I like our chances more against Florida than I do with Missouri. The last few years with them have not been close for whatever reason.

 

[WildCard]

The USC game is no more critical than the 2 games after that one. The point here is that the Cats MUST win at least 1 of the first 3 SEC games to have the season that most expect. When you are trying to get 6 wins against a slightly back end loaded schedule there is a HUGE difference between a 2-2 start and a 1-3 start.

Peace

 

[UKWinsAgainYep]

I'd mark down any of the next 2 games as important. Win neither and there goes the bowl chances, win 1 and I'll be happily optimistic, win both and it's bowling time.

Agree 100%.

 

[jte123]

This is going to be an interesting game. I am waiting on a signature win or turning point victory for Stoops we have faded severely down the stretch last two season. Can we win at SC and get it going or will remain mediocre?

 

[footballfanatic77]

Gotta get 6 and it doesn't matter where they come from, but conventional wisdom would say that Florida is the easiest SEC win in the first half of the schedule. After week 1 what do we really know though? We know that USC managed to get past a UNC team that is likely overrated yet again. We know that Florida beat up one of the worst FBS teams in the country. We know that Mizzou beat up a bad directional school. We know that Vanderbilt is still awful. We know that Tennessee's offense looked really good, but the defense looked suspect. We know that that Georgia looked really good overall, against a bad team. And, we know that UK let a huge lead slip away in the second half and squeaked by ULL. None of that really tells us anything about these teams. We might know more in week 2, but by week 6 last year, the media was praising UK as being one of the best turnarounds in the country and calling it a potential darkhorse in the east. In other words...it's going to be a long season. Enjoy it.

 

[Chuckinden]

Gotta get 6 and it doesn't matter where they come from, but conventional wisdom would say that Florida is the easiest SEC win in the first half of the schedule. After week 1 what do we really know though? We know that USC managed to get past a UNC team that is likely overrated yet again. We know that Florida beat up one of the worst FBS teams in the country. We know that Mizzou beat up a bad directional school. We know that Vanderbilt is still awful. We know that Tennessee's offense looked really good, but the defense looked suspect. We know that that Georgia looked really good overall, against a bad team. And, we know that UK let a huge lead slip away in the second half and squeaked by ULL. None of that really tells us anything about these teams. We might know more in week 2, but by week 6 last year, the media was praising UK as being one of the best turnarounds in the country and calling it a potential darkhorse in the east. In other words...it's going to be a long season. Enjoy it.

Good post. I've been harping all week that you cannot judge a team by the first game.

We should know more after this Saturday.

 

[SanAntonioCat]

SC is simply the next game on the schedule. The losing culture lives on..........

 

[NCukcat62]

Truth is that all games are important. But these next 3 games are huge.

 

[mtn cat1]

It's one of those winnable games. Critical if you're thinking seven or eight wins.

This was my thinking also. I believe we will win both the Fla. & Mo. games, and with the end of season games being what they are, the SC Gamecock game is key to an 8 win season. I'm not totally out of a possible 9 win season should we win Sat. night.

 

[ZZBlueComet]

This was my thinking also. I believe we will win both the Fla. & Mo. games, and with the end of season games being what they are, the SC Gamecock game is key to an 8 win season. I'm not totally out of a possible 9 win season should we win Sat. night.

Some of you folks are eternal optimists (I actually admire that, wish I was). We haven't beaten Florida in a million years it seems, we rarely win on the road in the SEC (except maybe Vandy) and Missouri has clubbed us in every meeting thus far. All this, coming off a game where we almost lost to a team we should've beaten by 17 or more points. We struggled to beat Louisiana Lafayette (not LSU) and folks are still talking 8-9 wins.

If we beat SC on the road - I'll be more optimistic.

 

[mark0202]

My belief is this will be the most critical game to our having a really successful season. If we win this game, I believe we will begin the '15 season like we did in '14. The last half of this season is not power-laden like last years season.

I’m not sure if I concur with SC being the “most critical game”. Like all games, they are critical in one aspect or another but in my opinion, the SC games is the difference between a 7 and 5 season versus a 6 and 6 season. But again, that’s just one fans opinion.

 

[gjcollins79]

I think its as close to a must win as you can get. We've not won a road game in forever and USCJr. is by no means a world beater. The time for moral victories is over. It's time to start winning football games and what better way to go to Columbia and hang a loss on the guy who has rubbed our collective noses in it every time he has had the chance to.
The next week is even bigger. Florida is chock full of athletes again this year. But there's something different: we have athletes now. Maybe not as many as the gators, but we do have weapons. Time to end this streak. UK last beat Florida when Reagan was President. A lot of this board's loyal members probably weren't born then either.

GO BLUE

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

My belief is this will be the most critical game to our having a really successful season. If we win this game, I believe we will begin the '15 season like we did in '14. The last half of this season is not power-laden like last years season.

The old saying is the next game is always the most critical game. If UK is getting to a bowl this season its a pretty important game. Splitting USC and UF games still leaves hope, going 0-2 means UK isn't very likely to get to a bowl this season, going 2-0 would all but assure a bowl. So I would say its a pretty big game.

 

[Gary4UK]

I wouldn't call it critical.... It's a tough SEC game on the road.... If we win, it could really boost this young team... If we lose, I don't think it should take any thing away from us, because we have so young a team.... So, I think we win either way when it comes to the importance of the game.... We lose, but our young guys get more experience, and on the road to boot... That will come in handy during later games.. I think the most important thing for us to do, is to take care of our home schedule..... We have 8 games at home, if we win 6 of those games, we go to a bowl, and we still have a chance against road teams, Vandy and Miss. St. being two of them....

 

[Old_Red]

What we know is that we did have a big battle with a Sun Belt team and that South Carolina had a struggle with a middling ACC team and should have lost except for the UNC QB who had a very bad game. We won't get a real clear picture after this game because UNC plays UNC A&T and UL Lafayette plays Northwestern State. Well, if either of the opponents struggle or massively dominate in their next game, it might indicate something. I personally don't have a good feeling about the game. We could not run any reasonably consistent offense against UL Lafayette. We struggled to contain them on defense. I've seen this too much in my history with Kentucky football. I'd like to believe that we can get the offense on track but that is hoping, not based on anything I saw. We seldom got pressure on UL Lafayette with our D. They consistently pushed our line back such that the back could get 2 yards even if nothing worked. We were only in their backfield when they wanted to suck us forward. The UL Lafayette defense dared us to throw over them and we did until we lost our confidence and they stayed just a bit farther back. If we have an SEC offense, we should be able to run against a Sun Belt team and we could not. We've got a lot to prove this week on both sides of the ball. It is a valid point that SCJr has the same but it is reasonable to say their opponent the first week was stronger.

 

[Bigblueforever]

Florida at home is critical. If we can't beat them this year, then why think we ever will?

I agree on Florida , but I think South Carolina is also critical.

 

[UKat1]

No more critical than any other game on the schedule.......with our track record, EVERY game is critical. One game at a time, no looking ahead or not respecting ANY team.....if our team learns this mentality then more wins could come.

 

[mrschwump]

Very critical. The game's a rarity in recent years, a winnable SEC game. If UK ever hopes to move ahead in the SEC they must win games like this and hope to steal others where they're heavy dogs. But the D is gonna have to be much, much better this week for UK to succeed.

 

[blugrazz]

I will offer some long-term perspective on the criticality of this game. Its my opinion that Spurrier is on his way out the door in no more than 2-3 years. I think his recruiting may even be mimicking that expectation. We finally have another rung on the SEC ladder back in the sights that we need to step on and move up. If we can get them away this year then we have a good probability of winning again next year at home, which may string along enough wins of recent against them and build our confidence beating them on a regular basis. If Spurrier walks out the door in the next few years, then recruits leave and a new regime comes in, which may take a year or two to get back on a solid footing. We have a good window of leveling up with USC and possibly moving ahead of them. They will need to make a great hire to follow the last two they have had, which is possible. Both Holtz and Spurrier have built USC up enough to sustain the success they are having now, which all the more reason to get some wins against them now.

I know a lot of people want to win all the SEC games now but we need to manage the program in a direction that elevates our standing rather than beating the big dogs randomly.

 

[Grumpyolddawg]

I will offer some long-term perspective on the criticality of this game. Its my opinion that Spurrier is on his way out the door in no more than 2-3 years. I think his recruiting may even be mimicking that expectation. We finally have another rung on the SEC ladder back in the sights that we need to step on and move up. If we can get them away this year then we have a good probability of winning again next year at home, which may string along enough wins of recent against them and build our confidence beating them on a regular basis. If Spurrier walks out the door in the next few years, then recruits leave and a new regime comes in, which may take a year or two to get back on a solid footing. We have a good window of leveling up with USC and possibly moving ahead of them. They will need to make a great hire to follow the last two they have had, which is possible. Both Holtz and Spurrier have built USC up enough to sustain the success they are having now, which all the more reason to get some wins against them now.

I know a lot of people want to win all the SEC games now but we need to manage the program in a direction that elevates our standing rather than beating the big dogs randomly.

I think you are probably right about SOS, I know he has some goals he wanted to achieve at USC, the window may have closed on winning the SEC, but he is very close to becoming the all time winningest coach in SEC history, less than 20 wins, maybe less than 15 now. Unless things fall completely apart I think he stays until he gets that record if it's 3 or 4 years, I don't think he stays 5 more. Lots of rumors around that USC will make a run at Kirby Smart for their next head coach, will be interesting to see if Saban and Bama can convince him to stay with that carrot dangling in front of him. I don't know what they could promise him to keep him, surely he doesn't think they will give him the Bama job when Saban steps down.

 

[RoosterBooster1]

This is going to be an interesting game. I am waiting on a signature win or turning point victory for Stoops we have faded severely down the stretch last two season. Can we win at SC and get it going or will remain mediocre?

Stoops has been there now long enough for Cat fans to expect to see progress. He has delivered so far in recruiting. Not so much yet in results. Surely heneedsto end the0-22 road streak this season, and also to deliver on a signature type win. Beating SC on the road and or UF at home would accomplish such and end a few long standing negative streaks for UK. I like Stoops, butI am going to wait to see if he can coach like Cat fans hired him to do. Eventually he needs to show his program is capable of doing such things. Beating Spurrier in Columbia or UF at home this year? I personally don't see it.

 

[Caveman Catfan]

It will be hard, but not impossible, to win the national championship if we lose to USC. It is a road game, in a tough environment and early in the season. So, we might be able to recover, but doubtful. I think USC is better than V Tech was last year. OSU lost to V Tech at home and still won the NC. But, we do not play in the Big Ten. Getting though the rest of the SEC without a loss would be difficult, to say the least.

Win in Columbia and we do not have to rely on others.

One game at a time. Still eligible.