Just some quick things about the NCAA pre-game drama at USC tonight

[Xnex]

So, the NCAA supposedly told our offices that they would have some answers for us no later than 5 this afternoon. Of course, that would have been cutting it razor thin, but it ended up being sometime after 6pm before we got any word on player eligibility.

The part(s) that really amazed me only came to light after the game when Spurrier indicated that last night they thought we could be down 14-15 players for the Southern Miss. game. Spurrier confessed to being unable to sleep very much, if at all Wednesday night, just thinking about it. He also admitted that the confidence being projected by the coaches was mainly fake because our "plan B" wasn't really that well prepared. Spurrier supposedly got a little laugh at being able to pull one over on the newspaper guys by not letting them know just how big this could have been. But all of that was just done to keep hysteria from breaking out if word began circulating that we might be down more than a dozen players.

Coach indicated that he was hopeful we would be at full strength for the game next week. I'm not sure if he was speaking about Culliver, King, and Saunders, or if he was just talking about Cully, and King. I'm not sure what I think because I see that the NCAA has announced that Dareus(sp) from 'Bama will serve a 2 game suspension but we still haven't heard the NCAA say anything about suspending Weslye. Maybe he's in the clear with the NCAA; still not sure he's "okay with Spurrier" even if the NCAA has found nothing wrong with Weslye.

But I've also heard rumors that Cully might be in a very bad spot and may be facing some real issues relating to his eligibility. So I don't know the deal with him. Below is a cut n paste of some things Spurrier mentioned during the post game meeting.

UGA is a big school & we want to get to their level one day

They got a lot of ball players

Prob got to play better than we did tonight to win

UGA still recruiting at a higher level than us still, new qb, lotta ball players, gotta play a lot better than we did tonight to beat them, hopefully we will get sharper as the season goes.

So stay tuned loyal listeners as I'm sure this thing will have more twists and turns than a soap opera as the days go by.

[Reeves]

So, the NCAA supposedly told our offices that they would have some answers for us no later than 5 this afternoon. Of course, that would have been cutting it razor thin, but it ended up being sometime after 6pm before we got any word on player eligibility.

The part(s) that really amazed me only came to light after the game when Spurrier indicated that last night they thought we could be down 14-15 players for the Southern Miss. game. Spurrier confessed to being unable to sleep very much, if at all Wednesday night, just thinking about it. He also admitted that the confidence being projected by the coaches was mainly fake because our "plan B" wasn't really that well prepared. Spurrier supposedly got a little laugh at being able to pull one over on the newspaper guys by not letting them know just how big this could have been. But all of that was just done to keep hysteria from breaking out if word began circulating that we might be down more than a dozen players.

Coach indicated that he was hopeful we would be at full strength for the game next week. I'm not sure if he was speaking about Culliver, King, and Saunders, or if he was just talking about Cully, and King. I'm not sure what I think because I see that the NCAA has announced that Dareus(sp) from 'Bama will serve a 2 game suspension but we still haven't heard the NCAA say anything about suspending Weslye. Maybe he's in the clear with the NCAA; still not sure he's "okay with Spurrier" even if the NCAA has found nothing wrong with Weslye.

But I've also heard rumors that Cully might be in a very bad spot and may be facing some real issues relating to his eligibility. So I don't know the deal with him. Below is a cut n paste of some things Spurrier mentioned during the post game meeting.

UGA is a big school & we want to get to their level one day

They got a lot of ball players

Prob got to play better than we did tonight to win

UGA still recruiting at a higher level than us still, new qb, lotta ball players, gotta play a lot better than we did tonight to beat them, hopefully we will get sharper as the season goes.

So stay tuned loyal listeners as I'm sure this thing will have more twists and turns than a soap opera as the days go by.

Crazy that he was able to keep the magnitude of the whole thing under wraps, but its probably better since it looks like it didn't pan out.

How do you feel about the game last night? I was impressed but I'm not ready to call you guys world-beaters just yet. Next weeks game should be good. Again, congrats on the big win last night.

[SacFalcFan]

at least you guys won't have a player miss a game for being arrested for a 3 month old 35 dollar helmet being taken.. lol

[Xnex]

Crazy that he was able to keep the magnitude of the whole thing under wraps, but its probably better since it looks like it didn't pan out.

How do you feel about the game last night? I was impressed but I'm not ready to call you guys world-beaters just yet. Next weeks game should be good. Again, congrats on the big win last night.

I am very pleased with lat night's results. But you are also correct about it not being time to call them world beaters either. Consider how poorly we've played in past openers such as last season's barn burner up @ NC State and it's easy to find positive things all over the place in last night's game versus Southern Miss. That being said, there is still tons of room for the team to improve and they will have to do it quickly if they want to beat UGA.

In my honest opinion SOuth Carolina has been exactly like oise State for the lst several years; but we haven't had the benefit of playing the Boise State schedule. When I say that I mean to say that we are very capable of beating any team we walk onto the field with every week but we haven't had the depth to play through an SEC schedule and come out the other end as champs. Were we playing the team Boise plays we could likely run up some huge numbers in the past, but we weren't ready to win the east or anything. I think we have enough at almost every spot to beat anyone this season. Whether they play consistently enough to make it pay off we will have to wait and see. Several things about last night stood out to me as both good and potentially bad but overall I was pleased with how it went down after the 1st series of the game.

at least you guys won't have a player miss a game for being arrested for a 3 month old 35 dollar helmet being taken.. lol

Is Alec going to be a starter this season, or was he just supposed to be an important sub player?

[SacFalcFan]

Is Alec going to be a starter this season, or was he just supposed to be an important sub player?

a 3rd string player and special teamer, but still just stupid.. however after hearing his side of it all he needs is some proof and this goes away for him..

[Xnex]

a 3rd string player and special teamer, but still just stupid.. however after hearing his side of it all he needs is some proof and this goes away for him..

I see. Well hopefully they will get it straight today and he will be able to take the field tomorrow.

BTW, is the Sturdivant kid on the UNC team related to the OL on your team? I don't think I've asked you that question before.

[SacFalcFan]

I see. Well hopefully they will get it straight today and he will be able to take the field tomorrow.

BTW, is the Sturdivant kid on the UNC team related to the OL on your team? I don't think I've asked you that question before.

no they aren't.. i have asked that in the past.. if they are they are cousins and don't know it.

[Xnex]

no they aren't.. i have asked that in the past.. if they are they are cousins and don't know it.

Alright, thanks.

[CalDawg]

edit: wrong thread.

Edited September 3, 2010 by CalDawg

[Xnex]

This is unbelieveable. I just don't know how the NCAA behave this way.

Here's another blog from Travis Haney regarding the clusterf**k that the NCAA has going on in Columbia right now. Last night I noticed that Jarriel King was wearing his jersey and actually ran out with the team eventhough he was suspended for the game and he had to watch from the sidelines. But I kept looking for Culliver to see if he was out there with the team. I never saw him and I was beginning to think that he might be in very serious trouble and thus left the stadium because he was heartbroken.

Once you read the article below and hear what the problem is with Chris I think most people here would find it pathetic how this went down, and the timing of it would just make anyone mad at the NCAA. I cannot believe how unconcerned the NCAA is with regards to the players and coaches when they are running an investigation.

Also there is an update on Weslye Saunders toward the end of the article which indicates that we may have him back on the field sometime this season.

http://www.postandcourier.com/blogs/gamecocks/?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&UID=6076b782-972c-43ee-b7e6-6c16fbce4f12&plckPostId=Blog%3a6076b782-972c-43ee-b7e6-6c16fbce4f12Post%3a317b70a2-2656-4d91-af85-26eb06b119ce&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest

Gamecocks can see light at end of NCAA tunnel

Posted by travis_haney at 9/3/2010 1:28 PM EDT on Post and Courier

COLA -- One key point was unclear last night, in the swirl of confusion and chaos (and actual football). Let's clarify.

Were South Carolina's in-limbo players merely allowed by the NCAA to play against Southern Miss? Or were they cleared of any wrongdoing concerning The Whitney Hotel?

I've been told today, a couple of times, that the latter is the Gamecocks' belief. They think the hotel players, with the exception of Jarriel King, have been cleared.

That goes along with what safety Akeem Auguste said after the game, as well.

Auguste, King and cornerback C.C. Whitlock were the three players most likely to face some sort of suspension for falling behind on rent payments at the hotel. In the end, it turned out only King couldn't quite prove his eligibility.

King, too, thought he was in the clear, sources say. He is expected to straighten things out in the next few days. There's a strong chance, one source said, that King could play against Georgia.

As I said before, things were tense an hour before the game last night. The NCAA was lumping all The Whitney players together - even those that paid their bills on time. It was going to give one ruling, even though the players had individually different circumstances, for the most part.

Meaning, say, Rodney Paulk's situation (he reportedly paid his bills on time, never fell behind) wasn't the same as King's. But they were being treated the exact, same way by the NCAA until it determined if anyone did anything wrong.

On to those two late-breaking mystery names, Chris Culliver and Marcus Lattimore. (Again, those were shocking to hear Thursday afternoon.)

Lattimore, as I said last night, was related to taking a meal. Once he offered restitution, that matter was resolved quickly. As of Wednesday, and through part of Thursday, the Gamecocks weren't all that sure if Lattimore could play. But it became obvious earlier than the others, I'm told.

With Culliver, as I said last night, it's related to paperwork about an insurance policy. I know now that the policy is one he took out to protect himself and his draft status. I still don't know what the hang-up is with that paperwork, but some inside the program believe it, whatever it is, can be ironed out before the Georgia game.

We'll have to see, with both Culliver and King. As we just saw, the NCAA works on its own schedule - not the Gamecocks'.

One thing I really don't understand is why this paperwork issue came up when and how it did. I don't know how long the NCAA had been looking into it, and why it couldn't have been resolved before last night's game. I'm guessing that's why Culliver reacted as furiously as he did, changing into street clothes and not staying with the team on the sideline. I can't blame him for being frustrated, considering all the hotel guys were cleared and he wasn't.

Here's one more name that, oddly enough, is almost forgotten in all this: tight end Weslye Saunders.

Saunders spent the first part of the game in, of all places, the student section. He then headed to a gameday condo to watch the rest of the win. Odd to hear he was in the student section. But, really, nothing Saunders does should come as a surprise.

Saunders continues to tell people he expects to play this year. I'm starting to believe him. Think about it: If he didn't believe that, why would he still be hanging around here?

I'm curious to see how the NCAA rules, both related to the contact with agents and his outstanding hotel bill. Saunders has now paid up with the hotel, I'm told. But, considering he'd fallen behind on his bill by more than $5K, will the NCAA suspend him additional games, even though it didn't any other Gamecock beyond King?

Regarding the agent part, you saw the NCAA gave Marcell Dareus two games for his Miami trips. Don't make any assumptions for Saunders, based on that, I'm told. Saunders, I'm told, could be cleared altogether in the agent part. It's a distinct possibility. Again, if it weren't, would Saunders still be hanging out here?

Could we see Saunders on the field again for the Gamecocks? It's no lock. But it's looking a heck of a lot more possible now than it did a week ago.

South Carolina went from **** to heaven in a hurry last night, going from being without a dozen players to down just two (plus Saunders). This NCAA matter might soon be completely behind the team.

Wouldn't that be nice, to read a blog post strictly about football?

= Trav

[pr0d1gy]

The NCAA is too big for it's britches and really needs to to be reigned in.