I'm not sure where to begin in discussing this statement from the former head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks. First of all, Holtz, when he was a head coach, wouldn't pick his team to beat Tattnall Square Academy, let alone a team like Georgia on the road. Now that he doesn't have a chestnut in the fire, he's turned into Jose Mourinho? Second, he conveniently forgets to mention that Georgia does have trouble in Columbia, but the last time Lou brought his Cocks to Athens, they left with their feathers between their legs on the heels of a 31-7 beating. Third, and most amusingly, he left the cupboard bare in Columbia. Between his average recruiting efforts and the fact that he ran such a loose ship that Steve Spurrier has been forced to cut players left and right, South Carolina isn't going to be bringing a whole lot of talent to Athens.
Fans in the SEC seem to have some sort of reflexive fear of Spurrier, but they forget that he was great at Florida because he was a bright coach and because he had talent that was better than anyone else's, save for Tennessee and perhaps Georgia at the end of the Donnan era. How's he going to do with inferior talent? Well, how did he do in the NFL when he was playing with Daniel Snyder's mismatched roster instead of blue chip athletes galore? How did Lou Holtz, another very good coach (albeit one hamstrung by his loyalty to his son as offensive coordinator,) do with South Carolina talent? 33-37.
So thanks, Lou. We appreciate your confidence in South Carolina. (Maybe your fans' famously excessive optimism has rubbed off? Care to share another story about how Cory Jenkins is faster than Carl Lewis and can throw the ball farther than Kordell Stewart and harder than Billy Wagner?) Your recommendation doesn't change the fact that the South Carolina game ranks behind Florida, Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia Tech, and Boise State on the list of games that Georgia fans should be worrying about this August.
4 comments:
Nice reference to Tattnall Square Academy. I somehow missed the fact that you are in Macon.
Can't believe Holtz threw that out there. The Cocks have lost 3 straight to UGA and there is a serious talent gap between the two teams.
I think that after all of the offseason problems, USC fans have generally tempered their expectations for this season. I'll bet most would tell you they don't expect to beat UGA this year, and some are probably just hoping to keep it close. Guess that reality check hasn't made it to Holtz just yet...
Oh yeah, I'm a Gamecock supporter, btw... FWIW...
I'm glad that someone got the Macon reference. I was originally going to go with Windsor, but then I decided that Lou might be more scared of a good HS team.
Skip, I think that Lou might just be foaming at the mouth at this stage. I thought he would slink away after the NCAA smacked USC for violations that occurred on his watch, but instead, he's apparently going to imitate his buddy Spurrier, only Steve doesn't seem nearly as optimistic about the hand he's been dealt. Spurrier's probably worried about keeping the games close. There are a lot of Georgia and Tennessee fans that will be hoping for blood if their teams get a chance to run up the score, although their coaches might not share that sentiment.
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