Monday, June 12, 2006

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Gamecocks, Vols bear watching

By Carter Strickland

There are a couple of programs that will be interesting to watch this fall.

You have to figure Florida and Georgia will be steady in the East. But their bowl futures could depend on what type of teams show up for another two SEC East teams, Tennessee and South Carolina. South Carolina might just be a 9-3 or better team. It has every tough game, except Florida, at home. And there is no way Spurrier won’t have the Gamecocks ready to play in the Swamp.

Other than those games, South Carolina has Georgia (at night), Auburn (at night) and Tennessee, a team it beat a year ago, all coming to Columbia. I think they will go 2-1 in those games. As for who they beat, I would chalk one up against Tennessee and the other I’m leaning toward Georgia but the jury is still out on just what kind of offensive line the Bulldogs will have when it goes to Columbia. A 10-win Gamecock season could come down to the Clemson game, which is at Clemson.

Now as for Tennessee, it has a much more difficult schedule: Cal (at home non-conference), Florida (at home) Alabama (at home), LSU (at home) at Georgia, at South Carolina and at Arkansas. The game with the Hogs is late enough in the season that Mitch Mustain could be running the offense by then.

So of those seven games Tennessee could go 3-4 with loses to Florida, LSU, Georgia and either at South Carolina or at Arkansas. The Cal game could be trouble too. If Tennessee does lose to Cal to start the season, Tennessee could fall into the same rut it ended last year in. At least it should be Vanderbilt. But an 8-4 or 7-5 record will mean more questions about Phil Fulmer and his reported $4.3 million buyout.

 

Read the article at:

http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs

/ajc/uga/entries/2006/06/12/gamecocks_vols.html

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