Reporting from Auburn, this guy here likes South Carolina
RoboCoach Gene Chizik dazzles the assembled media with bon mots. (Photo by M. Bradley)
Auburn, Ala. — I’m sitting here listening to Gene Chizik. And if you’ve ever wondered how RoboCoach would sound, listen to Gene Chizik. But I digress.
I’m sitting here listening to Gene Chizik, and I’m thinking, “I really like South Carolina’s chances Saturday.”
Not because of Gene Chizik. He’s obviously a good coach. But the guy who’ll be on the other sideline in the Georgia Dome is pretty good, too, and Evil Genius is bringing a pretty good team with him. And it’s a pretty good team that won’t be shocked by anything Cam Newton does, given that it was South Carolina against which the Camster had his night of arrival.
Auburn has had a great season — doesn’t get any greater than going undefeated in the SEC, does it? — but I still wonder about its defense. I especially wonder about Ted Roof, the Georgia Tech grad whose uncoordination of George O’Leary’s defense doomed the Jackets to being one of those good-hit-no-field teams a decade ago. Even the RoboCoach described the Tigers’ defensive effort in falling 24 points behind Alabama last week as “not acceptable.”
South Carolina has the better defense and the better coordinator (Ellis Johnson, who’s as solid as Stone Mountain). South Carolina also has a running back — Marcus Lattimore, the freshman who chose the Gamecocks over Auburn — capable of defusing Cam Newton by keeping the nation’s best player on the bench. As RoboCoach noted, South Carolina leads the SEC in time of possession.
I don’t doubt that a team coached by Steve Spurrier and staffed by Lattimore and the great receiver Alshon Jeffrey can contrive to put up four touchdowns on a neutral field against the men of Roof. (The Georgia Bulldogs had four in Jordan-Hare Stadium, lest we forget.) I realize Auburn is the world’s best team at playing from behind, but after a season of so many peaks and so many comebacks, the most recent being the epic rally in Tuscaloosa, how much the Tigers have left — cliche alert! – in the tank.
Cam Newton is the nation’s best player. Nick Fairley is the nation’s best defender. (Sorry, Georgia fans.) Auburn has been at worst the nation’s second-best team — Oregon has been pretty darn good itself — over the course of the three-month regular season. But for this one game under the off-white roof, I like South Carolina. I like it so much I’ll give you the score:
Gamecocks 33, Tigers 31.
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299 comments Add your comment
Steve Superior
December 1st, 2010
8:13 am
Not only do I have to prepare for Auburn, but now i have to prepare for the “Mark Bradley Pick Jinx” also.
Woodstock Dawg
December 1st, 2010
8:15 am
Thanks Mark, you just made my decision much easier. My money is on Auburn!
The Real Sports Guy
December 1st, 2010
8:26 am
Yeah you liked Alabama last week too.
How did that work out?
Sid
December 1st, 2010
8:39 am
You are talking to a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom and chuckled at catastrophe.
The seer of seers……………
……….prognosticator
of prognosticators……
Auburn in a close one…………….!!!
AUsome
December 1st, 2010
8:44 am
I love conspiracy theories.
“The SEC will make sure Auburn Wins”
I suppose the refs will drop out of the black helicopters to flag South Carolina.
LMAO.
Sorry……. just had to get that off my chest.
South Carolina has its share of talent and could pull off the upset.
What will happen?
Depends on which USC team shows up the guys that played Florida or the guys that played Arkansas.
Big wide receivers have given Auburn fits all year and this game should be no different.
AU has shut down stellar running backs all season and will do so again.
Garcia and company will put up some points but……
SC will have to throw more than they want to and there will be a pick or two.
That (and a few timely sacks) will be the difference in the game.
AU 35, SC 28
GT-Armchair-QB
December 1st, 2010
8:48 am
Mark:
You’re getting smarter in your older years.
Your assessment of Ted Roof, is spot ON!
He cost us dearly as a DC at Georgia Tech.
Dude is clueless, when it comes to coaching D.
Agree with you: South Carolina pulls this one out. For the same reason O’Leary’s teams lost….. TED “LEAKY” ROOF!!!!
DC
December 1st, 2010
8:48 am
I love how everyone is throwing out same ideas of what MB has excluded from his article…and I love how he comments on couple pro posts for him and doesn’t respond to the one that differ from his…
Not like anything else important is going on in sports right now..in atlanta at least…who is watching hockey or NBA or NCAABB right now…falcons are on sunday…
Best of the Blogs | MrSEC.com
December 1st, 2010
9:22 am
[...] Mark Bradley of the AJC likes South Carolina to pull the upset in title game. [...]
Ted M
December 1st, 2010
9:24 am
Mark,
The Jackets lost by 20 yesterday for their 2nd lose in a row. Is NW any good? Have you any contact with Hewitt since you – point blank – called him a lousy coach?
MikeP
December 1st, 2010
9:26 am
Let’s see about that first game: Lattimore gets pulled after halftime because Auburn stuffed him. That will change because???? If Auburn can stuff bama’s duo of Ingrham and Richardson they can certainly stuff Lattimore again.
Garcia was pulled because Auburn beat him to a pulp to the point that he fumbled twice in the fourth quarter and he started that game healthy! He’s starting this one with a bad shoulder and a bad hand. Do you think he’ll last until halftime?
Auburn is 12-0. Carolina is 9-3. The reason for that difference is that Auburn’s a better team. Better teams almost always beat inferior teams. Auburn wins, and it won’t be as close as the eight points Auburn won by in September.
“If Nick Fairley was a Dawg, he’d be a rock star in Georgia.”~~~Buck Belue
PMC
December 1st, 2010
9:32 am
There is no limit on the number of comebacks you can make. Auburn has more than proven that they are the most deserving National Championship contender in the country.
This game will be about about ball control and mistakes pure and simple and obviously who can score touchdowns instead of settling for Field Goals. You are not going to win against Auburn settling for Field Goals. 3 points is a win for the Auburn defense plain and simple. Settling for 3 will get you beat. If South Carolina controls the ball scores touchdowns and doesn’t have turnovers they very well could win the game.
I really think keeping the ball out of the hands of Newton is the way to win. They do need to run the ball and then throw deep off play action because Auburns safeties are always slow to help out over the top.
Mr. Red
December 1st, 2010
9:40 am
Great – Bradley just put the hex on SC.
autiger83
December 1st, 2010
9:46 am
The only reason Roof looks like any kind of a coordinator is that Malzahns offense puts up such big numbers they keep him from looking like an idiot. Granted, Auburn needs to keep recruiting D players. Still thin in the secondary and the talent level isnt what it needs to be.
Still, I think Auburn wins this game. Garcia will find a way to screw it up in the clutch especially after he gets popped in the mouth a couple of times. Spurrier will be throwing the visor by late in the 3rd quarter.
Gator Mike
December 1st, 2010
9:51 am
I find it interesting that a lot of sports writers are annointing Carolina as the winner because they have never achieved anything in the SEC. Both teams are hungry; therefore it should be a good game.
As for me – WAR EAGLE. I am pulling for AU to go all the way for the SEC. Carolina is a good team. They clobbered my Gators, but they also lost to UK and they got drilled by Arkansas.
NERDS!!! 42-34!!!
December 1st, 2010
9:52 am
NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!! NERDS!!! 42-34!!!
fabfire
December 1st, 2010
9:58 am
Wow!The South Carolina Gamecocks are use to people not picking us!So we r not concerned about that!We have been defying odds all season so why should anyone pick us, when we were suppose to lose to#1Bama,the mighty gators,the bulldogs,and both tigers!Wow!Auburn should have lost the first time to us to be honest!But we lost,so no arguement on that.Bottom line, the game will be decided on the field saturday!All that both teams accomplished in the regular season won’t matter as it is a one game season right now!And the gamecocks i assure you will be ready!Let’s go!
AU Rolls
December 1st, 2010
10:20 am
Relax—Auburn beats South Carolina Saturday like a rented mule. Their D can’t match up with Cam, Dyer and the massive AU oline-which is the best in the country. Fairley will dominate their oline and AU gets an easy win: 33-17!
Onto the BCS–Auburn beats Oregon in a wild shootout: 44-37! National champs!!!!
MR
December 1st, 2010
10:30 am
I have to admit that all the dawg fans are correct. They own Tech. They own a team in the ACC, has a student of 14,000, and truly cannot recruit the 5 star player. One thing though, Tech can be defeated every year by UGA but that has to bearing on how we do in the ACC. UGA is owned by Fla…..and will never see the SECCG because that will remain true. Tech lost to UGA last year and won the ACC. When was the last time UGA won the conference….? Both teams sucked this year.
MR
December 1st, 2010
10:31 am
NERDS!!! 42-34!!! – You are an idiot.
PharmRooster
December 1st, 2010
11:06 am
@ Seriously,
Sounds like you are very bitter that Lattimore chose to go to USC over AU and that he has had a MUCH better season than Dyer. I agree he didn’t do much against AU in Sept, but 1,110 yards and 19 TDs is pretty amazing for a freshman in the SEC.
Not sure who will win Sat, but I hope it is a great game that comes down to the last possession. Good luck to both teams on a safe game and
GO GAMECOCKS!
aualum87
December 1st, 2010
11:06 am
Mark,
Just keep picking Auburn to lose like the media has done for the last 9 weeks or so and eventually you’ll get it right…..(it may be next year, but eventually you’ll get it right)….and then you can brag on here about how “you called it”…Jealousy is a very transparent emotion..and this state is full of it for Auburn…
And for your UGA buddies that talked about Fairley, take a look at #50 (LB for thUGA) ripping the helmet off of the GT RB after he’s laying down on the ground…talk about dirty….
The Ol' Ball Coach
December 1st, 2010
11:08 am
Well, we got a chance. We’ll try to throw it around a little bit and run it a little bit and just see what happens. We got a chance.
Just saying
December 1st, 2010
11:10 am
NERDS!!! 42-34!!!
= Summer’s Eve
Aubbie
December 1st, 2010
11:11 am
Sniff, sniff. I just messed my costume.
Geno Cheese Stick
December 1st, 2010
11:18 am
Does anyone have Brother Bill Oliver’s number?
Aubbie
December 1st, 2010
11:21 am
Can someone pass the toilet paper please?
Scooter
December 1st, 2010
11:21 am
Damn, you aubie fans are sensitive. A guy writes a column (which is supposed to be opinionated) and you go ape-crap becuase someone would dare pick South Carolina to beat your precious Cam Newton. You are as bad as the Florida folks were the past few years with Timmy Tebow. Remember, he cried when he played in the Dome last fall.
Aubbie
December 1st, 2010
11:23 am
Seriously. I’m going to need a new costume for Saturday. This stuff aint coming out. Must have been that Chizburger I ate.
Way To Go Bradley
December 1st, 2010
11:29 am
You picked my roosters. Coming from you that is the kiss of death. Thanks a butt load.
Aubbie
December 1st, 2010
11:30 am
Aha! I will go to Toomers Corner. There should be plent of toilet paper there that I can use. It won’t be needed this coming weekend.
MikeP
December 1st, 2010
12:39 pm
The top three offenses in the SEC are Auburn, Arkansas, Kentucky.
USC’s three losses:~~ Auburn, Arkansas, Kentucky.
Anyone detect a pattern here? Ellis Johnson’s defensive coaching is as bad as the opposing offense is good. He’ll be bad again Saturday.
Carolinas Finest
December 1st, 2010
12:49 pm
yall sound like a bunch of retards at a lunch table…
Chris K
December 1st, 2010
1:22 pm
Oscar
November 30th, 2010
1:54 pm
Learn more about how corrupt Auburn is here:
http://leatherhelmetblog.com/2010-articles/november/unabridged-story-of-cam-and-auburn.html
=======================
Hey Oscar, has your team purchased the little pink dress for it’s QB next year? Sure wouldn’t want him to get hurt.
AU#1
December 1st, 2010
2:03 pm
The NCAA today declared Cam Newton eligible to play and cleared Auburn from any wrong doing in it’s recruitment of him.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5870788
War Eagle!!!
David
December 1st, 2010
3:26 pm
AU Rolls
December 1st, 2010
10:20 am
Relax—Auburn beats South Carolina Saturday like a rented mule. Their D can’t match up with Cam, Dyer and the massive AU oline-which is the best in the country. Fairley will dominate their oline and AU gets an easy win: 33-17!
Onto the BCS–Auburn beats Oregon in a wild shootout: 44-37! National champs!!!!
ha ha wake up!!! Wake Up!!! Whatever pipe dream you’re on I want some… Auburn couldn’t scor 14 points against Oregon let alone 44!!
Their Season will be the BCS Bowl of their dreams… the Orange Bowl… unless Oregon loses then they’ll play that powerhouse TCU for the National Championship…
They’ve been playing with a monkey on their backs all season and now that monkey’s gonna get spanked..
Quick reinstatement of eligibility by the NCAA, but what say the SEC? Oh thats right the conspiracy theorists think they are a lock…
Not gonna happen… Auburn loses 34-17 garcia throws for over 300 yards and Lattrimore rushes for over 150… take it to the bank!!
JP
December 1st, 2010
3:34 pm
If i remember right, SC also had Lattimore the first time we played them! SC has the better defense? Maybe so but AU actually had 20 more yards of offense than SC in the first game. Had AU not turned the ball over twice, who knows what the score could have been. AU defense held SC to 200 total yards of offense! SC had 44 yards rushing!! Don’t get me wrong, i don’t believe AU will win big and i would be surprised if AU lost a close one but i can’t see how you look at the first game and expect a win from SC. It is certainly a possibility since any SEC game is but what a homer to actually call it the way he does…sounds alot like jealousy to me!!!
Matt
December 1st, 2010
4:35 pm
At least you don’t try and hide the fact that you are the most UGA biased anti GT / Auburn reporter in the SE
chrisInInverness
December 1st, 2010
5:21 pm
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Ooooooops.
NCAA clears Newton AND Auburn of ALL CHARGES.
Sucks to be a ugag fan.
But wait — you did beat ga tech.
WOW.
Gamecockfan10
December 1st, 2010
5:24 pm
you allbarn people are complete idiots. stop sucking cam newton off. GAMECOCKS will Prevail on Saturday. We WILL win 100%. You can just go home, sit down and shut up and take it for what it is. GAMECOCKS 2010 SEC CHAMPIONS BABY!!!
David
December 1st, 2010
6:29 pm
JP,
You should really get your facts straight..
SCar total offense 384 yards 305 passing 79 rushing…
you can expect to see more of that except the rushing numbers will go up this game (trust me I’m a doctor).. I expect you’ll see 500 yards total this game and at least 34 points for SCar..
SEC: Auburn-South Carolina gearing up for Saturday : Acrylic Sports
December 1st, 2010
10:10 pm
[...] Mark Bradley of the AJC likes South Carolina to pull the upset in title game. [...]
USC GAMEC0CK
December 2nd, 2010
4:20 pm
I guess the kids finally went home as the comments on this blog have stopped….so I will put in the last word for the dorks who don’t know squat about football….USC will roll Auburn and make Bama proud….now go find your passifier.
weagle weagle
December 2nd, 2010
4:39 pm
Scooter,
Auburn fans are just sick of getting on the AJC and reading how much this moron hate Auburn. Week in and Week out Mark is anti-Auburn. It’s our one year give us some credit. We have been waiting a long time for this.
Ms. L
December 2nd, 2010
5:45 pm
Isn’t Mr. Bradley the same author who said AU should make Cam sit out? Good thing that advice was ignored. As well it should have been.
олимпиада сочи
December 2nd, 2010
8:42 pm
привет, Не бери в голову!
GAMECOCKBOY
December 2nd, 2010
10:49 pm
Seriously
bring your ass here to columbia,sc and call our rb a coward.. he will be in the nfl while u will still be hating.lmao. enjoy watching my teams rb on your tv…lmao
‘
GOOO USC FIGHTING GAMECOCKS!
Live from the SEC title game, now a place for Gamecocks | Mark Bradley
December 4th, 2010
1:45 pm
[...] Gamecocks aren’t supposed to win this game — I think they’ll prevail, not that I’m ever right about anything — but I’m guessing they don’t much [...]
danny
December 4th, 2010
11:53 pm
Mark, you need to reevaluate your thinking on this blog! 56-17!
Henry
December 6th, 2010
5:38 pm
I think the NCAA should be dumped and go to the NIT