2012-13 Bowl Game Picks

In past years, I have compared my picks to that of a coin flip.  This year, the coin won’t continue, but the picks will.

Overall, it was a great season picking games, and hopefully the bowl picks keep up the great work.

Last Week:  1-0  (1.000) [Navy beat Army]

Overall:  302-77 (.797)

Nevada vs. Arizona  (First bowl game of the year, should actually be a close one.)

Toledo vs. Utah State

BYU vs. San Diego State  (Essentially a home game for San Diego State.)

Central Florida vs. Ball State  (Essentially a home game for Central Florida.)

Louisiana-Lafayette vs. East Carolina  (Essentially a home game for Louisiana-Lafayette.)

Boise State vs. Washington

Southern Methodist vs. Fresno State  (June Jones gets a win in Hawaii, his old stomping grounds.)

Central Michigan vs. Western Kentucky

Bowling Green vs. San Jose State

Duke vs. Cincinnati  (An upset special.)

UCLA vs. Baylor  (Essentially a home game for UCLA.)

Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe

Virginia Tech vs. Rutgers  (Virginia Tech tries to salvage an otherwise disappointing season.)

Texas Tech vs. Minnesota  (Essentially a home game for Texas Tech.)

Air Force vs. Rice

Syracuse vs. West Virginia  (Geno Smith has a great game in his final game.)

Navy vs. Arizona State

Oregon State vs. Texas  (Essentially a home game for Texas.)

TCU vs. Michigan State

North Carolina State vs. Vanderbilt  (North Carolina State has been disappointing after the Florida State win.)

Georgia Tech vs. Southern California

Tulsa vs. Iowa State

Clemson vs. LSU  (Defense should win this game.)

Northwestern vs. Mississippi State  (Northwestern will lead for 3 1/2 quarters, only to lose late.)

Purdue vs. Oklahoma State

Michigan vs. South Carolina

Georgia vs. Nebraska

Wisconsin vs. Stanford  (Defense wins this game.)

Florida State vs. Northern Illinois  (Congratulations to Northern Illinois for making it to a BCS game, that will be about when the celebration ends.)

Florida vs. Louisville

Oregon vs. Kansas State  (The only other good BCS game match-up.)

Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma

Pittsburgh vs. Mississippi

Kent State vs. Arkansas State

Notre Dame vs. Alabama  (Game has the potential to be one of the greatest in college football history.  Alabama just has a little more offense than the Fighting Irish.)

Keep track of all of the bowl game results here.

Bowl Predictions FINAL Edition (After 12/1)

Here they are, the final edition of the Bowl Predictions.  Tomorrow the final BCS standings will be released, and the bowl picks will be revealed.

Information is certainly going to be pouring in throughout tomorrow on leaked bowl picks, and I will try to keep the table and subsequent changes updated leading up to the selection show.

The complete list, and times of games, is listed here.

UPDATE #1 1:10 p.m.:  Pittsburgh is in to a bowl game.  Appears they are going to be allowed to play in a game, even with one of their 6 wins coming against different division.

UPDATE #2 1:50 p.m.:  Looks like ACC, Big Ten, and SEC bowls are close to being set, at least the bigger games, based on reports.  Remember, it is still VERY UNOFFICIAL.  On the NIU in the BCS front, I just don’t think it will happen

UPDATE #3 2:20 p.m.:  Rutgers has accepted bid to Russell Athletic Bowl (source) and Nebraska returns to the Capital One Bowl (source).

UPDATE #4 3:10 p.m.:  Cincinnati officially going to Belk Bowl and Michigan to the Outback Bowl.

UPDATE #5 3:40 p.m.:  The rest of the Big Ten bowl games appears to be set.

UPDATE #6 4:50 p.m.:  The BCS has busted, as reports are that Florida State and Northern Illinois will play in the Orange Bowl.  That changes everything.

UPDATE #7 5:40 p.m.:  It appears that SEC teams will be next to start announcing where they are going.  Georgia to Capital One, Mississippi State to Gator, and South Carolina to Outback.

UPDATE #8 6:10 p.m.:  No more specific updates, the bowl announcements should be coming quick now, as with the BCS figured out, it’s just about slotting teams at this point.  Will continue to update as information is released.

BOWL:	TEAMS:
Gildan New Mexico Bowl	Nevada	Arizona
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Utah State	Toledo
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl	BYU	San Diego State
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s St. Petersburg Bowl	Central Florida	Ball State
R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl	Louisiana-Lafayette	East Carolina
MAACO Las Vegas Bowl	Boise State	Washington
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl	Southern Methodist	Fresno State
Little Caesars Pizza Bowl	Central Michigan	Western Kentucky
Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman	Bowling Green	San Jose State
Belk Bowl	Duke	Cincinnati
Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl	UCLA	Baylor
AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl	Ohio	Louisiana-Monroe
Russell Athletic Bowl	Virginia Tech	Rutgers
Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl	Texas Tech	Minnesota
Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl	Air Force	Rice
New Era Pinstripe Bowl	Syracuse	West Virginia
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl	Navy	Arizona State
Valero Alamo Bowl	Oregon State	Texas
Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl	TCU	Michigan State
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl	Vanderbilt	North Carolina State
Hyundai Sun Bowl	Georgia Tech	Southern California
AutoZone Liberty Bowl	Tulsa	Iowa State
Chick-fil-A Bowl	Clemson	LSU
TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl	Northwestern	Mississippi State
Heart of Dallas Bowl	Oklahoma State	Purdue
Outback Bowl	Michigan	South Carolina
Capital One Bowl	Georgia	Nebraska
Rose Bowl Game presented by Visio	Wisconsin	Stanford
Discover Orange Bowl	Florida State	Northern Illinois
Allstate Sugar Bowl	Florida	Louisville
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl	Kansas State	Oregon
AT&T Cotton Bowl	Texas A&M	Oklahoma
BBVA Compass Bowl	Mississippi	Pittsburgh
GoDaddy.com Bowl	Kent State	Arkansas State
Discover BCS National Championship	Notre Dame	Alabama
Italics indicate team has already accepted bid.

Week 14 College Football Picks

It is championship week for some conferences, while others are playing the final week of games.  This week’s picks will include all games in the FBS.

The big game to watch will be the MAC Championship.  If Kent State wins, they will more than likely go to a BCS game.  The second biggest game, the SEC Championship, since this is a national semifinal to face Notre Dame for the National Championship.

Last Week:  17-8 (.680)

Overall:  286-73 (.797)

Louisville vs. Rutgers

#21 Northern Illinois vs. #17 Kent State

#16 UCLA vs. #8 Stanford (Stanford’s defense does it two weeks in a row against UCLA.)

UCF vs. Tulsa

#23 Oklahoma State vs. Baylor (Just a warning:  Baylor has played the upset card real well this season.)

#11 Oklahoma vs. TCU (Just a warning:  TCU has played the upset card real well this season.)

Nicholls State vs. #15 Oregon State

Kansas vs. West Virginia

Middle Tennessee vs. Arkansas State

Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Florida Atlantic

Cincinnati vs. Connecticut

#20 Boise State vs. Nevada

#2 Alabama vs. #3 Georgia (QB A.J. Murray just does not show up to play in the big games.)

New Mexico State vs. Texas State

Pittsburgh vs. South Florida

#13 Florida State vs. Georgia Tech (Florida State does not deserve to go to any bowl if they lose this game.)

#18 Texas vs. #6 Kansas State

#12 Nebraska vs. Wisconsin (Nebraska does not deserve to go to any bowl if they lose this game.)

South Alabama vs. Hawaii (Slight home field advantage for Hawaii.)

Week 12 College Football Picks

It’s November for college football, meaning losses now hurt much worse than they did back in September.

However, with the recent BCS rankings, it shows if you’re in a good enough conference, it might not hurt as bad.

With that said, it was a solid week picking, still with single digit losses for the week, continuing the streak of not incorrectly picking more than nine games this season.  You can never complain with that.

Also, after checking out the picks, be sure to find where your favorite team might be playing after the regular season on our 2012-13 College Bowl Projections.

Last Week:  20-7 (.741)

Overall:  245-60 (.803)

#1 Kansas State vs. Baylor

#13 Stanford vs. #2 Oregon (If Oregon makes it to the National Championship game, you can not say that November was easy for them.)

Wake Forest vs. #3 Notre Dame

Western Carolina vs. #4 Alabama

Georgia Southern vs. #5 Georgia

Jacksonville State vs. #6 Florida (The Gators should be able to win this without Jeff Driskel, but then you do have to remember about last week.)

Ole Miss vs. #7 LSU

Sam Houston State vs. #8 Texas A&M (Normally you would say that the Aggies are set for a let-down, but that shouldn’t happen with Sam Houston State.)

Wofford vs. #9 South Carolina

#10 Florida State vs. Maryland

North Carolina State vs. #11 Clemson (If N.C. State were to win, they could at least claim they beat the two best teams in the ACC this year.)

#12 Oklahoma vs. West Virginia

Minnesota vs. #14 Nebraska

California vs. #16 Oregon State

#18 USC vs. #17 UCLA (Winner will likely go to Pac-12 Championship game.)

Utah State vs. #20 Louisiana Tech (Louisiana Tech has to win out to have a shot at going to a BCS bowl.)

Iowa vs. #21 Michigan

#22 Rutgers vs. Cincinnati

#23 Texas Tech vs. #24 Oklahoma State

#25 Washington vs. Colorado

North Carolina vs. Virginia

Virginia Tech vs. Boston College

South Florida vs. Miami (FL)

Duke vs. Georgia Tech (Closest to 100 wins, unless they go over.)

Arkansas vs. Mississippi State (The Bulldogs have to rebound; they were going strong but have really stunk it up the last few weeks.)

Alabama A&M vs. Auburn (The SEC should win this, right?)

Syracuse vs. Missouri (The SEC should win this, right?)

Tennessee vs. Vanderbilt

Samford vs. Kentucky (The SEC should win this, right?)

Final 2011-12 College Football Bowl Predictions

As of December 4th

The official bowl matchups will be released later tonight.  These are best guesses based on a number of factors.

New Mexico Bowl; Albuquerque, New Mexico, December 17th, 2 pm, ESPN

Air Force vs. Missouri

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; Boise, Idaho; December 17th, 5:30 pm, ESPN

Utah State* vs. Toledo

New Orleans Bowl; New Orleans, Louisiana; December 17th, 9 pm, ESPN

Tulsa vs. Louisiana-Lafayette*

Beef O’Brady’s Bowl; St. Petersburg, Florida; December 20th, 8 pm, ESPN

Pittsburgh vs. Florida International*

Poinsettia Bowl; San Diego, California; December 21st, 8 pm, ESPN

San Diego State vs. Louisiana Tech*

Maaco Bowl; Las Vegas, Nevada; December 22nd, 8 pm, ESPN

Boise State vs. Utah

Hawaii Bowl; Honolulu, Hawaii; December 24th, 8 pm, ESPN

Marshall vs. Nevada

Independence Bowl; Shreveport, Louisiana; December 26th, 5 pm, ESPN2

North Carolina vs. Wyoming

Little Caesars Bowl; Detroit, Michigan, December 27th, 4:30 pm, ESPN

Purdue vs. Northern Illinois

Belk Bowl; Charlotte, North Carolina; December 27th, 8 pm, ESPN

Georgia Tech vs. Cincinnati

Military Bowl; Washington D.C.; December 28th, 4:30 pm, ESPN

Wake Forest vs. Temple

Holiday Bowl; San Diego, California; December 28th, 8 pm, ESPN

Texas vs. Washington

Champs Sports Bowl; Orlando, Florida; December 29th, 5:30 pm, ESPN

Florida State vs. Notre Dame

Alamo Bowl; San Antonio, Texas; December 29th, 9 pm, ESPN

Baylor vs. California

Armed Forces; Fort Worth, Texas; December 30th, 12 pm, ESPN

Houston vs. BYU*

Pinstripe Bowl; New York, New York; December 30th, 3:20 pm, ESPN

Rutgers vs. Iowa State

Music City Bowl; Nashville, Tennessee; December 30th, 6:40 pm, ESPN

North Carolina State vs. Vanderbilt

Insight Bowl; Tempe, Arizona; December 30th, 10 pm, ESPN

Oklahoma vs. Iowa

Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl; Houston, Texas; December 31st, 12 pm, ESPN

Texas A&M vs. Ohio State

Sun Bowl; El Paso, Texas; December 31st, 2 pm, CBS

Arizona State vs. Virginia

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl; San Francisco, California; December 31st, 3:30 pm, ESPN

UCLA vs. Illinois

Liberty Bowl; Memphis, Tennessee; December 31st, 3:30 pm, ABC

Southern Miss vs. Mississippi State

Chick-fil-A Bowl; Atlanta, Georgia; December 31st, 7:30 pm, ESPN

Virginia Tech vs. Florida

TicketCity Bowl; Dallas, Texas; January 2nd, 12 pm, ESPNU

Northwestern vs. SMU

Capital One Bowl; Orlando, Florida; January 2nd, 1 pm, ESPN

Michigan State vs. South Carolina

Gator Bowl; Jacksonville, Florida; January 2nd, 1 pm, ESPN2

Auburn vs. Penn State

Outback Bowl; Tampa, Florida; January 2nd, 1 pm, ABC

Nebraska vs. Georgia

Cotton Bowl; Arlington, Texas; January 6th, 8 pm, FOX

Kansas State vs. Arkansas

BBVA Compass Bowl; Birmingham, Alabama; January 7th, 1 pm, ESPN

Louisville vs. Western Kentucky

GoDaddy.com Bowl; Mobile, Alabama; January 8th, 9 pm, ESPN

Arkansas State* vs. Ohio

BCS Games:

Rose Bowl; Pasadena, California; January 2nd, 5 pm, ESPN

Oregon vs. Wisconsin

Fiesta Bowl; Glendale, Arizona; January 2nd, 8:30 pm, ESPN

Oklahoma State vs. Stanford

Sugar Bowl; New Orleans, Louisiana; January 3rd, 8:30 pm, ESPN

Michigan vs. TCU

Orange Bowl; Miami, Florida; January 4th, 8 pm, ESPN

Clemson vs. West Virginia

BCS National Championship Game; New Orleans, Louisiana; January 9th, 8:30 pm, ESPN

LSU vs. Alabama

*Indicates school already accepted bowl

2011-12 Bowl Predictions Week of November 21st

New Mexico Bowl; Albuqurque, New Mexico, December 17th, 2 pm, ESPN

San Diego State vs. Illinois

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; Boise, Idaho; December 17th, 5:30 pm, ESPN

Louisiana Tech vs. Temple

New Orleans Bowl; New Orleans, Louisiana; December 17th, 9 pm, ESPN

Syracuse vs. Louisiana-Lafayette*

Beef O’Brady’s Bowl; St. Petersburg, Florida; December 20th, 8 pm, ESPN

Pittsburgh vs. East Carolina

Poinsettia Bowl; San Diego, California; December 21st, 8 pm, ESPN

Boise State vs. Nevada

Maaco Bowl; Las Vegas, Nevada; December 22nd, 8 pm, ESPN

TCU vs. Washington

Hawaii Bowl; Honolulu, Hawaii; December 24th, 8 pm, ESPN

UTEP vs. Utah State

Independence Bowl; Shreveport, Louisiana; December 26th, 5 pm, ESPN2

North Carolina State vs. Wyoming

Little Caesars Bowl; Detroit, Michigan, December 27th, 4:30 pm, ESPN

Northwestern vs. Northern Illinois

Belk Bowl; Charlotte, North Carolina; December 27th, 8 pm, ESPN

Florida State vs. West Virginia

Military Bowl; Washington D.C.; December 28th, 4:30 pm, ESPN

Air Force vs. Toledo

Holiday Bowl; San Diego, California; December 28th, 8 pm, ESPN

Texas A&M vs. California

Champs Sports Bowl; Orlando, Florida; December 29th, 5:30 pm, ESPN

Clemson vs. Notre Dame

Alamo Bowl; San Antonio, Texas; December 29th, 9 pm, ESPN

Baylor vs. Utah

Armed Forces; Fort Worth, Texas; December 30th, 12 pm, ESPN

SMU vs. BYU*

Pinstripe Bowl; New York, New York; December 30th, 3:20 pm, ESPN

Cincinnati vs. Missouri

Music City Bowl; Nashville, Tennessee; December 30th, 6:40 pm, ESPN

North Carolina vs. Vanderbilt

Insight Bowl; Tempe, Arizona; December 30th, 10 pm, ESPN

Texas vs. Nebraska

Meineke Car Care of Texas Bowl; Houston, Texas; December 31st, 12 pm, ESPN

Iowa State vs. Ohio State

Sun Bowl; El Paso, Texas; December 31st, 2 pm, CBS

Arizona State vs. Virginia

Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl; San Francisco, California; December 31st, 3:30 pm, ESPN

UCLA vs. Wake Forest

Liberty Bowl; Memphis, Tennessee; December 31st, 3:30 pm, ABC

Southern Miss vs. Mississippi State

Chick-fil-A Bowl; Atlanta, Georgia; December 31st, 7:30 pm, ESPN

Georgia Tech vs. Auburn

TicketCity Bowl; Dallas, Texas; January 2nd, 12 pm, ESPNU

Iowa vs. Tulsa

Capital One Bowl; Orlando, Florida; January 2nd, 1 pm, ESPN

Michigan State vs. Arkansas

Gator Bowl; Jacksonville, Florida; January 2nd, 1 pm, ESPN2

Florida vs. Penn State

Outback Bowl; Tampa, Florida; January 2nd, 1 pm, ABC

Michigan vs. Georgia

Cotton Bowl; Arlington, Texas; January 6th, 8 pm, FOX

Oklahoma vs. South Carolina

BBVA Compass Bowl; Birmingham, Alabama; January 7th, 1 pm, ESPN

Louisville vs. Florida International

GoDaddy.com Bowl; Mobile, Alabama; January 8th, 9 pm, ESPN

Arkansas State* vs. Ohio

BCS Games:

Rose Bowl; Pasadena, California; January 2nd, 5 pm, ESPN

Oregon vs. Wisconsin

Fiesta Bowl; Glendale, Arizona; January 2nd, 8:30 pm, ESPN

Oklahoma State vs. Stanford

Sugar Bowl; New Orleans, Louisiana; January 3rd, 8:30 pm, ESPN

Kansas State vs. Houston

Orange Bowl; Miami, Florida; January 4th, 8 pm, ESPN

Virginia Tech vs. Rutgers

BCS National Championship Game; New Orleans, Louisiana; January 9th, 8:30 pm, ESPN

LSU vs. Alabama

*Indicates school already accepted bowl

Rapid Fire Picks for November 19th

College Football:
Last Week: 20-5
Overall: 219-65

#1 LSU over Ole Miss
#3 Alabama over Georgia Southern
#4 Oregon over USC
#5 Oklahoma over #22 Baylor
#6 Arkansas over Mississippi State
#7 Clemson over North Carolina State
#9 Stanford over California
#10 Boise State over San Diego State
#11 Houston over SMU
#12 South Carolina over The Citadel…63-9
#13 Kansas State over #23 Texas
#14 Georgia over Kentucky
#15 Michigan State over Indiana
#18 Michigan over #15 Nebraska
#17 Wisconsin over Illinois
#19 TCU over Colorado State
Ohio State over #21 Penn State
#24 Auburn over Samford
Virginia over #25 Florida State
Florida over Furman
Vanderbilt over Tennessee
Georgia Tech over Duke
Wake Forest over Maryland
South Florida over Miami (FL)
Notre Dame over Boston College
Rutgers over Cincinnati
Missouri over Texas Tech
Wyoming over New Mexico

NFL:
Last Week: 8-7
Overall: 92-51

Browns over Jaguars
Lions over Panthers
Packers over Buccaneers
Dolphins over Bills
Raiders over Vikings
Cowboys over Redskins
Ravens over Bengals
Seahawks over Rams
49ers over Cardinals
Falcons over Titans
Bears over Chargers
Giants over Eagles
Patriots over Chiefs

Rapid Fire Picks for October 29th

There was an issue with the site that these are normally posted on, so they will be here today.

NFL:

Last Week: 7-6
Overall: 69-33

Titans over Colts
Saints over Rams
Dolphins over Giants
Panthers over Vikings
Ravens over Cardinals
Texans over Jaguars
Bills over Redskins
Lions over Broncos
Patriots over Steelers
49ers over Browns
Seahawks over Bengals
Cowboys over Eagles
Chiefs over Chargers

College Football (Rankings based on BCS Standings):

Last Week: 18-7
Overall: 164-43

#3 Oklahoma State over Baylor
#5 Clemson over Georgia Tech
#6 Stanford over USC
#7 Oregon over Washington State
#9 Oklahoma over #8 Kansas State
#10 Arkansas over Vanderbilt
#14 Nebraska over #11 Michigan State
#12 Virginia Tech over Duke
#13 South Carolina over Tennessee…SC 23-16
#15 Wisconsin over Ohio State
#16 Texas A&M over Missouri
#18 Michigan over Purdue
#19 Penn State over Illinois
#20 Texas Tech over Iowa State
#21 Arizona State over Colorado
Florida over #22 Georgia
#23 Auburn over Ole Miss
#24 Texas over Kansas
#25 West Virginia over Rutgers

ACC:

Florida State over North Carolina State
Maryland over Boston College
Wake Forest over North Carolina

SEC:

Kentucky over Mississippi State

Other Games:

Notre Dame over Navy

Fundraiser:
Remember that WUSC’s fall fundraiser runs through November 3rd. To donate, click on “Support” at the top of the page or call the station at (803) 576-WUSC or online at wusc.sc.edu

Show Correction:
During the show, I kept saying that Texas hasn’t lost back-to-back games since August. That was the Texas Rangers, not the Texas Longhorns football team.

Have a Happy Halloween!!

Clemson Takes Spotlight from South Carolina

If you have not seen the Clemson Tigers this season, here is what you have missed.

They’re good.  They’re really good.  They’re great.

They are also fifth in the most recent BCS Standings and have a legitimate shot of going to a BCS game, if not the National Championship.

Wait, wasn’t this supposed to be the script for the South Carolina Gamecocks?  Wasn’t this supposed to be the Gamecocks’ year?

While the Gamecocks had their run at an undefeated season broken up against Auburn, the Tigers are quietly undefeated and have one of the most explosive offenses in the country.

They now have a Heisman Trophy candidate in Tajh Boyd and the most exciting freshman in the country in Sammy Watkins.

This is from a team that many people thought might make it to a bowl game and end up spending the offseason looking for a new coach.

Now, Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney is known as the guy who gets too excited in post-game interviews.

Instead, the Tigers are suddenly two tough games (Georgia Tech and South Carolina) and a potential ACC Championship game berth away from re-kindling the magic from the 1981 season.

They upset both Virginia Tech and Florida State, and pulled out a miraculous comeback against Maryland to get in this position.

For a team that everybody wrote off earlier in the season, they are for real.

They have enjoyed being outside of the spotlight with all that has gone on at South Carolina, whether it was Stephen Garcia being kicked off the football team or Marcus Lattimore’s season-ending knee injury.

The Tigers might be the best team nobody is talking about.

And for Clemson fans and Clemson haters, they are young and aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Author’s Note:  Yes, I know this show and website is from the University of South Carolina.  However, sometimes there are situations where a hated rival has to be given credit where its due.  This column was in no way, shape, or form trying to slight one school or the other, just pointing out a really good team.

When Spurrier Leaves, Who is his Replacement?

With the unexpected resignation of Florida Head Coach Urban Meyer, it reminds you that anything in the coaching business can change unexpectedly.

While South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier is not expected to leave the school anytime soon, it is never too soon to discuss viable candidates that could succeed Spurrier.

There are a couple in-house candidates as well as coaches who currently have other jobs.  We will look at three different candidates for each category.

In-House Candidates (Coaches currently with the school)

Shane Beamer, Special Teams Coordinator, Recruiting Coordinator, Spurs & Strong Safeties Coach – Beamer has a long title, but it is well deserved.

Beamer, the son of Virginia Tech Head Coach Frank Beamer, has made big strides in improving the special teams of the Gamecocks.

He has also raised the bar in recruiting for the Gamecocks.  After many failures with recruits from David Reaves, Beamer has brought in better athletes and athletes with good heads on their shoulders.

Beamer has the background and is a rising star in the coaching ranks.  South Carolina should do whatever is necessary to keep Beamer around for the long haul.

G.A. Mangus, Quarterbacks Coach – The main difference in Gamecocks’ QB Stephen Garcia’s development is Mangus.  When Mangus was hired, he was dubbed as Garcia’s baby-sitter.

There has also been a noticable difference when Mangus calls plays as opposed to Steve Spurrier.  Mangus tries to run the ball much more than Spurrier attempts.

Mangus, a Spurrier disciple, is only in his second season at South Carolina, but his presence has been felt.  He is very similar to Beamer in his reputation in the coaching world.  He is a rising star and will be a candidate for offensive coordinator jobs around the country.

Steve Spurrier Jr., Wide Receivers Coach – The only reason Spurrier Jr. is put in this list is because of his last name.

Much like the Lou and Skip Holtz experience, Spurrier Jr. has lost stock in his coaching capabilities.  While you could say his receiving core is among the best in the country, you have to look at improvements in recruiting.

Spurrier Jr. has also lost tasks within his tenure at South Carolina.  He was once the play-caller, but the idea of him calling plays any time soon won’t happen.

Like I said, the only reason he is a listed candidate, is last names go a long way in figuring out coaching pedigree.  See Derek Dooley, Head Coach for the University of Tennessee.

Outside Candidates

Gary Patterson, Head Coach, TCU – Patterson has guided TCU to multiple undefeated seasons, and multiple BCS games.

His name always comes up when big-time jobs come up every year.  Yet he remains at TCU, who will be in the Big East, a BCS conference soon.

However, when Spurrier leaves, he will be linked to this job.  Patterson was hired by current South Carolina Athletics Director Eric Hyman when Hyman held that position at TCU.

Hyman has made statements in the past that Patterson and him still communicate.  It would be no surprise if he follows Hyman to South Carolina.

Chris Peterson, Head Coach, Boise State – There is no secret about the success Peterson has had at Boise State after he inherited the job from Dan Hawkins, the now-former Colorado Head Coach.

It is worth pointing out that if Peterson balks at talking to Florida about their current head coaching vacancy, one would begin to wonder if Peterson would ever leave Boise State.

Not just for Florida, but for everyone, Peterson is at the top of the coaching wish list.  However, after the failure of Hawkins, you wonder if he is not willing to step-out of his comfort zone.

Brent Venables, Associate Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers Coach, Oklahoma – It is important to mention an up-and-coming coach to the conversation of potential replacements for Steve Spurrier.

Venables has been at Oklahoma Head Coach Bob Stoops’ side now for several years.  He is recognized as one of the top defensive coaches in the country.

Hyman has shown that he has been willing to hire up-and-coming coaches.  This differs from the mindset of former South Carolina Athletics Director Mike McGee, who often hired the “big name” coach.  See Lou Holtz, Former South Carolina Head Coach.

The question would be whether or not you could pry Venables away from Oklahoma.  He is a likely candidate to replace Stoops, whenever that situation arises.

Venables would bring a defensive mind to South Carolina, an aspect that a South Carolina head coach has not had for several years.

There you have it.  While Spurrier is not expected to leave South Carolina anytime soon, it is important to realize that he is not getting any younger.

He has earned the right to coach the Gamecocks as long as he wants, but one day, the need of a new head coach will arise.