November 24, 2008
Clemson is Smelley's Game
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David Cloninger
GamecockCentral.com Staff Writer
<SCRIPT language=javascript>document.write("<div id=contentcontainer style='font-size: " + currentsize + "pt;'>");</SCRIPT>Talk about it in
The Insiders Forum
Chris Smelley will apparently get the chance to do what only six other quarterbacks in South Carolina history have done -- win at Clemson's Memorial Stadium.
USC coach
Steve Spurrier announced after Monday's practice that his two-headed quarterback system, which helped beat Arkansas but was non-productive in a loss to Florida, was scrapped and that Smelley, the Gamecocks' redshirt sophomore quarterback, would get the chance to play the entire game on Saturday. USC finishes the regular season playing the always intense rivalry match with Clemson, traveling to Death Valley for a noon kickoff.
"We're going to give the game to Chris Smelley, though," Spurrier said. "We're going to give him an opportunity to go out there and play the entire game. Hopefully, we're hoping he can go the distance. We'll give him every opportunity to do that.
"We're out of the two quarterback thing and Chris knows more about our offense. Hopefully he can take care of the ball well and lead our team to play the best we can."
Smelley and redshirt freshman
Stephen Garcia rotated in and out during the past two games and were up and down, Smelley seeming more comfortable but not performing that well and Garcia never seeming to get into a groove. Garcia missed Monday's practice with an illness, according to Spurrier, which gave Smelley the majority of the snaps.
Spurrier answered with a wry grin when asked if Garcia would be available for Saturday, saying, "Oh, I imagine he'll be out there." Redshirt junior
Tommy Beecher practiced as the Gamecocks' backup on Monday.
"Beecher's No. 2 right now," Spurrier said. "Beecher was out here with Garcia out sick. Beecher's No. 2 and got a bunch of snaps today, looked pretty good."
The Gamecocks (7-4) head into the showdown with a postseason date already clinched -- how prestigious it will be could depend on the outcome of the game, although many think USC is headed to the Outback Bowl or at worst, the Chick-fil-A bowl, no matter what. Clemson (6-5) must win to clinch a bowl bid, which combined with a victory in the rivalry game, would wipe away some of the sour taste left by a season which many marked for greatness.
Smelley could be the spoiler for that wish. He's been fantastic at times -- in a 31-24 at Ole Miss, he threw for 327 yards and three touchdowns, only missing 10 of his attempts -- and woeful at others -- his performance in the very next game against Kentucky was what elevated Garcia to first-time starter against LSU.
Only Jim Rogers, Tommy Suggs, Mike Hold, Steve Taneyhill, Anthony Wright and Blake Mitchell have ever beaten the Tigers at Clemson, Suggs and Taneyhill the only ones to earn a rare 2-0 mark in the Valley. Smelley could travel down that road of never-to-be-forgotten.
That is, if he can avoid the kind of mistakes he's been prone to make -- staying too long in the pocket under a heavy pass-rush, locking onto one receiver, throwing in desperation when an out-of-bounds pass would be the best option.
That last got him into serious trouble at Florida, a blitzed pass disappearing into
Brandon Spikes' arms and turning into a touchdown and another interception setting up another touchdown.
"He hasn't done a whole bunch of that this year," Spurrier pointed out. "Hopefully that was just some bad plays. We had some bad plays. That one's history. We're regrouping and we're thankful we're 7-4."
Spurrier also stressed that the Gamecocks' record is only worse than three of the SEC's 12 teams (Alabama, Florida and Georgia, although LSU and Ole Miss have identical 7-4 records).
"We looked in the SEC standings the other day, there's only three teams that's got better records than 7-4. When you look around the country, there's a lot of parity, you know?," Spurrier said. "So some of our coaching buddies are saying, 'We wish we were 7-4.' So we're not sitting around here moaning and groaning about anything."
With a win over the Tigers, USC would finish with eight wins. Only eight times before has a USC team won eight games in a season, and a win in a bowl game would make 2008 just the third time a USC team has won nine.
"If we can finish strongly, we do have an opportunity for an excellent season," Spurrier finished.
EXTRA POINTS: The Gamecocks remained very healthy, the only yellow jersey in sight on Monday belonging to cornerback
Mike Newton. The lingering bang-ups to
Captain Munnerlyn,
Jared Cook,
Eric Baker,
Carlos Thomas and
Justin Sorensen did not affect any of their abilities to practice on Monday.
A few more representatives to add to the Clemson scout team list, after a report last week yielded some interesting glances -- the Tigers'
C.J. Spiller is being played by
D.L. Moore and
Willy Korn is being played by
Zac Brindise.
OTHER QUARTERBACKS WHO HAVE WON AT CLEMSON
Year Score Quarterback Comp.-Att. Yards INT TD
1964 7-3 Jim Rogers 1-1 45 0 0
1968 7-3 Tommy Suggs 17-36 193 5 0
1970 38-32 Tommy Suggs 19-29 316 3 3
1984 22-21 Mike Hold 6-24 112 0 0
1992 24-13 Steve Taneyhill 19-29 296 1 2
1994 33-7 Steve Taneyhill 14-25 226 1 2
1996 34-31 Anthony Wright 7-25 120 1 0
2006 31-28 Blake Mitchell 16-23 268 3 0
Notes: Dan Reeves started the 1964 game but was injured after going 1-for-4 for 10 yards with no TDs or INTs. Rogers finished the game.
Tommy Beecher completed one pass for 16 yards during the 2006 game but Mitchell played the rest of the game.
