The Pappa Johns Mastercard Experience

One ticket to 2010 Pap Johns Bowl- $40.00
Two night hotel stay at the Perimeter Hilton- $258.00
Under Armour cold gear- $51.00
Under Armour Hooded Sweatshirt- $74.50
Round trip ticket from Austin, TX 298.00

2010 Pappa Johns Bowl Experience- Anything but priceless!

Yes, my master card took a big hit to attend the 2010 Pappa John's Bowl just like the other 30 thousand or so loyal Gamecock fans that made the trip and braved the cold to watch our Gamecocks lay an egg on ESPN against a University best known for its Women's Basketball program.

No offense to UConn head coach Randy Edsall. I like the way his team plays. They play hard nosed, physical football. UConn was clearly the tougher and more disciplined team on the field on Saturday afternoon. But they were not the most talented. Talent does not always win, but rather it is the team that executes, plays hard, and wants it the most.

For the second straight year, Carolina lost to a blue collar team that was tougher, more physical and played with more determination and desire. Perhaps its time that Steve Spurrier start implementing some of those traits and characteristics in his team instead of running country club bowl practices and not using the 15 practices allowed by the NCAA. Last year, Carolina practiced 14 times and this year, with a very young team missing its offensive line coach, the Gamecocks practiced only 12 times.

Why leave three practices off the books with such a young team? The question begs an answer.

Simply put, Spurrier never has been a good bowl coach. At Florida, his talented Gator teams lost several bowl games they should have won. Now at Carolina, Spurrier's bowl record stands at 1-3, with Iowa the only team that was favored to defeat the Gamecocks.

I do think Spurrier took a big step in hiring App. State offensive line coach Shawn Elliott. The Camden native will bring a passion that has been lacking to the offense. This was a bold move by Spurrier to pass on several coaches with NFL and SEC coaching experience. My next blog will take a look inside the Elliott hiring and what we can expect from our next offensive line coach, who hit the road recruiting today.