I know I'm going to get the "you're stupid for feeling good about a 14 pt. loss statement" but here are my thoughts for the game.
1. If you told me before the game that we gave up 21 pts. off of turnovers, then I probably would've shook my head and say 50-10 or somewhere along those lines.
2. Chaney and Wilcox had very good plans today. People get mad at Chaney for that end around play, but he called it to set a lot of things up. He saw the DE's of South Carolina cheating in the whole game, and burned them about 4 times on that end-around play and set up a little more running room in between the tackles for Poole and Neal. Wilcox I felt had a great plan for USC today. He was dialing it up a lot today and then dropped back into zone. He had a great plan for Alshon today, and you kinda feel bad for him when Alshon's only big play was a 7 yard pass that resulted in 3 missed tackles before he ended up in the end zone.
3. Coach Smith is doing a great job with the D-line. Moving Jackson inside and playing Smith more is really helping this team. Big improvement today from them.
4. I love Chris Walker, but he doesn't have much left. I know he is a senior and has been through a lot, but injuries have taken a toll on him and leave him very ineffective.
5. Gooch is probably the worst offensive linemen I've seen put on a UT uniform. I DVR'd the game and continued replaying plays where he just whiffed on blocks, and if you didn't know any better you would think he was fixing the game because that's how bad he looks. Would not surprise me in the least bit if James Stone is our starting center next week when the coaches see the tape.
6. Bray is just better than Simms. People will look at Simms stats at the point he was yanked, but stats in this case do not tell the whole story. There was not one throw on those big plays that any QB couldn't make. What stands out on Bray compared to Simms is that Simms waits for a player to complete the route before throwing while Bray puts it in the spot where the WR will be when completing the route. Bray's throws are 1-2 seconds there before Simms are. Bray has a combination of height, pocket presence, and arm that I haven't seen since Peyton. I'm not calling him the next Peyton Manning, but he IMO is the most talented QB I've seen at UT since when it comes to those attributes mentioned.
7. We have got to find a way to get the ball in Da'Rick's hands. He looks great with the ball and will be a dominant force for us when he learns how to run routes properly.