In case anyone at Klempson was wondering, THIS is how you kick a field goal:
photo credits: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/photos?gameId=263290228
Ike Crofoot holds the ball for the winning field goal kick by Ryan Succop
For the first time in several years, and the first time probably in nearly 10 years, USC beat Klempson AT Klempson yesterday!! And thank goodness Klempson kicker Jad Dean missed a 39-yeard field goal (after, might I add, the QB was sacked for a loss of about 10), or I would have had to learn a quick lesson in OT. And I'm not sure I'm confident that would have turned out well. Though... who really knows: I've been pleasantly surprised about this season, that's for sure! Let me count the ways...
1. Mississippi State 15-0
It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done, AND we didn't let them score.
2. #12 Georgia 0-18
Let's not count this one - this one sucked.
2. Wofford 27-20
It wasn't pretty, but we got the job done.
3. Florida Atlantic 45-6
We needed this one. A little big, but a good win.
4. #2 Auburn 17-24
Yeah, we lost, but it was dang close. 7 points close... especially for the #2 in the nation.
5. Kentucky 24-17
Yeah, we won, but it was also close. This still counts, but only barely.
6. Vandy 31-13
This definitely counts. After beating Georgia at their Homecoming the week before, this could have been ugly.
7. #8 Tennessee 24-31
Again, we lost, but it was pretty dang close. We beat ourselves, yet we still hung in there. To count or not to count...
7. #12 Arkansas 20-26
Another loss, but look at the point difference. Can you say 1 TD? Since I didn't count Tennessee, I think I'll count this one. Besides, it's within 1 TD of a ranked team. Yeah, that counts.
8. #6 Florida 16-17
This one was the biggest heart-breaker of all. ONE FRIGGIN POINT!! And it came down to a field goal (which would have given us our first victory AT Florida, I think EVER)... lucky for us, Succop (pictured above) didn't miss... unfortunately for us, Florida has this 10-foot-tall man that blocked the kick. Grrrr... but this one still counts. ONE POINT AT FLORIDA!!!
9. Middle Tennessee 52-7
Ok, this was a little big, too, but it was a win that we needed. One - now we're bowl eligible. Two - we've had three close, crappy losses in a row, and this was a good pick-me-up before the big rivalry game.
10. #24 Clemson 31-28
All I can say is - GO COCKS!!
10 Good Reasons... that's more than I'm used to having! With all that, our record is 7-5, and our SEC record is 3-5. Unfortunately, that is only good enough to rank us next to last in our division, just above Vandy. It's hard to be excited about that, but given the details of our season, I'm ok with it. I mean, how can you - an unranked team - compete with 6 ranked teams - half of your schedule - and 5 of those in your conference?!? I just hope we play well in whatever bowl game we go to.
One last time: GO COCKS!!!!
