Football Friday

Today we will look at the last win in this rivalry for each school...

Clemson: November 29, 2008. Interim Head Coach Dabo Sweeny and his Clemson Tigers welcomed Coach Steve Spurrier and his USC Gamecocks to Death Valley in a match up of unranked teams. The captains that year for USC were Jasper Brinkley, Kenny McKinley, Eric Norwood, and Justin Sorensen. Clemson needed to win this game to become bowl eligible and many felt like Sweeny needed a win to help him earn the job of head coach. The Tigers went out and played this game like they wanted it more (and perhaps they did). Death Valley was rocking as the Tigers took control of the game and never let go as they went on to win 31-14. The Gamecocks went on to lose to Iowa in the Outback Bowl to end their season at 7-6 (4-4 in the SEC). The Tigers went on to lose to Nebraska in the Gator Bowl to end their season at 7-6 (4-4 in the ACC).

USC: November 28, 2009. In his first season as the head coach, Dabo Sweeny was able to lead Clemson (with big help from the fastest Clemson player ever, CJ Spiller, and the only player fast enough to be a lead blocker for him, Jacoby Ford) to an ACC Atlantic title. The #15 Tigers headed into Columbia high on a 6 game winning streak while the unranked Revolutionary War Heroes were trying to recover from a 3 game losing streak. 80,574 people packed into Williams-Brice stadium (and many more tuned in on ESPN) to see if the USC defense would be able to stop Spiller. The captains for the Revolutionary War Heroes that season were Moe Brown, Patrick DiMarco, Cliff Matthews, and Eric Norwood. The game started with Spiller returning the kickoff for a TD. After that, it seems Clemson thought the game was over. USC didn’t... The Revolutionary War Heroes went on to win the game 34-17. USC went on to end the season unranked with a loss to Connecticut in the Papajohns.com Bowl and a 7-6 record (3-5 SEC). Clemson went on to lose in the ACC Championship game to Georgia Tech but bounce back to beat Kentucky in the Music City Bowl and end the season ranked #24 with a 9-5 record (6-2 ACC).

Baby #3 Name Update: The name Wade was added to the list of names The Wife has said no to.

Winthrop Update: The Eagles play Lander at 7:00pm tomorrow. I will be there cheering on Winthrop (with, I’m guessing, about 100 other people... everyone else will probably be watching football).

The I’m just sayin... Football Predictions

Friday Night
Dorman vs. Irmo – I’m staying on the Dorman bandwagon. I’m picking Dorman to win by 10.

Saturday
#18 USC at Clemson 7:00pm (ESPN2) – Check back tomorrow to see my pick for this game.

Sunday
Pittsburgh at Buffalo 1:00pm (CBS) – I don’t hate Buffalo... but I don’t like them in this game. I’m picking the Steelers to win by 14.

Miami at Oakland 4:05pm (CBS) – I’m not sure if the Dolphins have any QB’s right now... but I’m going to pick them anyway. Miami by 5.

Know Your Medal of Honor Recipients:

Sergeant John P. Beech (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on May 12, 1864 at Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia. His citation reads:

Voluntarily assisted in working the guns of a battery, all the members of which had been killed or wounded.

Sergeant Terrence Begley (US Army) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on June 3, 1864 at Cold Harbor, Virginia. His citation reads:

Shot a Confederate color bearer, rushed forward and seized his colors, and although exposed to heavy fire, regained the lines in safety.

Fireman First Class Frederick Behne (US Navy) received his Medal of Honor for his actions on January 25, 1905 on board the USS Iowa. His citation reads:

On board the U.S.S. Iowa, 25 January 1905. Following the blowing out of the manhole plate of boiler D of that vessel, Behne displayed extraordinary heroism in the resulting action.