Surprises

USC vs. Ole Miss

Chris Smelley was one surprise, Stephen Garcia was the other. Smelley going out and "ending tryouts" as Coach Spurrier put it later was a good sign for the Gamecocks. This does not put an end to Garcia's playing time, but at least for the time being it gives some continuity to the quarterback situation. USC fans finally got a quarterback to start, play well consistently throughout the game, and finish with a win on the road in the SEC.

Funny how everything is still in front of South Carolina right now. Vanderbilt still has the bulk of their schedule ahead of them, not to mention Georgia and Florida already have a loss before the "Cocktail Party". There is still a lot to play for.

Clemson/Maryland/Virginia

I was quite surprised to hear how mad some Clemson fans were over Maryland's loss to Virginia. One would think fans take the standings into consideration before they pass judgment on the outcome of a game that their team isn't playing in. Not in this case.

Many Clemson fans felt like it made Clemson look worse because of how bad Virginia is. Not particularly. Each game is mutually exclusive. Is Duke going to win the ACC now because they beat Virginia, who beat Maryland, who beat ACC favorite Clemson? Of course not, for the same reason that Oregon State would not beat Ohio State just because they beat Southern Cal.

Virginia gave Clemson a new beginning last Saturday, but like all opportunities, Clemson has to learn to take advantage of them.