Alabama Fans Say Congratulations to South Carolina: We'll Be Back (We Hope)!

A fantastic gameplan carried out with poise and grit by the Carolina Gamecocks. Congratulations to the USC fan base and players. The coaching staff prepared their team as best they could and the players on the field did what they had to do to secure a victory against the No. 1 team in the country.

It was an historical win for the USC program and a signature win for the Ol' Ball Coach. I must say, at the beginning of the third quarter, I thought Spurrier was going to blow a gasket but he kept his cool. Garcia made a ghastly mistake on the first play of the second half, giving up an easy score for Alabama.

He is lucky the "pass" wasn't considered a lateral (it was thrown backwards, never went out of bounds) and didn't result in a touchdown for the Crimson Tide. After hitting the goalpost crossbar, the ball was picked up by Marcell Dareus. Could it have been ruled a live ball and a touchdown? In all honesty, I don't know and in the end it does not matter.

Regardless, Garcia gathered himself in the next series and led his team downfield for what turned out to be the game winning score.

Spurrier did what he had to do. He put his confidence back in his starting senior quarterback and stayed with him the entire game. Stephen Garcia played his best career game. He best was definitely enough to carry the day.

Though Alabama outgained South Carolina in total offense, the Alabama running back tandem never got on track. The Gamecock defense held them collective to under 70 yards on 17 carries. The stingy defense also sacked McElroy eight times for minus-28 yards.

In the third quarter, Alabama had their chance to tighten up the game but the defense held on a critical third down. The fake field goal by Alabama was a total bust. Alabama never recovered from that offensive failure.

Alshon Jeffery showed why he is considered one of the best receivers in the country. The one handed catch over Dre Kirkpatrick was phenomenal and he maintained the presence of mind to turn the 10 yard pass completion into a 45-yard gain. The ensuing touchdown was the nail in the proverbial coffin.

Once, again, congratulations to the Gamecock. The players foremost, the coaching staff and the fans. We can only hope to meet up again in Atlanta.