Grading Garcia's First Start vs. LSU

Saturday night marked the game all Gamecock fans have been waiting for, Stephen Garcia's first collegiate start. Unfortunately, it was against the 13t-ranked LSU Tigers and ended with another tough loss for Spurrier's men.

It was another frustrating loss for Steve Spurrier's Gamecocks. South Carolina is 2-9at home against top 25 teams in the coach's four years in Columbia.

The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Gamecocks, who have lost at least three SEC games in each of Spurrier's seasons. Only once in his 12 years in Florida did his teams lose three league games.

At 5-3, Arkansas and Tennessee are must wins for a decent bowl bid. Hopefully, Carlos Thomas and Captain Munnerlyn's injuries are minor.

Grading Garcia

Grade: B. While Garcia didn't win the game, he certainly didn't lose it either. Played a little better than I thought he would against one of the SEC's top defenses.

Pros: Ran well out of the pocket and had a pair of 20+ yard runs. One of the most crucial plays of the game was his throw to McKinley in the fourth quarter, a pass that was dropped in LSU territory on 3rd-and-13. The freshman QB made a few nice crossing route throws to Jared Cook and Wesley Saunders, the latter coming on a second quarter touchdown.

Cons: Forget the fumble and the interception. Garcia must learn how to throw the ball away and not take a sack. Alot of that falls on the offensive line, but Garcia has to call timeout when he sees the blitz, rather than lose 7-10 yards behind the line.

After losing sleep again after a close Gamecock loss, I've told myself it's just a football game. Let's go out and beat the Vols in two weeks in Columbia.