You have to hand it to Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks. During Wednesday's teleconference, Spurrier stressed how young and inexperienced his defense was, but that he hoped they'd represent the team and school well.

Oh, how we all should've known when Spurrier is pulling wool over our eyes.

We should've known that, even when he's stating problems, if he's talking with confidence, it spells doom for an opponent. Tonight, Mississippi State learned the hard way.

Carolina's defense will make some noise in the SEC. Sure, this game wasn't the perfect test for Carolina, given the injury to Michael Henig. However, the Gamecocks had answers for each Bulldog drive. As I overheard one fan say tonight "it's not about State finishing...they gotta learn to START something too!"

Is Carolina good enough to win the SEC East? It's hard to say tonight. They weren't world beaters, but they did get the job done, and as long as Steve Spurrier controls the sidelines, you can't ever count the Gamecocks out.

As for MSU, this team will bounce back. This team won't quit, and neither will Sylvester Croom. Croom is a class act and a rarity in the coaching profession. In a society where people tend not to live by the sword and die by the sword, Croom took the entire blame for the loss, relieving his team of any fault, and re-establishing himself as a strong leader, and one that the State players and fans can trust to right the ship in Starkville.

Will it take time? Absolutely. MSU is still a very rough-edged team. They'll pull an upset here and there, but they still lack the overall talent to win the SEC West. However, as Croom pointed out tonight, this team is much better than in the last two years. The execution is better, the players are faster, and the effort is much, much harder.

Over the past few days, we've experienced all that Mississippi State has to offer. From it's M Club, to it's legendary voice in Jack Cristil, to its cowbell-loving fans (must...have...more...cowbell), MSU delievered a very unique experience that fans are sure to remember if they ever visit the Starkville campus. This is a school and fan base that doesn't expect, or demand, perfection. However, this school has tons of hope, tons of faith, and tons of spirit, and that will eventually carry them to happier times on the football field.

I'd like to thank Jack Cristil, Mike Nemeth and the MSU SID office, and the many ushers who guided us through the game tonight. Special thanks to go Cedric, a security guard who made sure that I got great views of the game and gave me tips during the pre-game warmups (the white jerseys on MSU were a great example).

HUGE thanks to Erin Jones, who is not only CSTV's MSU campus rep, but also the best tour guide any road tripper could ask for. After fighting traffic just to meet up with me, she gave me a fantastic tour of the MSU campus. Any and everything that I could possibly learn about this school, she knew about it, and kept me very informed. She also helped with our video clips, and gave us tips on where to go, and what to see, and that's what I'll have coming later on CSTV.com.

For now, we bid you good night from Starkville, Miss., where on a beautiful August night, South Carolina opened the SEC football season with a 15-0 win over Mississippi State. Good night everyone, and we'll see you on the road!