South Carolina WR Kenny McKinley - This guy played all-World tonight. Auburn was determined to stop Sidney Rice at all costs, and the results led to McKinley having the game of his life. McKinley, who is grossly underrated when it comes to his speed and his hands, was open so often that Syvelle Newton began looking for McKinley first instead of Rice. McKinley had a great game against Miss. State, and tonight, he had to catch the attention of NFL scouts, as he torched Auburn's secondary time and time again.

South Carolina QB Syvelle Newton - Newton was worth the price of admission tonight. He was the rock of the team, and his play tonight only symbols better things to come for the Gamecocks. Time after time after time, Newton scrambled out of pressure to turn sure losses into 10 yard gains. Newton's arm wasn't that bad either, as he and Kenny McKinley hooked up all night, as well as Jared Cook and Sidney Rice. In his third game as QB this season, Newton looked like a seasoned veteran, and Steve Spurrier, despite the loss, has to be happy with the remarkable progress of Newton at quarterback, both in skills and in leadership.

That's the list for tonight. Short, wasn't it?

Well, it was hard to come up with some real stars tonight. It was a terrific game, another slugfest that came down to the last minute (by the way, our last THREE games have gone down to the last play of the game!). This was a game where teams stood out much more than players. It took a whole team effort from both Auburn and South Carolina to produce the classic game that we saw tonight.

South Carolina came into this game motivated and energized. The Gamecocks knew this was the biggest game they had this season. They wanted to prove themselves on the national stage, as well as make themselves serious contenders in the SEC East race. Unfortunately, they fell short tonight, but not for trying.

South Carolina was better than Auburn tonight.

Before you appear shocked, let the facts be stated.

The Gamecocks had more total yards than Auburn. They drove the ball better. Their QB, Syvelle Newton, made a lot more big plays than Auburn's Brandon Cox. They even managed to go a whole quarter without touching the ball and still be not only in the game, but with a chance to tie or win it. And, let's not forget a very controversial review in the first quarter that gave a touchdown to Auburn's Kenny Irons.

So why didn't they win? The answer is two-fold

1) Carolina also made a lot more mistakes than Auburn. - The onside kick was bad enough, as the Gamecock players were totally fooled, but when you have the ball in the red zone, you've got to put up points, and South Carolina's had a lot of trouble doing that this season. One of the bigger plays of the game was the double fumble, that took Carolina from inside the red zone to re-starting a drive from their own 40 yard line. This is not how great teams win football games, and though the Gamecocks are young, this is a huge issue that Steve Spurrier must fix.

2) Auburn made more timely plays - When Auburn made big plays, they led to points. When South Carolina seemed to have the momentum shifting to their side, Auburn would come up with a clutch play to quiet the crowd. South Carolina made a lot more plays, but they didn't finish the drives as well as Auburn did. That's the difference between a good team and a great team. Great teams, despite difficulties, or even being outplayed, find a way to win. Auburn managed to find a win against LSU, and they did it again tonight against South Carolina.

So where does this leave Auburn and South Carolina?

Well, it leaves South Carolina in a battle for what will most likely be a mid-level bowl game for SEC standards. Carolina has the talent and the potential to win every game that's left on their schedule, but this team has a lot of holes that they need to fix quickly. As for the East race...Carolina's hanging on by a thread. Only once has a team lost 3 conference games and gone to Atlanta for the SEC Championship (Arkansas, 2002) and chances are that Georgia, Florida, or Tennessee are not all going to lose 3 conference games. The pressure is definitely on the Gamecocks if they want to win the SEC East.

As for Auburn, their national title hopes are hanging by a thread. SEC teams that watched this game tonight realize that Auburn is not only a vunerable team; they are a team that can be beaten. Worse for Auburn, the media will not come away impressed with the Tigers. They know Auburn's a resourceful team that can win games when outmatched statistically, which is the sign of a very good team. However, that also says that good teams like Southern Cal or Ohio State could have a potential field day against them as well. Auburn is still mostly a one-dimensional team, although Cox had a few good passes today for the Tigers. For a team to beat Auburn though, they have to be tough enough in the fourth quarter to match Auburn stride for stride, and not make the mistakes that have cost other teams this season when facing the Tigers. Their SEC title hopes are hinging on next week's game against Arkansas, who also sits undefeated in conference play. If Auburn beats the Razorbacks, the road to Atlanta looks good, save tough games with Georgia and Florida. However, a loss to Arkansas, and the SEC title road runs through Fayetteville and not the Plains.

So that's where tonight has left us, as we wake up about 3 hours from now and head for Baton Rouge! We're thankful to Columbia for providing us with another great experience, and look forward to seeing the ground shake in Tiger Stadium.

So, we leave you tonight from the heart of the Palmetto State...as Mission: SE Football heads for the bayou tomorrow!