What's the problem with Connor Shaw?
Maybe it's the last name. Manziel. McCarron. Murray. Mettenberger. The South Carolina senior doesn't fit. He's the fifth-most talked about quarterback in the Southeastern Conference, if that.
Maybe it's the aesthetic value. If Johnny Manziel is Xbox 360 incarnate -- whirling, twirling and pressing the taunt button -- then Shaw is eight-bit Nintendo, using that directional pad to stretch for each yard.
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Shaw's scramble is more amble. He'll loft a perfect deep ball one play and then miss a 10-yard hitch on the next. There are dashes of Billy Kilmer spliced in, but the best and worst of Shaw can collide at any time.
It's not the track record. Shaw is 18-3 as a starter and has the chance to vault South Carolina into national championship contention with a win against very-vulnerable Georgia on Saturday.
Maybe it's the coach. Shaw threw a 65-yard touchdown on the third play from scrimmage against North Carolina last week. He guided the Gamecocks to a field-goal drive and had them on the move on the next possession. Steve Spurrier then subbed in Dylan Thompson, who promptly threw a touchdown pass.
Strange? You bet. Classic Spurrier? Always.
"Connor did all right, I think," Spurrier said. "He didn't throw any picks, he only threw 20 passes, and he kept running and stopping. He'd run in there, stop and get knocked backwards. That's not like him."
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Break it down, and it's two-and-half compliments and two-and-half criticisms. At least Shaw doesn't mind sharing with Thompson.
"My first pass was a touchdown and Dylan's first pass was a touchdown," Shaw said. "It was fun to get both of us in there and get the offense moving."
It's not the locker room dynamics, which are the ideal situation for a bread-and-butter quarterback like Shaw. Everyone is consumed with Jadeveon Clowney 24/7. Did Clowney hit the practice sled hard enough? How is Clowney's conditioning? What did Clowney eat for breakfast?
It seems Spurrier might be the only one with enough time to criticize Shaw. After last Thursday's win against North Carolina, Clowney and Shaw sat in the interview room together. Clowney took the first five questions before Shaw got a chance to talk.
Maybe it's the lack of a marquee moment. Shaw didn't have to do much last year against the Bulldogs. He threw a pair of first-quarter TDs to build a 21-0 lead, and that was the ballgame.
It's not for lack of opportunity in Athens. Let's set the narrative.
The devil went down to Georgia looking for souls to steal -- and lost. Shaw, meanwhile, has a chance to lead South Carolina to a fourth straight win against Georgia for the first time in school history. That gets the inside track on the SEC East championship, which is worth more than a thousand golden fiddles in both states these days.
Given Shaw's Georgia roots -- he's a native of Flowery Branch -- the collective soul of Bulldogs Nation might be damaged beyond repair. Shaw recognizes the moment.
"We have a lot of guys from Georgia so we know the importance of this game," Shaw said. "We had a lot of guys from North Carolina (for the opener), and there's no difference this week."
Maybe it's the refusal to believe that with a win against Georgia, Shaw could be the quarterback on a legitimate national championship contender, just like Manziel, McCarron and Mettenberger. The Gamecocks don't play Alabama, Texas A&M or LSU and draw Florida and Clemson at home, where Shaw has never lost as a starter.
It's not like a national title can't happen. LSU won two BCS championships with a no-name power-run game, home-run hitting receiver and nasty defense full of NFL talent. Matt Mauck and Matt Flynn were the quarterbacks. The Gamecocks have all of those things, and, of course, they have Shaw.
Maybe there's no problem after all.
