A friend of ours wants the South Carolina Gamecocks to serve as his pall bearers.

’That way they can let him down for the last time.

Such gallows humor is not uncommon among long-suffering fans.

Saturday’s performance was no surprise.

Going into LSU’s Death Valley in Baton Rogue, the Gamecocks were pumped.

They had upset #15 Auburn the week before. They even liked the odds – LSU favored to win by 6 points –and a better record than the Tigers.

Starting losses

As you may painfully recall, the Gamecocks lost their 1st 2 games to ranked Florida and Tennessee teams. The only ray of hope was the Gamecocks did not give in and played all 4 quarters.

They had torched Vanderbilt, but so had LSU and just about everybody else.

As defending national champions, LSU looked dismal. They had lost to alsorans Ole Miss and Missouri. With LSU starting quarterback Myles Brennan injured, Coach Ed Orgeron had to choose between a pair of freshman quarterbacks.

Orgeron’s choice

Perhaps Orgeron doesn’t talk or look like ex-LSU coaches Paul Dietzel or Nick Saban, but he’s loaded his team with 5-star talent and beat Clemson last year to win the title.

Orgeron made what turned out to be a brilliant choice in TJ Finley. The freshman played like a pro.

Gamecock fans had a few thrilling moments:

• Leading receiver Shi Smith’s reverse run and running back Kevin Harris’s 45 yard dash for a touchdown on the opening possession.

• Harris, only a sophomore, added a 49-yard burst in the 3rd quarter to set up his 2nd TD of the game. This promises better odds this season and next year.

LSU was clearly a more talented team and their coaches out-coached the Muschump brain trust.

Gambling odds

I’ve always been a risk taker although my wife says she is a bigger gambler.

She married me.

I’ve been working on a betting theory. Win or lose, the Gamecocks this season have been a safe bet.

Tennessee was favored by 4 points and did it 31-27.

That was a wash.

Florida was favored by 17.5 but won by only 14, 38-24. A bet on the Gamecocks would have paid off.

South Carolina was favored by 13.5 but beat Vanderbilt 41-7. Auburn was favored by 3 and lost by 8, 30-22. Bingo.

Looking at LSU’s losing record of 1-2, I figured a 5.5 spread against the Gamecocks was a safe bet. Of course, I was wrong.

LSU looked like a No. 1 team Saturday night.

I should be happy my wife gambled by marrying me.

Got a Gamecock story? Please write me at ChronicleSports@yahoo.com.