If your memory extends no further than last Thursday night, Steve Spurrier's choice to start Chris Smelley at quarterback this Thursday at Vanderbilt is a no-brainer: Smelley replaced twice-intercepted Tommy Beecher with Carolina coasting on a 13-0 lead over lame duck N.C. State in the third quarter and proceeded to complete all five of his passes, two of them for touchdowns, and energize the moribund Cock offense on consecutive touchdowns drives of 60, 69 and 74 yards. Other than the Wolfpack's staggering malaise, Smelley stole the show.

This was not so much the case last October when heavy underdog Vandy came to Columbia with Carolina ranked in the top ten off wins over Georgia, Mississippi State, Kentucky and North Carolina and angling for a stretch run for the division championship. Smelley, starting for Blake Mitchell, threw an interception on USC's first possession of the game, and went downhill from there: after six more three-and-outs and another interception that ended the Cocks' best drive of the day, the Ball Coach yanked Smelley and kept him buried on the bench for the remainder of Carolina's second half descent into irrelevance.

As good as Smelley looked against N.C. State, the Pack, as noted, rolled over and died for him; they literally stopped covering South Carolina's receivers. Vanderbilt, meanwhile, looked at least as impressive throttling supposed equal Miami of Ohio, and picked off Daniel Raudabaugh -- who most people who had ever heard of him would have taken over Smelley before last week -- three times. So Thursday night's revenge game, a home showcase for Vandy's annual "End the Drought" tour, is one fascinating clash compared to the ignorable rout it looked like at this time last week.

If not for an interesting game, you have one more reason to root against Smelley: assuming a woozy Beecher is out of the picture, a couple high throws by Smelley are all that's standing between heroically-coiffed, boys-will-be-boys legend Stephen Garcia, favorite of everyone not affiliated with the Gamecock coaching staff and/or Columbia Police Department, and the Carolina quarterback job. Not that we're rooting against Chris, of course. Only that his failure will be to our ultimate reward in entertainment value.

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Photo of Smelley via Getty Images.