South Carolina Football: A Little Perspective

I was just talking to my good friend I go to the games with about this same thing. We have had a tidal wave of consistent improvement in this program since Spurrier has come to Columbia. We are very fortunate to have him. Yes things aren’t perfect but things are good. Plus on your Tater thoughts I agree I believe its a frustrating for them to get so much attention so quickly compared to how we have to chop wood every week. But that’s the price we pay for being in a elite conference. Just remember all keep things in perspective. As they say its Great to be a Gamecock.

…they are absolutely the beneficiaries of a favorable schedule. It’s ironic, really, since many Clemson fans last year accused us of beating up on a bad division when they’re doing the same thing right now. In their (and our) defense, you can’t help your in-conference schedule; you gotta play who they put in front of you. In Clemson’s case, their signature wins (Auburn, Virginia Tech, Florida State) are pretty much all ringing hollow at this point in the season. True, Auburn and VT are gaining back some respect for themselves, but FSU, Clemson’s only true competition in the Atlantic and an alleged top five team, is a dumpster fire right now. Don’t even get me started on noted juggernauts like N.C. State and Wake Forest. In all reality, Clemson should be in the ACCG at least every other year.

That said, our defense will, by far, be the best Clemson sees. FSU’s might have given it a run for our money if they’d had all their players, but that was a depleted unit that took the field against the Tigers. To Clemson’s credit, they have some phenomenal skill players — as they always have — and they are utilizing them much better than they have in the past. But they’re also playing against some terrible d-lines, and any QB can make sensational throws when he has three whole days in the pocket. GT managed to consistently pressure Boyd, and suddenly, he looked like a mortal again.

So yeah, I understand why fellow fans are upset. Ours was supposed to be the dream season; Clemson’s was supposed to be a year of struggle. And while we’re 7-1, it feels like we’ve gone through one hell of a emotional roller coaster. I get it. But I’m with you: Let’s not throw our guys — or coaches — under the bus. We’ve won a lot of games that we would have lost in just about any other season. OK, so we’re winning with ball control and great defense instead of putting up style points with 300+ yards a game in offense. So what? Winning is winning, and I’ll take it every time. Besides, stout defense plus a reliable running game looks pretty damn SEC to me.

Spurrier makes the best of what he has, period. He does not have the talent to chuck it all over the field with the oline we have. However, he has raised the recruiting to a level never seen in Columbia. We will beat the taters, they have not seen team speed on defense like this all year.
I also agree with skandrew-I worry that the old ball coach will pack it in before we reach the top of the mountain. He seems to have the desire and drive, he needs the francise qb and an oline to finish the task. I remember when Bobby Bowden entered his sixties, and if you look at his record during that decade, Free Shoes U was a consistent 10 win and national title contender every year.
People who knock the ball coach really have no clue what they are talking about, period.

In seven years as our offensive co-ordinator I can’t recall a time when I felt confident in the ability of our offense to score points. I can’t recall a time that our offense had an identity, either. It’s no secret that we’ve been winning with Ellis Johnson’s defense these past 3 or so years. We’ve actually been winning in spite of an offense that routinly turns the ball over DEEP in our own territory. And this with two Heisman quality skill players on the side lines.(And I’m not willing to give much credit to Lorenzo Ward and his defensive backs, yet. The real difference between this year and last year is the addition of Jadeveon Clowney, Kelcy Quarels, and an even more mature Devin Taylor and Melvin Ingram. If you’ll notice we rarely rush more than four, which allows us to drop more guys into pass coverage. I’m not sure the defensive backs have gotten better so much as they’ve gotten more help this year. If I were going to commend a position for their improvement, it would be our linebacking corps, which has tackled well and gotten to the ball quickly all season.)

But I digress. Spurrier hasn’t instilled an offense at South Carolina. As a program buidling I think he’s done a marvelous job bridging the gap between Lou Holtz and whoever comes after Spurrier, but as an offensive coordinator he’s been more Zook than Meyer.

Of course Spurrier deserves some of the credit for bringing top tier coaches like Ellis Johnson and Brad Lawing, but he also brought in Tyrone Nix, John Hunt, and David Reeves. Spurrier has done a lot in the way of “program-building.” In that vein, though, I don’t think you just settle on a guy who has done a pretty darn good job when you’re building a program. You look for the guy that can do the best job. Why can’t I expect a competant offense from Steve Spurrier? I guess what I’m wondering is, what could happen if we promoted Ellis Johnson to head coach and found an offensive coordinator who actually had some success over the last seven years? I’m looking forward to taking the next step, not getting rid of Spurrier. It just so happens that one necessitates the other.