S Carolina Gamecocks

[distortedlogic]

Ok, so I am probably making this thread because I need to vent or whatever,  but I know there are other frustrated GC fans around here too so...

I have been a GC fan for over 30 years and sat through the entire decade of the 90s, attended games during the 1-21 years, seen them lose games by 50+, etc, but rarely have I been as frustrated as I am right now. While the current staff has not recruited at the same level as the big boys, they have consistently recruited top 25/20 classes and have more than enough talent to beat Virginia, UNC, and Kentucky.  This football team looked COMPLETELY uncoached, unprepared, uninspired, and unmotivated. They just got it handed to them by a 2 win team (from last year) with a team having less overall talent, and a coach who is as old as Methuselah and has been out of the game for years.  The offense has lots of talent but looked AWFUL.  Jake couldn't hit the ocean, the receivers couldn't catch a ball glued to their gloves, the offensive line was simply embarrasing, the defense (which is supposed to be Muschamps expertise)  continues to be among the worst disciplined and tackling teams in the country. I am not a "fire the coach" after every loss kind of guy, but there are some serious problems with the mentality and culture of that football program.  Muschamp has not beaten a SINGLE team that he was an underdog too, lost to many that he was favored to win, and has performed simpy awful against the the top tier teams he's faced.  There is never any continuity, never any in-game adjustments,  never an offensive identity, never any fundamentals on defense, never any fire from Muschamp and the coaches, never any leadership from the players, and the same issues repeat over and over and over.  Muschamp certainly had a rebuild venture ahead of him, but lack of talent is no longer a valid excuse, at least against the middle tier teams they play. There are many coaches who do WAY more with less than Muschamp and his staff(s) have done.  Earlier in the decade, when SC had their run and was a top 5 top 10 type team, the folks at Clemson got together and decided they were not going to let SC pass them in football. They got rid of Bowden, hired top of the line assistants, and did whatever they had to to change the culture. Will Ray Tanner and the powers that be at SC do the same? I have little confidence they will, SC has always settled for mediocrity and it seems that may never change. While Muschamp and his staff can recruit pretty well, they apparently can't coach AT ALL. The entire culture is off down there.  Forget Clemson, forget UGA, forget Florida, we don't even have a program that can beat Kentucky and UNC.  Something needs to change. I understand every program in the country is gunning for the top and we have no tradition, but there is no reason a 30,000 student instituion in the southeastern US, with as many resources as USC has, cannot be at least be a 8-9 win team, occasionally competing for it's division, and at least being competitive in most of it's games against top teir competition.  To be a Gamecock fan is truly an exhausting endeaver.

[distortedlogic]

No Gamecocks have any thoughts? 

Been streaming 107.5 today since there's no USC sportstalk in the upstate. The hosts there aren't holding back, and are just as frustrated and upset as the fans. It really is hard to figure. Lack of talent really isn't an excuse and we have an expereinced senior/junior heavy team with a lot of playmakers.  It seems apparent there are some significant culture issues down there; hearing players are liking negative fan tweets about certain players and such. I have tried to be a Muschamp fan but it doesn't look like he has much of a handle on the program. He has made no homerun hires for his staff since he's been there, seems to have no ability to make adjustments and teach fundamentals, and his words and actions after loses don't indicate that he has any idea how to fix the issues. He also hasn't shown any willingness to make any hard decisions, other than letting Roper go. We are definitely in a critical spot. This team has enough talent to have a decent season and win all but 3 games on the schedule; unfortunatley they have the ability to lose just about all of them if they play like they did last Sat.  Again, I know every team in the country wants to win, but there's no reason this has to be the norm at SC. The school has the resources and location to be better and the fans deserve more than these type of performances over and over again.  

Edited September 2, 2019 by distortedlogic

[distortedlogic]

Sums up the feeling of gamecock nation.

https://southcarolina.rivals.com/news/scott-davis-are-you-not-entertained-

[Spartan]

This is a forum about urban development and planning, so this thread is highly off topic. We used to have a thread for all SC sports for this purpose. 

 

I am 100% behind Muschamp. Since your post we have beaten Georgia, and lost to the refs/Florida. I think this team has made tremendous strides over the past few years, and we're close to being a regular contender for the SEC again. The improvement is not linear, so its tough to see. But you can see it in how they play. They don't quit when they're down. It's a good culture and the wins will come. Don't forget that people (crazy fans)  were talking about firing Dabo at one point. 

[distortedlogic]

Hey Spartan, yeah wasn't really sure if there was a place to discuss state sports or not. Whatever you need to do with it is fine.

I agree there have been some impressive changes since the UNC game. Really for the first time since 2017 it seems (to me) some players are showing on field leadership and this is best the defense has looked since 2017 as well. Maybe the pressure following the Mizz game really helped them to focus and I was impressed at how they played against Kentucky (and since). Was at the Florida game and man we were so close!