Gamecocks fail to live up to high expectations in 2011
You’re killing me, Clemson.
I was so ready to write a column detailing each and every reason you would dismantle South Carolina on its home field and seize control of this rivalry back to its rightful owner. Now, one disgraceful, uninspired performance in Raleigh, N.C., last week has allowed those same old Clemson-related doubts to creep back into my mind.
So instead of talking up my Tigers after an embarrassing loss, I’m relegated to simply discussing everything wrong with South Carolina’s team.
I can’t say I mind doing that.
It was supposed to be the Gamecocks’ year. Hell, even I was buying into the hype, and I hate South Carolina more than Stephen Garcia hates sobriety at a leadership seminar.
In a year where the SEC East looked like a collection of JV teams and you had one legitimately difficult game (at Arkansas), you were supposed to compete for the national title.
You had it all — an experienced quarterback, two of the best offensive weapons in the nation and a defensive line several NFL teams would envy. The Ol’ Ball Coach was desperate to return to his days of winning SEC Championships, and this was the team that could do it. What happened?
I honestly feel horrible for South Carolina fans who had to watch Garcia throw the ball to the other team for five games. It must have been miserable, and even though you didn’t want to believe it, you knew you were living on borrowed time at 4-0. And it all came undone against Auburn.
I could mention that Clemson beat the same Auburn team by two touchdowns, but that would be beside my point. The point is that you let a mediocre team with zero defensive ability come into your house and beat you while holding your offense to 13 points.
Then came the most pathetic part of your season — and it had nothing to do with losing games. Coach Steve Spurrier finally made the long-overdue call to replace Garcia with Connor Shaw, and Shaw led the Gamecocks to a blowout win over Kentucky. Shortly thereafter, Garcia was dismissed from the team for failing a drug test. Sounds reasonable. The problem was that Spurrier waited to dismiss Garcia until after he saw how Shaw performed against Kentucky, despite knowing about Garcia’s failed drug test prior to the game. Talk about integrity.
You rode Shaw through a three-game stretch against teams that have won a combined three conference games and thought you may have had your swagger back, but you lost your best player in the process. And an offense that was mediocre at best suddenly became an offense that was lost without Marcus Lattimore.
Arkansas did you a favor by ending your hopes of making the SEC Championship Game because, let’s be honest, you didn’t want a repeat of last year, did you? Now you at least get to watch Georgia (the only team that had an easier schedule than you) get destroyed by whichever juggernaut emerges from the West division. That elusive SEC Championship is never going to come, so you might as well keep your yearly expectations within reason to avoid disappointment.
Sure, you’re 9-2 just like Clemson, but does it really feel good? Does it feel better than when you were 8-3 at this point last season? My guess is no. I’ve heard several fans saying it’s time for Spurrier to go. Really? If you beat Clemson, this will be just your second 10-win season ever. And you want to get rid of your coach? Where does this sense of entitlement come from? And I thought Clemson fans had an inflated perception of their program. Twelve years ago, you won zero games. You’re not Florida. You’re not Alabama. You’re not even Tennessee. Get over yourself.
I don’t know who will win this weekend’s game because, quite frankly, I’m not impressed with either team. Playing at home will help South Carolina because Clemson sucks on the road, but don’t underestimate the Tigers’ desire to end the Gamecocks’ winning streak in the rivalry. Regardless of the outcome, you will still be sitting on the couch next Saturday while Clemson plays for a conference championship.