3-3 so far

[HI Cock1]

Honestly, heading into this year, did you expect to be 3-3 halfway through the year? That was the lowest I would have guessed if we had a chance for a bowl.

As long as we play defense (and show up for our home games), we have a good chance in each game.

+3.5 in Norman is a bit of a head scratcher, though. Must be their QB issues bringing the line down.

 

[Cackmandu]

We really need this one, time to clean up the mistakes and go get it

 

[18IsTheMan]

A bit more inside the numbers.

Yes, we are 3-3.

We are 1-3 in our last 4, with that lone win coming over 1-6 Akron (whose lone win is over Colgate).

Our other 2 wins are over 3-3 UK and 2-4 ODU.

We've had a couple heart pounding losses, but the bottom line is over the last month, all we've managed to accomplish is beating a horrible Akron team.

So far, the only difference between this year and last year at the same point in the season is that we had an extra cream puff on the schedule this year. We were 2-4 through 6 games last year, so that extra cream puff gets to where we are: 3-3.

 

[Lurker123]

I would say yes, that i expected it.

I said the ODU and akron games would be wins, and the UK and A&M would be toss ups we would split. I suppose we could split hairs about those two games, and how that would have changed the record.

But we beat who we thought we would and lost to who we thought we would. In general.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I would say yes, that i expected it.

I said the ODU and akron games would be wins, and the UK and A&M would be toss ups we would split. I suppose we could split hairs about those two games, and how that would have changed the record.

But we beat who we thought we would and lost to who we thought we would. In general.

Really not too much different than last year, aside from having the extra cream puff game cooked in this year in the first 6 games.

As far as SEC play, we played inspired against UGA, but fizzled out towards the end. We made some stupid mistakes that cost us a game we should have won against Florida. Kind of like the LSU and Bama games this year.

 

[PrestonyteParrot]

As the old fallback goes, ''we are better than our record shows''.
I do think we are a better team this year because our defense can keep us in games although our offense is not as good.

 

[will110]

Really not too much different than last year, aside from having the extra cream puff game cooked in this year in the first 6 games.

As far as SEC play, we played inspired against UGA, but fizzled out towards the end. We made some stupid mistakes that cost us a game we should have won against Florida. Kind of like the LSU and Bama games this year.

Florida was hot garbage last year. Nothing like LSU or Alabama, who are both top ten teams.

UGA last year we played a good first half, then a poor second half. Again, nothing like LSU or Alabama, where we had leads in the 4th quarter of both games and a chance to win or tie on the last play of the game in both games.

 

[will110]

Honestly, heading into this year, did you expect to be 3-3 halfway through the year? That was the lowest I would have guessed if we had a chance for a bowl.

As long as we play defense (and show up for our home games), we have a good chance in each game.

+3.5 in Norman is a bit of a head scratcher, though. Must be their QB issues bringing the line down.

3-3 is what I predicted at this point. I figured we'd lose to UK, upset LSU, then lose all of our October games.

I'm pleased that the team was so competitive with LSU and Alabama but disappointed we couldn't figure out a way to finish either. I'm extremely disappointed in how bad and unprepared we looked against Mississippi, but I'm not surprised we lost.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Florida was hot garbage last year. Nothing like LSU or Alabama, who are both top ten teams.

UGA last year we played a good first half, then a poor second half. Again, nothing like LSU or Alabama, where we had leads in the 4th quarter of both games and a chance to win or tie on the last play of the game in both games.

Functionally the same. Of course the games were not identical; I didn't say that. But all were close games we had, or appeared to have, a shot at winning. Main point is, we're not ahead of where we were last year.

 

[FPVK1]

Clean up the turnovers and penalties and we may have a chance to close strong.

 

[AngloCock]

We are a better team this year. Stupid penalties and stupid turnovers are keeping us down.

 

[will110]

Functionally the same. Of course the games were not identical; I didn't say that. But all were close games we had, or appeared to have, a shot at winning. Main point is, we're not ahead of where we were last year.

I'd disagree.

2023	2024
#21 North Carolina 17-31 L	Old Dominion 23-19 W
Furman 47-21 W	Kentucky 31-6 W
#1 Georgia 14-24 L	#16 LSU 33-36 L
Mississippi State 37-30 W	Akron 50-7 W
#21 Tennessee 20-41 L	#12 Mississippi 3-27 L
Florida 39-41 L	#7 Alabama 25-27 L

These performances are clearly not the same, as the quality of opposition is clearly not the same.

North Carolina finished the season unranked at 8-5.
Furman was FCS, and inferior to anyone we've played yet this year. It was also a close game until right before halftime.
Georgia was Georgia, and that first half was the best performance of the 2023 season. The second half canceled that, unfortunately, as we were not competitive at all in the second half.
Mississippi State was the 3rd worst team in the SEC last year, so playing a close, competitive game with them was a sign for the future.
Tennessee was a solid team that finished ranked 17.
Florida was awful.

Old Dominion and Akron this year are both bad teams. The ODU performance wasn't good, but the team has improved from that (other than Mississippi).
The performances against Kentucky, LSU, and Alabama are all far better than anything the team did in the first 6 games last year.

There's a big difference between having close games with a chance to win against bad teams and close games with a shot to win against playoff-caliber teams.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I'd disagree.

2023	2024
#21 North Carolina 17-31 L	Old Dominion 23-19 W
Furman 47-21 W	Kentucky 31-6 W
#1 Georgia 14-24 L	#16 LSU 33-36 L
Mississippi State 37-30 W	Akron 50-7 W
#21 Tennessee 20-41 L	#12 Mississippi 3-27 L
Florida 39-41 L	#7 Alabama 25-27 L

These performances are clearly not the same, as the quality of opposition is clearly not the same.

North Carolina finished the season unranked at 8-5.
Furman was FCS, and inferior to anyone we've played yet this year. It was also a close game until right before halftime.
Georgia was Georgia, and that first half was the best performance of the 2023 season. The second half canceled that, unfortunately, as we were not competitive at all in the second half.
Mississippi State was the 3rd worst team in the SEC last year, so playing a close, competitive game with them was a sign for the future.
Tennessee was a solid team that finished ranked 17.
Florida was awful.

Old Dominion and Akron this year are both bad teams. The ODU performance wasn't good, but the team has improved from that (other than Mississippi).
The performances against Kentucky, LSU, and Alabama are all far better than anything the team did in the first 6 games last year.

There's a big difference between having close games with a chance to win against bad teams and close games with a shot to win against playoff-caliber teams.

Yeah, yeah, I know, you can always look inside the numbers. We used to have these discussion with the men's team under Frank and other posters would defend him because the team sure played with moxie, even though we were losing. The bottom line, though, is the bottom line. We lost games this year for different reasons than we did last year, but we're still in the same position, 1-3 in conference play.

 

[will110]

Yeah, yeah, I know, you can always look inside the numbers. We used to have these discussion with the men's team under Frank and other posters would defend him because the team sure played with moxie, even though we were losing. The bottom line, though, is the bottom line. We lost games this year for different reasons than we did last year, but we're still in the same position, 1-3 in conference play.

How you play the game matters, especially if you're watching the games. So far 2024 has been (outside of Mississippi) a heck of a lot more enjoyable than 2023.

It also matters for how we might perform down the back stretch.

Obviously if we don't turn these solid performances that still lost into wins against lesser opponents this week and November, how we looked against LSU and Alabama is irrelevant.

But since we don't know how the season will end, looking at how the team played is just as important than the actual results of each game.

Winning a shootout against a bad Mississippi State team last year was fun in the moment, but it portended issues when we played better teams.

Losing a close, hard-fought game on the road against Alabama sucked, but that competitiveness should portend better results against teams like Oklahoma, Missouri, and Vanderbilt.

If we end the season 4-8 or 5-7, I'll be with you on results are all that matter. But since the season isn't over, results aren't all that matter. How we get the results is just as important.

 

[18IsTheMan]

It also matters for how we might perform down the back stretch.

The problem, as I noted after the Bama loss, is this: When have we ever turned positive performances in losing efforts into wins later in the season? Never?

This has been the story of Gamecock football as long as I've been alive. We outperform expectations against a highly ranked team in a losing effort, so we fans think "If we can play like THAT the rest of the season, we can get some wins". I've just never seen us use losses like Bama and LSU as steppingstones.

 

[Piscis]

The problem, as I noted after the Bama loss, is this: When have we ever turned positive performances in losing efforts into wins later in the season? Never?

This has been the story of Gamecock football as long as I've been alive. We outperform expectations against a highly ranked team in a losing effort, so we fans think "If we can play like THAT the rest of the season, we can get some wins". I've just never seen us use losses like Bama and LSU as steppingstones.

I also think a lot of Carolina fans really don't appreciate how much we are overlooked by the top teams we play, especially on the road. We are viewed by the Bamas, LSUs, Tennessees and Georgias about the same as they view Miss State or KY. They really don't get too fired up and focused on preparing to face us as they do each other. I think a lot of our "good losses" come about because the opponent doesn't take us seriously and isn't playing their A game against us.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I also think a lot of Carolina fans really don't appreciate how much we are overlooked by the top teams we play, especially on the road. We are viewed by the Bamas, LSUs, Tennessees and Georgias about the same as they view Miss State or KY. They really don't get too fired up and focused on preparing to face us as they do each other. I think a lot of our "good losses" come about because the opponent doesn't take us seriously and isn't playing their A game against us.

There is probably an element of truth to that.

I concede, we are playing better in some facets of the game, mostly on D. But as I said above, we're still losing and are 1-3 in conference play, the same as last year. The losses haven't looked identical and we've lost for different reasons than last year, but 1-3 is 1-3. However you end up there is irrelevant in my opinion. It's like using 10 fingers to plug 12 leaks in a boat. We might be able to move our fingers to plug up another leak, but that just allows the other leak to start again.

 

[will110]

The problem, as I noted after the Bama loss, is this: When have we ever turned positive performances in losing efforts into wins later in the season? Never?

This has been the story of Gamecock football as long as I've been alive. We outperform expectations against a highly ranked team in a losing effort, so we fans think "If we can play like THAT the rest of the season, we can get some wins". I've just never seen us use losses like Bama and LSU as steppingstones.

Of course, and that may very well end up being the case.

But until it actually happens, and we follow up the LSU/Bama losses with more losses and miss a bowl game, how we looked in those games matters. Pointing out the positives in a loss is reasonable, just like pointing out the negatives in a win is reasonable.

We looked like crap against ODU. If we continued to play like that, we wouldn't have beaten UK or been competitive with LSU or Alabama.
We looked pretty good against LSU and Alabama. If we continue to play like that, we'll have a chance to win every game left on the schedule.

I just see no reason to give up on the season because we're 3-3 and 1-3 in the SEC, especially since we've played pretty well in 2 of those losses against superior competition.

 

[will110]

I also think a lot of Carolina fans really don't appreciate how much we are overlooked by the top teams we play, especially on the road. We are viewed by the Bamas, LSUs, Tennessees and Georgias about the same as they view Miss State or KY. They really don't get too fired up and focused on preparing to face us as they do each other. I think a lot of our "good losses" come about because the opponent doesn't take us seriously and isn't playing their A game against us.

That's one way to denigrate our team. I'm sure Alabama wasn't taking Carolina seriously the week after losing to Vanderbilt.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Of course, and that may very well end up being the case.

But until it actually happens, and we follow up the LSU/Bama losses with more losses and miss a bowl game, how we looked in those games matters. Pointing out the positives in a loss is reasonable, just like pointing out the negatives in a win is reasonable.

We looked like crap against ODU. If we continued to play like that, we wouldn't have beaten UK or been competitive with LSU or Alabama.
We looked pretty good against LSU and Alabama. If we continue to play like that, we'll have a chance to win every game left on the schedule.

I just see no reason to give up on the season because we're 3-3 and 1-3 in the SEC, especially since we've played pretty well in 2 of those losses against superior competition.

I suppose I'm just hopefully pessimistic. Of course, I hope we can turn the LSU and Bama losses into wins down the road. Pessimistically, I'll believe it when I see it.

Just been burned too many times.

Shoot, just last year, after we played overall pretty well at UGA in a game where we were supposed to get obliterated, we were thinking much the same thing.

 

[will110]

There is probably an element of truth to that.

I concede, we are playing better in some facets of the game, mostly on D. But as I said above, we're still losing and are 1-3 in conference play, the same as last year. The losses haven't looked identical and we've lost for different reasons than last year, but 1-3 is 1-3. However you end up there is irrelevant in my opinion. It's like using 10 fingers to plug 12 leaks in a boat. We might be able to move our fingers to plug up another leak, but that just allows the other leak to start again.

I suppose I'm just hopefully pessimistic. Of course, I hope we can turn the LSU and Bama losses into wins down the road. Pessimistically, I'll believe it when I see it.

Just been burned too many times.

Shoot, just last year, after we played overall pretty well at UGA in a game where we were supposed to get obliterated, we were thinking much the same thing.

You're entitled to your opinion of course, but I don't see how this is a reasonable take in the middle of the season. Unless all you do is check box scores and watch highlights, how the team looks on the field while you're watching has to matter. Otherwise what's the point?

I enjoyed watching the Alabama and LSU games, despite the final result and despite the fact both felt like kicks to the gut.

The Kentucky domination was one of the most fun games I've watched in a long time. That kind of defensive performance was something we hadn't seen out of a Carolina team in a decade.

I know I'm repeating myself, but in December, when looking at the season as a whole or looking at a coach's tenure as a whole, the record is the only thing that ultimately matters. In October, when looking at part of the season with half of it left to go, each individual game's performance has to matter just as much as the final result.

 

[18IsTheMan]

You're entitled to your opinion of course, but I don't see how this is a reasonable take in the middle of the season. Unless all you do is check box scores and watch highlights, how the team looks on the field while you're watching has to matter. Otherwise what's the point?

I enjoyed watching the Alabama and LSU games, despite the final result and despite the fact both felt like kicks to the gut.

The Kentucky domination was one of the most fun games I've watched in a long time. That kind of defensive performance was something we hadn't seen out of a Carolina team in a decade.

I know I'm repeating myself, but in December, when looking at the season as a whole or looking at a coach's tenure as a whole, the record is the only thing that ultimately matters. In October, when looking at part of the season with half of it left to go, each individual game's performance has to matter just as much as the final result.

I'm speaking from a few decades of observation. You're looking at this season in a vacuum, which is fine.

We've just been in this exact same position too many times to count and I can't not think about all the previous times where we failed to capitalize.

Nothing would make me happier than to finish this season with 7-8 wins and look back to see how the team and coaching staff turned those losing efforts into something positive in the second half of the season. We've just never done that before.

 

[will110]

I'm speaking from a few decades of observation. You're looking at this season in a vacuum, which is fine.

We've just been in this exact same position too many times to count and I can't not think about all the previous times where we failed to capitalize.

I've seen plenty of disappointing seasons and games as well, but I've only been keeping up with college football since 2006.

I'd just ask what's the point of keeping up with the Gamecocks if you're so sure they're going to continue to lose, especially when there are plenty of positives to find optimism for the rest of the season.

The 2024 Gamecocks are not the 2023 Gamecocks or the 2015 Gamecocks or the 2007 Gamecocks.

Hopefully my posts in this thread age well.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I've seen plenty of disappointing seasons and games as well, but I've only been keeping up with college football since 2006.

I'd just ask what's the point of keeping up with the Gamecocks if you're so sure they're going to continue to lose, especially when there are plenty of positives to find optimism for the rest of the season.

The 2024 Gamecocks are not the 2023 Gamecocks or the 2015 Gamecocks or the 2007 Gamecocks.

Hopefully my posts in this thread age well.

I suppose it's a defense mechanism our fans have developed out of necessity. Just gotten hopes up far too many times to then be dashed in the same way, over and over again.

 

[Tngamecock]

We are six points away from being five and one. We have lost to Ole Miss, Alabama, and LSU. I’d say we’ve made improvement. Name me another team that played that tough of schedule in the first six games. Oklahoma may be the only one. I noticed in the SEC power rankings it shows Kentucky at number 10 four spots ahead of us. Go figure.

 

[18IsTheMan]

We are six points away from being five and one. We have lost to Ole Miss, Alabama, and LSU. I’d say we’ve made improvement. Name me another team that played that tough of schedule in the first six games. Oklahoma may be the only one. I noticed in the SEC power rankings it shows Kentucky at number 10 four spots ahead of us. Go figure.

We're also 4 points away from 3-4.

 

[Piscis]

D is better this year and O is worse. You can probably flip that script next season and we will be in about the same place.

 

[Piscis]

That's one way to denigrate our team. I'm sure Alabama wasn't taking Carolina seriously the week after losing to Vanderbilt.

Not denigrating, stating a fact. I live in Georgia and I can say with certainty that, outside of Augusta and maybe Savannah, UGA fans don't even think about the gamecocks as any sort of rival. Carolina fans routinely rank UGA as #2 behind Clemson when ranking rivals. I know some Bama fans and they also don't think of Carolina as anything more than a "W" on the schedule.

 

[HI Cock1]

If we lay another egg like with did with Ole Miss, it'll be a disappointing season no matter what.

Still wondering why Beamer can't get the kids up for a damn home game! This year he's had two lackluster (at best) performances at home in ODU and Ole Miss and two decent ones in Akron and LSU (one of which still ended in a loss after zzzzzero adjustments at/after halftime).

If we can somehow manage to beat OK this weekend, we absolutely need to show up for TAMU with another week off between.

 

[HI Cock1]

Not denigrating, stating a fact. I live in Georgia and I can say with certainty that, outside of Augusta and maybe Savannah, UGA fans don't even think about the gamecocks as any sort of rival. Carolina fans routinely rank UGA as #2 behind Clemson when ranking rivals. I know some Bama fans and they also don't think of Carolina as anything more than a "W" on the schedule.

A sad truth that most of us find very hard to accept. Other than Clemson, there is no "good" team in the country that considers us a rival.

 

[will110]

Not denigrating, stating a fact. I live in Georgia and I can say with certainty that, outside of Augusta and maybe Savannah, UGA fans don't even think about the gamecocks as any sort of rival. Carolina fans routinely rank UGA as #2 behind Clemson when ranking rivals. I know some Bama fans and they also don't think of Carolina as anything more than a "W" on the schedule.

What fans think of us is completely irrelevant. Whether or not Georgia considers us a rival is irrelevant. If you were a Bama fan, I have no idea why you'd think of Carolina as anything other than a W on the schedule. We have a 4-12 record against them all time.

The actual teams, though, are a completely different story. Making excuses for other teams because they "overlook" Carolina is weird, especially since I doubt you'd give Carolina the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps that's why we lost to The Citadel in 2015 and Appalachian State in 2019. We were overlooking them, ready to get to Clemson and Texas A&M respectively.

 

[Piscis]

What fans think of us is completely irrelevant. Whether or not Georgia considers us a rival is irrelevant. If you were a Bama fan, I have no idea why you'd think of Carolina as anything other than a W on the schedule. We have a 4-12 record against them all time.

The actual teams, though, are a completely different story. Making excuses for other teams because they "overlook" Carolina is weird, especially since I doubt you'd give Carolina the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps that's why we lost to The Citadel in 2015 and Appalachian State in 2019. We were overlooking them, ready to get to Clemson and Texas A&M respectively.

I think you are spot on about the Citadel and App State. I am confident the team and the fans were certain of wins in both of those games.

I know before the 2019 Georgia game Kirby said the team was not ready to play and wasn't taking the game seriously so it isn't only the fans that overlook opponents. I'm not making excuses for anyone but the reality is; in many games, the heavy favorite team doesn't think they need to worry about the underdog and the underdog, who is taking the game much more seriously, gives the favorite all they want and sometimes more.

 

[Atlanta Cock]

Honestly, heading into this year, did you expect to be 3-3 halfway through the year? That was the lowest I would have guessed if we had a chance for a bowl.

As long as we play defense (and show up for our home games), we have a good chance in each game.

+3.5 in Norman is a bit of a head scratcher, though. Must be their QB issues bringing the line down.

I thought we'd be 2-4. I thought we'd win 4 overall. I'm still holding at that number.

 

[HI Cock1]

I thought we'd be 2-4. I thought we'd win 4 overall. I'm still holding at that number.

That seems overly pessimistic given the quality of the defense. It could very well happen but every game should be competitive with either team having a chance to win.

 

[Tngamecock]

We're also 4 points away from 3-4.

We could be 3-4 after Saturday….our D is legit. Offense can be good with consistent execution…we will see if they arise or fall. Keep losing and we’ll see the bailing of players like every school will experience. Sad state of mental toughness or lack of.

 

[Tngamecock]

Not denigrating, stating a fact. I live in Georgia and I can say with certainty that, outside of Augusta and maybe Savannah, UGA fans don't even think about the gamecocks as any sort of rival. Carolina fans routinely rank UGA as #2 behind Clemson when ranking rivals. I know some Bama fans and they also don't think of Carolina as anything more than a "W" on the schedule.

UT thinks KY is a bigger rival than us . I heard Eric Ainge say one morning that their fans should worry more about SC than Ky as a rival. Over past 20 years record was about .500 vs us, and Ky had beaten them only twice.

I know some bama fans that consider Vandy acsure win. Look at our past 3 bama games. They don’t consider us a rival and rightfully so since we never really play each other. We don’t consider fsu a rival either. Not apples to apples

 

[Southern Fried Chicken]

Really not too much different than last year, aside from having the extra cream puff game cooked in this year in the first 6 games.

As far as SEC play, we played inspired against UGA, but fizzled out towards the end. We made some stupid mistakes that cost us a game we should have won against Florida. Kind of like the LSU and Bama games this year.

Kinda gives the word ... "VANDERBILT" an entirely new meaning this year, .... doesn't it?

 

[Southern Fried Chicken]

How you play the game matters, especially if you're watching the games. So far 2024 has been (outside of Mississippi) a heck of a lot more enjoyable than 2023.

If we end the season 4-8 or 5-7, I'll be with you on results are all that matter. But since the season isn't over, results aren't all that matter. How we get the results is just as important.

LOL!!! Last Year, I laughed at the Sunshine Pumpers who whined about ... "let's allow the season to play out".

How in the world did WE allow both BAMA & LSU to escape this year???

Think-about-it ... Will the Vandy Game, this year, define our season??

And now consider this .... doesn't even asking my question

A sad truth that most of us find very hard to accept. Other than Clemson, there is no "good" team in the country that considers us a rival.

In Truth, there is wisdom!

 

[Southern Fried Chicken]

LOL!!! Last Year, I laughed at the Sunshine Pumpers who whined about ... "let's allow the season to play out".

How in the world did WE allow both BAMA & LSU to escape this year???

Think-about-it ... Will the Vandy Game, this year, define our season??

And now consider this .... doesn't even asking my question




In Truth, there is wisdom!