3 Games left

[Kdaddy78]

So...another season is winding down and we are coming up with disappointing results. I get it. Do we need to make changes. Yes. Hard changes? Yes?
Honestly, hearing some of the folks on the board this year its like they thought we were making legit noise in the SEC this year. My take is the FL game is the only one that went against what I expected. When we scored to go up 10 I told my son we were where we needed to be. That loss was a kick in the kanoods. However, my question is this:
For those who want a change were you expecting other outcomes?
Were you expecting a big season?
We could win the next 3 and go to a bowl and we're back to square 1. Is Shane's job safe then vs now?
On a scale of 1 to 10 I give this season a 5. I can say that I can't remember a talent like Spencer and XL to be pissed away so much but I am sure there are teams that can make this claim. I just don't follow them.

 

[18IsTheMan]

It all hinged on the UNC game. I, along with several others (namely @KingWard) said several times preseason that the outcome of that game would determine the trajectory of our season. A win could set us up to push for 8 or 9 wins. A loss would set us up for a 4-5 win season. We lost and we are right on track for a 4-5 win season. @KingWard said in the immediate aftermath of the UNC game that our season was stillborn, and he was exactly right. Our season effectively ended on 9/2.

What I personally did not expect this season was complete regression across the board, with the exception of Rattler and XL. That has been the shocking part.

Also, we just have not looked well-prepared. Indeed, the weeks we look the worst, Beamer has said the team had fantastic weeks of practice (along with great energy at the hotel...whatever that means).

Outside of Rattler and XL, it's been a rough year for almost everyone, players and staff included. And we can't just lazily dump all the blame on injuries. The Jacksonville St game proved that.

Beamer isn't on the hot seat, nor should he be. IF he can turn a disastrous season like this one into a 6-win year with a win over Clemson, that would be miraculous. But it should not completely overshadow the immense struggles we've had this year. If we finish with 4 wins, which is most likely at this point, I won't say he's on the hot seat, but it'll be close. Particularly since there was really nothing good about the team. Holtz went 0-11 in his first year, but that team played hard and with a lot of fight. This team just sucks. You can commend the play of Rattler and XL, but aside from that there's nothing positive you can say about this team. They are poorly coached, undisciplined and appear unmotivated much of the time.

There is MUCH to fix this offseason. Upgrade DC. Upgrade OL coach. Upgrade RB coach. Possibly upgrade S&C coach.

 

[Cackmandu]

I feel Mario and Kilgore have played well at times, certainly bright spots from players you weren't counting on, but I just feel the injuries kept us from gaining any momentum and the transfers out put us in a bad spot from the jump. we had several injuries in the UNC game as well. The bottom line is when you're scrambling to plug holes with guys who aren't quite ready you're going to struggle to win games against better opponents. I don't think winning the UNC game changes anything in this season other than another win in the record.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I don't think winning the UNC game changes anything in this season other than another win in the record.

It was expected by many to be an indicator game and that's what it turned out to be.

 

[Lurker123]

It was expected by many to be an indicator game and that's what it turned out to be.

I wrote about it as such too. Not for any deep philosophical reason, just mainly that if we couldn't beat a weak ACC team like that, we would struggle against the rest of our schedule.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I wrote about it as such too. Not for any deep philosophical reason, just mainly that if we couldn't beat a weak ACC team like that, we would struggle against the rest of our schedule.

Spot on.

 

[FootballLVR]

I expected 4 wins with a hope for 6. I never could figure out how some folks were thinking 8-9 wins. Rattler has been impressive as well as Leggette. There are just too many missing pieces on this team still. Defensive coaching has been frustrating as well. Hope for the best.

 

[92Pony]

The excitement over the way last season ended, coupled with Rattler and Wells returning had the hopes of many very high. Then, once our entire OL plus Wells all ended up in the trauma ward for the whole year, well, that greatly impacted things. That doesn't explain our horrendous D - I don't know that anyone saw that coming, but.....



TLDR: Another year/season in the life of a Gamecock fan.

 

[will110]

I predicted 7 wins. I expected a season where we were competitive in the losses and picked up an upset or two. I think that's been the most disappointing part of the season....the fact that we've just been blown out multiple times and turned in multiple crappy performances like UNC, Tennessee, and Missouri. The Florida loss was embarrassing.

I knew the offensive line wouldn't be a strength, but I hoped it wouldn't be the disaster it's turned into.

This team just, unfortunately, isn't good. We've completely wasted Rattler and Legette.

 

[18IsTheMan]

The excitement over the way last season ended, coupled with Rattler and Wells returning had the hopes of many very high. Then, once our entire OL plus Wells all ended up in the trauma ward for the whole year, well, that greatly impacted things. That doesn't explain our horrendous D - I don't know that anyone saw that coming, but.....



TLDR: Another year/season in the life of a Gamecock fan.

The D was pretty bad last year, allowing 30 ppg. This year it's allowing 32 ppg. But it has just felt far worse than that for some reason.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I predicted 7 wins. I expected a season where we were competitive in the losses and picked up an upset or two. I think that's been the most disappointing part of the season....the fact that we've just been blown out multiple times and turned in multiple crappy performances like UNC, Tennessee, and Missouri. The Florida loss was embarrassing.

I knew the offensive line wouldn't be a strength, but I hoped it wouldn't be the disaster it's turned into.

This team just, unfortunately, isn't good. We've completely wasted Rattler and Legette.

That sounds about right.

No matter what anyone says at this point, nobody was expecting a total collapse. Especially being complete no-shows for big games against UNC and Mizzou and then crapping the bed in nearly historic fashion against UF.

We're doggone lucky we won the game against MSU.

 

[will110]

That sounds about right.

No matter what anyone says at this point, nobody was expecting a total collapse. Especially being complete no-shows for big games against UNC and Mizzou and then crapping the bed in nearly historic fashion against UF.

We're doggone lucky we won the game against MSU.

Doggone lucky we beat Jacksonville State too. We could easily be 1-8 right now.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Doggone lucky we beat Jacksonville State too. We could easily be 1-8 right now.

Very true. If not one for one very bad pass by the Jacksonville State QB that game could have gone the other way.

Sad things is, the East was kind of wide open this year outside of UGA. Every other team in the division was beatable (albeit, not by us). We picked a bad year for total regression.

 

[Cackmandu]

It was expected by many to be an indicator game and that's what it turned out to be.

Oh yeah, it was a season barometer game like the UGa. game used to be, but a win wasn't going to change the fact that we were going to struggle to be an above a .500 team!

 

[TeeCock]

I predicted 7 wins. I expected a season where we were competitive in the losses and picked up an upset or two. I think that's been the most disappointing part of the season....the fact that we've just been blown out multiple times and turned in multiple crappy performances like UNC, Tennessee, and Missouri. The Florida loss was embarrassing.

I knew the offensive line wouldn't be a strength, but I hoped it wouldn't be the disaster it's turned into.

This team just, unfortunately, isn't good. We've completely wasted Rattler and Legette.

The OL is the way it is primarily because of multiple injuries. You can't expect a great line when we have a different 5 each week

 

[will110]

The OL is the way it is primarily because of multiple injuries. You can't expect a great line when we have a different 5 each week

I understand all the reasons for why it's bad, but that doesn't really change anything. It's been an abysmal season without much to enjoy unfortunately, which is not what I expected in early September.

 

[gamecocks94]

I'm willing to give Beamer as much as two more years max, provided he makes changes on the defensive staff starting with White. Gray should be shown the door as well. The question then becomes, does he replace him/them with coaches who have the background to fill the job and excite the fanbase. The Loggains hire didn't come close to that, but I would definitely take him over Satterfield given how much better Spencer has played this season. If he makes a questionable hire like Loggains, he needs to man up and accept the hard questions and criticisms like a man and not get so defensive in press conferences. As much as I would like to see Teasley get shown the door, he'll get a pass because of all of the injuries to the OL this year.

I honestly saw next year being more a rebuild since we'll be presumably breaking in a freshman QB, but we could end up with an upper classman with starting experience under his belt. With the portal nowadays, I have no idea what I expect our roster to look like from one year to the next. If we're struggling to reach bowl eligibility in 2025, then I'm going to be really worried because I do not want Ray Tanner in charge of making anymore hires.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I'm willing to give Beamer as much as two more years max, provided he makes changes on the defensive staff starting with White. Gray should be shown the door as well. The question then becomes, does he replace him/them with coaches who have the background to fill the job and excite the fanbase. The Loggains hire didn't come close to that, but I would definitely take him over Satterfield given how much better Spencer has played this season. If he makes a questionable hire like Loggains, he needs to man up and accept the hard questions and criticisms like a man and not get so defensive in press conferences. As much as I would like to see Teasley get shown the door, he'll get a pass because of all of the injuries to the OL this year.

I honestly saw next year being more a rebuild since we'll be presumably breaking in a freshman QB, but we could end up with an upper classman with starting experience under his belt. With the portal nowadays, I have no idea what I expect our roster to look like from one year to the next. If we're struggling to reach bowl eligibility in 2025, then I'm going to be really worried because I do not want Ray Tanner in charge of making anymore hires.

Teasley was an extremely questionable internal hire. If we CAN upgrade there, we should. I know we've had all the injuries, but Beamer needs to approach this offseason as if his job depends on it. Does he want to trust his job security to Teasley?

 

[Captain_Obvious]

I predicted 15-0 and have been extremely disappointed with the results.

 

[gamecocks94]

Teasley was an extremely questionable internal hire. If we CAN upgrade there, we should. I know we've had all the injuries, but Beamer needs to approach this offseason as if his job depends on it. Does he want to trust his job security to Teasley?

He definitely wouldn't have been my first choice given that he learned under Greg Adkins and our OL sucked under him as well.

 

[Uscg1984]

Oh yeah, it was a season barometer game like the UGa. game used to be, but a win wasn't going to change the fact that we were going to struggle to be an above a .500 team!

I disagree. Sure, beating UNC would technically just mean one more win for us. But had we a team good enough team to beat UNC, I think we probably have a team good enough to be competitive in probably all of our games but Georgia. Now that the season has played out somewhat, I'd stand by that. Florida and A&M are certainly no world beaters. If we were 6-3 right now, instead of 3-6, with 3 winnable home games remaining on the schedule, we'd all be thinking very differently about this season.

I think the UNC game turned out to be spot on as a barometer for this team. We looked bad in that game. Not just bad, but gives-up-9-sacks-to-UNC kind of bad. As it turned out, despite our strong hopes otherwise, that game was completely indicative of the kind of team we would have this year.

But hope springs eternal. I'm still holding out hope that we'll go 3-0 down the stretch.

 

[HWGcock]

It all hinged on the UNC game. I, along with several others (namely @KingWard) said several times preseason that the outcome of that game would determine the trajectory of our season. A win could set us up to push for 8 or 9 wins. A loss would set us up for a 4-5 win season. We lost and we are right on track for a 4-5 win season. @KingWard said in the immediate aftermath of the UNC game that our season was stillborn, and he was exactly right. Our season effectively ended on 9/2.

What I personally did not expect this season was complete regression across the board, with the exception of Rattler and XL. That has been the shocking part.

Also, we just have not looked well-prepared. Indeed, the weeks we look the worst, Beamer has said the team had fantastic weeks of practice (along with great energy at the hotel...whatever that means).

Outside of Rattler and XL, it's been a rough year for almost everyone, players and staff included. And we can't just lazily dump all the blame on injuries. The Jacksonville St game proved that.

Beamer isn't on the hot seat, nor should he be. IF he can turn a disastrous season like this one into a 6-win year with a win over Clemson, that would be miraculous. But it should not completely overshadow the immense struggles we've had this year. If we finish with 4 wins, which is most likely at this point, I won't say he's on the hot seat, but it'll be close. Particularly since there was really nothing good about the team. Holtz went 0-11 in his first year, but that team played hard and with a lot of fight. This team just sucks. You can commend the play of Rattler and XL, but aside from that there's nothing positive you can say about this team. They are poorly coached, undisciplined and appear unmotivated much of the time.

There is MUCH to fix this offseason. Upgrade DC. Upgrade OL coach. Upgrade RB coach. Possibly upgrade S&C coach.

UNC and Florida games were critical to win going into the season.

 

[18IsTheMan]

UNC and Florida games were critical to win going into the season.

We didn’t even show up for UNC and pooped the sheets against UF.

 

[Cackmandu]

I disagree. Sure, beating UNC would technically just mean one more win for us. But had we a team good enough team to beat UNC, I think we probably have a team good enough to be competitive in probably all of our games but Georgia. Now that the season has played out somewhat, I'd stand by that. Florida and A&M are certainly no world beaters. If we were 6-3 right now, instead of 3-6, with 3 winnable home games remaining on the schedule, we'd all be thinking very differently about this season.

I think the UNC game turned out to be spot on as a barometer for this team. We looked bad in that game. Not just bad, but gives-up-9-sacks-to-UNC kind of bad. As it turned out, despite our strong hopes otherwise, that game was completely indicative of the kind of team we would have this year.

But hope springs eternal. I'm still holding out hope that we'll go 3-0 down the stretch.

You’re second paragraph sounds like you agree with me!

 

[Blues man]

So...another season is winding down and we are coming up with disappointing results. I get it. Do we need to make changes. Yes. Hard changes? Yes?
Honestly, hearing some of the folks on the board this year its like they thought we were making legit noise in the SEC this year. My take is the FL game is the only one that went against what I expected. When we scored to go up 10 I told my son we were where we needed to be. That loss was a kick in the kanoods. However, my question is this:
For those who want a change were you expecting other outcomes?
Were you expecting a big season?
We could win the next 3 and go to a bowl and we're back to square 1. Is Shane's job safe then vs now?
On a scale of 1 to 10 I give this season a 5. I can say that I can't remember a talent like Spencer and XL to be pissed away so much but I am sure there are teams that can make this claim. I just don't follow them.

I don't see it getting any better for Shane. We have LSU, Bama, Oklahoma and Ole Miss next year. Crazy to think about him going up against those teams with anything close to what we have now. OOC the following year has VT, CCU and the taters so far. Looks to be setting up for another killer schedule. Call me shocked if Shane is here after that.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I don't see it getting any better for Shane. We have LSU, Bama, Oklahoma and Ole Miss next year. Crazy to think about him going up against those teams with anything close to what we have now. OOC the following year has VT, CCU and the taters so far. Looks to be setting up for another killer schedule. Call me shocked if Shane is here after that.

What you're forgetting is that we'll have a redshirt freshman QB who has taken no meaningful snaps starting at QB next year.

 

[Blues man]

What you're forgetting is that we'll have a redshirt freshman QB who has taken no meaningful snaps starting at QB next year.

I wish I could believe if that changed, it would make a difference.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I wish I could believe if that changed, it would make a difference.

Knowing what we're going up against next year, if you were Beamer, with your job very possibly on the line, would you entrust your livelihood to Teasley?

 

[Blues man]

Knowing what we're going up against next year, if you were Beamer, with your job very possibly on the line, would you entrust your livelihood to Teasley?

I'm not sure I would trust anyone on staff. That said, i suspect we will think it successful to finish 6-6 next year. Man I am getting tired of wallowing in mediocrity.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I'm not sure I would trust anyone on staff. That said, i suspect we will think it successful to finish 6-6 next year. Man I am getting tired of wallowing in mediocrity.

We SHOULD have 4 wins in the bank with Akron, Wofford, Vandy and ODU. Where would you see 2 wins from the following: @Clemson, @Bama, @uk, @OU, vsLSU, vsOle Miss, vsMizzou, vsA&M?

I can't see 2 wins there.

 

[Lurker123]

We SHOULD have 4 wins in the bank with Akron, Wofford, Vandy and ODU. Where would you see 2 wins from the following: @Clemson, @Bama, @uk, @OU, vsLSU, vsOle Miss, vsMizzou, vsA&M?

I can't see 2 wins there.

Man, that just made me throw up in my mouth a little.

But with everything else being equal, we SHOULD be within striking distance of UK and Mizzou. Maybe we hope for a meltdown in A&M?

 

[18IsTheMan]

Man, that just made me throw up in my mouth a little.

But with everything else being equal, we SHOULD be within striking distance of UK and Mizzou. Maybe we hope for a meltdown in A&M?

Possibly. Until further notice, though, I don't think we can expect a win against Mizzou. The only thing Drinkwitz has done well as Mizzou's coach is beat us with regularity. They kicked our a**es this year. UK and A&M have likewise had our number. Frankly, we were fortunate to beat both last year. If Levis was playing we most likely would have lost to UK. As piss poor as A&M was last year, they kept it close throughout in WB.

UK and Mizzou are really the only ones I would pencil as possible wins, but that's only based on the antiquated thinking that we should be better at football than either school.

I would put the early prediction at 5-7, hoping we can pick off a win from UK or Mizzou.

 

[Blues man]

We SHOULD have 4 wins in the bank with Akron, Wofford, Vandy and ODU. Where would you see 2 wins from the following: @Clemson, @Bama, @uk, @OU, vsLSU, vsOle Miss, vsMizzou, vsA&M?

I can't see 2 wins there.

I dont either. That's why if we do, it will be looked at as successful. Not by me, but by the powers that be... and maybe half the fanbase if I had to guess.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I dont either. That's why if we do, it will be looked at as successful. Not by me, but by the powers that be... and maybe half the fanbase if I had to guess.

Should we change "wait 'til next year" to "wait 'til the year after next"?

Pretty depressing that next year already feels like a lost cause.

 

[Blues man]

Should we change "wait 'til next year" to "wait 'til the year after next"?

Pretty depressing that next year already feels like a lost cause.

I would wait until the full schedule comes out before any bold predictions.

 

[Blues man]

Pretty depressing that next year already feels like a lost cause.

Yep.

 

[bayrooster]

Oh yeah, it was a season barometer game like the UGa. game used to be, but a win wasn't going to change the fact that we were going to struggle to be an above a .500 team!

The predestination view of Gamecock football: the outcome will always average out to .500, so why fight our destiny? Even by that measure this season sucks.

 

[WontSayMuch]

We have to figure out who the other leaders are on this team. Rattler does an awesome job being supportive of his teammates. Much appreciated, but we need somebody who can take it up a bit to balance this thing out. I think Cam may have been the firestarter at the end of last year. I didn't see where he was all that good of a cover corner, but probably talked so much trash it took opponents off their game. Somebody in the locker room needs to have this team ready to fight; challenge and embarrass players at practice until they get it right. You can apologize after the win.

Just saw the Jackson State game last night. Saw a fumble recovery that reminded me of the old days. I remember we played Clemson one year and on a few occasions we would knock the ball loose and you could clearly see the Clemson players get to it first, but we'd rip it away at the bottom of the pile. All the commentators could talk about was the strength on our team. We need somebody who can give us that bully toughness. I also remember we had a player drop an interception years ago and immediately dropped to the ground to do push ups. He got a flag for it, but... That kind of mentality comes to mind. I don't think it was DJ Swearinger, but wouldn't surprise me.

Can we find it with 3 games left or are we singing the wait til next year song at this point?

 

[bayrooster]

We have to figure out who the other leaders are on this team. Rattler does an awesome job being supportive of his teammates. Much appreciated, but we need somebody who can take it up a bit to balance this thing out. I think Cam may have been the firestarter at the end of last year. I didn't see where he was all that good of a cover corner, but probably talked so much trash it took opponents off their game. Somebody in the locker room needs to have this team ready to fight; challenge and embarrass players at practice until they get it right. You can apologize after the win.

Just saw the Jackson State game last night. Saw a fumble recovery that reminded me of the old days. I remember we played Clemson one year and on a few occasions we would knock the ball loose and you could clearly see the Clemson players get to it first, but we'd rip it away at the bottom of the pile. All the commentators could talk about was the strength on our team. We need somebody who can give us that bully toughness. I also remember we had a player drop an interception years ago and immediately dropped to the ground to do push ups. He got a flag for it, but... That kind of mentality comes to mind. I don't think it was DJ Swearinger, but wouldn't surprise me.

Can we find it with 3 games left or are we singing the wait til next year song at this point?

It was Jacksonville State.

 

[Speedycock]

A defining moment for the Beamer era. The enlightened fan knew coming in that anything greater than 7 wins would be amazing, but that 6-7 was more likely. Anything worse would be disappointing and warrant severe criticism. Jax State, Vandy, and UK have always been must wins. Now more than ever. Rivalry win for bowl eligibility cures a lot. 5 straight wins including the bowl and you’re pre-season top 25. Right back on schedule.

I‘m not sold they can pull it off. Took the staff way too long to give Mario the lions share. Seen other less than ideal coaching. Taking a delay of game on 4th and short because you can’t decide whether or not to go for it, only to have to kick a field goal from further out is real bad. Kick went in, but that’s not indicative of a staff that’s clicking on all cylinders.

Not all on the coaches though. Juice’s injury has been costly. Losing so many offensive lineman from an average at best squad is impossible. Hell, I really thought we had something with our safeties. Maybe it’s injuries there as well, or maybe poor coaching… but we needed more.

I hope they pull it off. I really think Sellars could be a dude. Kid lets it rip on time, moves well, is a load, and has enough arm strength. I’d hate to see recruiting fall off and\or the young talent not pan out around him. Would be the end of the Beamer era.