Behind who’s scheduled?
The best coach in our history (Spurrier) took 6 years to get to 9 wins in a less competitive SEC. It is astounding to me that we put higher expectations on Beamer than what Spurrier was able to accomplish.
I also never used almost. I asked when was the last time we had the leads in the 4th quarter against LSU and Alabama with a chance to win. They both count as loses no matter how you look at it. But there is more than just the loss itself that one can glean insight from.
For those that are strictly W/L guys, well it’s tough for you to see progress when it is played out in front of you and nothing anyone says will change that dogmatic mindset.
It’s easier to say that you don’t like Beamer than to drag everyone else through the mud. There are too many games left to be saying how bad we are or that so and so isn’t getting it done.
Right. If we only win two more games and finish with 6 wins, that's going to be a really disappointing end to the season. But we don't know how things are going to play out. We could win 4 of those and finish with a really strong (for Carolina) season.
To act like South Carolina football "should" be at 8 wins at this point in Beamer's tenure just ignores history as well. South Carolina has won 8 or more games in a season 14 (FOURTEEN) times in school history. That's in 116 full seasons of football. Beamer, by the way, has one of those 8 win seasons. For comparison's sake, Clemson has won at least 8 games in 13 consecutive seasons and will hit 14 this year.
A program like South Carolina isn't going to be built into a competent, competitive program overnight. And even if you point to the transfer portal as a way to build quickly, that method remains to be seen if it's a sustainable.
Pointing to improved on-field performances in big games against quality opposition isn't claiming a moral victory. It is, however, acknowledging reality that baby steps are required and points to reasons for optimism for the future.
Or I guess we could just fire Beamer after this year because he's "behind schedule" and start over.