Gamecocks Connection: Win Anyway?

Hey, I’m Chris Clark with GamecockCentral.com, and welcome to Gamecocks Connection.

This weekly newsletter will consist of a summary of some of the latest happenings in Gamecock Country, reader questions, and one “main idea” that’s on my mind. Plus, there will be some other goodies along the way.

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What’s on the docket today?

A mantra that took off in the midst of USC’s greatest sports run ever is still being applied today, to the 2023 Gamecock football team. Should it be? 

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Get caught up.

Three quick things to know about your Gamecocks from the last few days.

🏈 If you’re into predictions and analytics, you can see how Massey and ESPN metrics predict South Carolina to finish in 2023.

🏈 USC has released a special “BUY week” ticket promotion for the Jacksonville State game. Tickets are $25 a pop for a limited time.

🏀 Lamont Paris picked up another hoops commitment this week. See what the newest Gamecock pledge, Trent Noah, had to say about it here.

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The main idea.

— Win anyway. 

It’s a phrase that was frequently utilized by Ray Tanner and one that was canonized in Columbia after his Gamecocks captured a national title – its second straight – in 2011.

That team was hit by the injury bug. That team faced great competition all year. That team got itself into some tough situations on the diamond. Yet that team still won, and did so at the highest level.

After that, the phrase became a mantra around these parts. It was gleefully applied, the label given to any future Gamecocks team that overcame adversity to score a victory. 

And now, an expectation of sorts was set. A special team that was essentially unprecedented in college athletics set a precedent for some that USC teams should be able to overcome almost anything to win games, if not a title. 

We’ve heard it in Founders Park many times since, as USC’s been unable to recapture the magic that led to those three straight trips to Omaha that resulted in two titles. 

We’ve heard the phrase this season, as Shane Beamer’s program has scuffled to a 2-3 start against arguably the nation’s toughest schedule.

It’s a wonderful idea. It’s also not typical.

USC lost its starting left tackle before the season. It lost its starting right tackle early in game one. Its best wide receiver had surgery in the preseason and has been limited or out the entire year. Multiple other guys have been banged up or missed time during the season.

Beamer inherited a less-than-ideal situation in the midst of COVID when he took the job, and in the midst of its primary competitors rolling on the field and in recruiting. 

And yes, Beamer’s staff has also had some recruiting misses of its own that have had an adverse effect on the results this year. There’s plenty more to unpack as to the “why” here, and we could talk about that for quite some time.

It would be nice to say “win anyway” and have it be the case, but it’s just not that simple. 

Let’s be clear: just because USC’s never won a title in the modern era of college football doesn’t mean it can’t be done in the future, or that the expectations shouldn’t be high. If you classify those as excuses, you’re probably right. USC should compete. 

Still, that does not mean we should ignore injuries, history, NIL in this new era of college athletics, and the competition the Gamecocks face on a weekly basis and oversimplify it by saying “win anyway.” 

The climb this program faces has to be acknowledged. 

Here’s something worth thinking about: the big picture of what needs to get done to give South Carolina football the best opportunity to compete on a weekly basis so that perhaps those margins are not so low.

That means better NIL opportunities in this modern era. It means making sure the staff is the best it can be, Beamer’s responsibility so long as the administration gives him what he needs. It means having the good fortune of staying healthy.

There are excuses, and then there’s the reality that winning is hard. That has to be understood as everyone climbs this hill together. Instead of saying “win anyway”, the conversation should be about what it takes to win.

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SHOP GC!

— If you haven’t heard, we recently launched the GamecockCentral Shop!

We’re going to expand the store in the future, but we have some cool designs to offer right off the bat.

The first is a reboot of the popular “Bluff Road Football Club” shirt, designed by SC native and Gamecock superfan Kev Roche. (You may have seen his work on ESPN’s baseball broadcasts). This shirt is available in charcoal or gray

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