What does Spurrier need to do?

[Cockfan720]

Well, as Gamecock fans, we know that this is a huge year for Spurrier. Another 6-6 season spells TROUBLE for Spurrier's program. So in your opinion, what type of record does Spurrier need to consider 2008 a success?

IMO, the Gamecocks need to go 9-4 with a bowl win (at least). That probably means an appearance at the Peach bowl. Oh yeah, and we must beat Clemson!

[Cjssax]

BEAT CLEMSON!!!! Jesus he's 1-2 against freaking Tammy Bowden! I bet you Jim Grobe has a better winning % against Clemson coaching at little ole Wake!

[volimhtown]

I hope you guys don't mind me butting in here and giving my take!!:thumpsup:
At this time last year, everybody was stating that 2008 was the year to watch for the Cocks. Here it is one year later and for some reason, the Cocks are a forgotten team. That home loss last year to Vandy was an absolutely crushing defeat, but it's not like the Cocks weren't competitive down the stretch.
Personally, I think the Cocks are a VERY dangerous team this season. If they can figure out their QB situation, there's no reason to believe that they won't make some noise.
With regards to the question asked, I think the schedule sets up very nicely as an answer. Aside from the last 2, your tough games are at home and your "gimmes" are on the road. The Cocks should be 6-1 when LSU comes to town... no matter how you slice it. I think the Georgia game is very winnable considering the Dawgs will be virtually untested coming into that one while the Cocks should have a couple of "decent" wins under their belts. Even if the Cocks stumble against Georgia, the rest of the schedule to that point is very managable. If you beat Georgia, that gives you some room to stumble at Kentucky or Ole Miss.
Should you meet your 6-1 goal, then 3-2's the goal down the stretch (with 3 of those games at home) which leaves you with a 9-3 (5-3) final record. Of course a win at Tammy's place would be the frosting on the cake! Of course you'd like to shoot for better, and the Cocks are more than capable, but I think 9 wins is the realistic goal and would be a good indicator that things are well in Columbia. 8-4 (4-4) and anything less should be very disapointing considering the talent and the way the schedule shapes up. JMHO:thumpsup:

[JerryBeeds]

Go back in time 8 years and never leave Florida.

[GatorHunter]

Go back in time 8 years and never leave Florida.

8 years ago, I would've "high-five'd" you!!!:happy:

[GamecockDieHard]

9-3? With an untested QB, no proven RB, questions continuing at OL, and a new DC? I don't know but I think I need a darker shade of garnet glasses to see that happening.

Spurrier will need at least another year, imo. Our lack of NFL draftees hurts us in recruiting more than anything else. McKinley wasn't ready and his Dad is a professional that wants his son to get a degree. Jasper couldn't leave due to his injury. I can't honestly say he would still be here otherwise. Until we get enough depth so that the ones that stay develop into NFL players, we just ain't there yet.

As far as the schedule setting up nicely? LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Clemson, not to mention the trap games and equally competitive conference teams thrown in there, makes it look pretty mean to me.

I'm not sand-bagging. Just look up my optimism from last year at this time. We have a shot at 8-4, but it could easily be 7-5. We've got to beat NC State, first!

[Cockfan720]

9-3? With an untested QB, no proven RB, questions continuing at OL, and a new DC? I don't know but I think I need a darker shade of garnet glasses to see that happening.

Spurrier will need at least another year, imo. Our lack of NFL draftees hurts us in recruiting more than anything else. McKinley wasn't ready and his Dad is a professional that wants his son to get a degree. Jasper couldn't leave due to his injury. I can't honestly say he would still be here otherwise. Until we get enough depth so that the ones that stay develop into NFL players, we just ain't there yet.

As far as the schedule setting up nicely? LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and Clemson, not to mention the trap games and equally competitive conference teams thrown in there, makes it look pretty mean to me.

I'm not sand-bagging. Just look up my optimism from last year at this time. We have a shot at 8-4, but it could easily be 7-5. We've got to beat NC State, first!

While I respect your opinion, I will say this. You say we have no proven RB. Mike Davis did a decent job in 2005 without Cory Boyd. He has had spurts of brilliance in games against Clemson in 2006, Florida in 2005, etc. He didn't see near as much playing time in 2007 due to how things happened down the stretch.

And as for our QB situation, while I will agree that the QB position is somewhat of a question mark, smelley did play pretty well in games against Mississippi State and Kentucky last year.

And IMO, our defense has enough talent this year (with Cook, Brinkley, Norwood, Munnerlyn, Thomas, and some impressive incoming freshmen) to keep us in many games.

Not to mention I think our receiving corp is pretty damn good. We'll have Kenny and DIon. Both of whom I think will have great years. We also have some really good looking TEs in Cook and Saunders. I'm also hoping that one or both of the Browns and maybe Hills steps up this year also.

Sure we'll have question marks, but so does almost every team. Clemson is replacing 4 offensive linemen. LSU is without a proven QB as well.

As for our schedule, I see us beating NC State (I mean, they're lower tier ACC...and I know UNC was too, but we didn't show up in the second half...we'll definately show up for the NC State game). And I see us also taking revenge on a worse Vandy team in Nashville. So, say we lose to UGA (which is not a given either since we did beat basically the same team last year in Athens), I still see us sitting at 6-1 going into the LSU game. I think we have a great chance at winning that one. It's in Columbia and they will most likely be starting a transfer from Harvard as their QB. As for Tennessee, I think that one can go either way as we've shown with the past couple of years. And I think arkansas will be down this year due to losing THREE running backs in the NFL draft and a boat-load of other talented players. After that, of course we have two tough games at Florida and Clemson. I think it would be VERY hard to take down UF in the swamp, but that Clemson game is very winnable, as I thought Clemson was definately the superior team this year, yet needed a last second field goal to beat us this year (having Tammy on their sideline will benefit us).

I guess I am just saying I really don't think 9-3 is out of the question by any stretch of the imagination. I know last year was extremely disappointing on so many levels. But I really think the additions of Ellis Johnson, Ray and Spurrier's move to CEO/offensive coordinator instead of just a 'play-caller' will benefit this squad a whole lot. But we'll have to wait and see in August...GO COCKS!

[GatorHunter]

Not disparaging the GameCocks...not at all...just a realistic question:

If the wheels do come off again...Smelley and/or Garcia don't work out, defense isn't quite there, injuries...whatever...does another 6-6/7-5 season discourage Spurs? The man's got an ego the size of Texas...he's turned the playcalling over to Jr...do you guys think he's trying to set Jr up for a near future HC position? Just wondering. I do hope Spurs is successful....not vs the Gators of course...but I don't want his legacy to be a spoiled attempt at greatness again.

[Cockfan720]

Not disparaging the GameCocks...not at all...just a realistic question:

If the wheels do come off again...Smelley and/or Garcia don't work out, defense isn't quite there, injuries...whatever...does another 6-6/7-5 season discourage Spurs? The man's got an ego the size of Texas...he's turned the playcalling over to Jr...do you guys think he's trying to set Jr up for a near future HC position? Just wondering. I do hope Spurs is successful....not vs the Gators of course...but I don't want his legacy to be a spoiled attempt at greatness again.

If South Carolina goes 6-6 again next season, I do believe Spurrier will be done. He may stay around another year. In a post-practice interview I saw with Spurrier this Spring he said that if after about three more years he still can't get us to Atlanta than "it's time to let someone else take a wack at it." That said, Spurrier has already done so much for this program, compared to where it was. We have never (even in Lou Holtz time) been as competitive with the "big boys" of the conference as we are now.

If/when Spurrier does decide to leave I also think he will do a great deal in helping for our next hire (IMO hopefully a young up and coming guy like Mark Richt and Urban Meyer were).

With all that said, I don't believe USC will go 6-6 again and I still believe that Spurrier can take us to Atlanta (and not just the Peach bowl). I think a lot of people underestimated how much work actually needed to be done to get USC to Atlanta. He's had to change our culture, our facilities, recruit against the big boys without winning a ton, etc. It's been a tough road no doubt. Just to show how far our program has come. Our fan base was extremely disappointed with last season's result. Before the Holtz and Spurrier eras, 6-6 wouldn't have been considered a horrible season as the 0-1-2-3 and 4 win seasons were pretty prominent in our program's history.

[GamecockDieHard]

Mike Davis did a decent job...spurts of brilliance ...He didn't see near as much playing time in 2007...

...Smelley did play pretty well in games against Mississippi State and Kentucky last year.

Not to mention I think our receiving corp is pretty damn good. We'll have Kenny and DIon. Both of whom I think will have great years. We also have some really good looking TEs in Cook and Saunders. I'm also hoping that one or both of the Browns and maybe Hills steps up this year also.

Sure we'll have question marks, but so does almost every team. Clemson is replacing 4 offensive linemen. LSU is without a proven QB as well.

As for our schedule...I still see us sitting at 6-1 going into the LSU game.
But we'll have to wait and see in August...GO COCKS!

"Decent" and "pretty well" are what concerns me.

At anytime, someone may "step up" but that's also more wishful thinking.

Depth eases the pain of the question marks. We have depth on defense and hopefully we'll learn how to slow down the run. But, again, there's that word hope, 'cause it's been a big weakness. And we have some depth at WR and TE, but talent at WR or TE is lost if the OL can't block and/or the QB can't hit 'em.

We were sitting at 6-1 last year too. The orange crush is where men will be men and the rest just go home.

Spurrier will stick it out 2 or 3 more years, imo. He's tried his best at the GCC meetings to explain that we have to improve our recruiting to compete. We're still not getting what we want. The ball has to fall our way, we have to win the close games, we have to convince upperclassmen to stick around for their senior year, we have to demonstrate we can put players into the NFL, and that will take another couple of years. Certainly, anything can happen and we all hope it does, but realistically we will be in the same old same old 3rd (at best) or 4th in the East, in 2008.

I agree that Spurrier has done a tremendous job even though it's not readily apparent. His legacy at USC will be the foundation he provides for the next coach. If we win the SEC East or in Atlanta, he will hand it off, imo. If he leaves and we've still not broken through the middle, it's going to be a tough sell to convince anyone that it can be done. That's going to make it hard to get a rising star like Richt.

I'm going to love watching my Gamecocks regardless. It's exciting to play in the SEC and I think we're better than most teams in the country. People that put us down simply don't realize our level of competition. We'd be in the top tier in most conferences. After last year, I'm trying to be more objective. I'm not giving up, but just trying to have more realistic expectations. If it falls our way as Spurrier has described, sure, we can be 9-3. But....

[Yazzer]

Let us all hope for an improved and successful year. I tend to think however, that many lose perspective as we near kickoff. I am not so naive as to forget about wins and loses, but I think folks are shifting the bulk of responsibility for subpar records from the players to that of a coaching staff. I haven't seen Spurrier throw a single pass, nor make a catch or run for a first down. What I have seen is a man who works diligently to instill confidence and a winning attitude and add a bit of a swagger to an otherwise mediocre program. Funny as it seems, I haven't seen Spurrier arrested numerous times for stupid acts of conduct, I haven't seen Spurrier removed from the team because he is not willing to man-up and do what is expected of him to continue his free ride at a major university, I haven't seen Spurrier riding in the back of fellow coaches car smoking hippie lettuce --- MY POINT is Spurrier is doing his job. Its time for the folks who play and represent the University of South Carolina to step it up, quit "talking" and get it done.

[larryt4111]

I gave a "HIGH FIVE" to a couple of you guys above... yall were dead on... NO BS !!!!!

[Dr. Pepper]

Yeah...we're good. Going to be a great year.

[GatorNation]

I don't think it should be about wins and losses....

What SOS needs to do is stop playing golf and dedicate 100% of his time to recruiting. If he can keep up with the rest of the SEC in recruiting by consistently bringing in top talent, his football mind will do the rest.

I really believe that's the only thing stopping him from getting to where he wants to go with the program.

[geechee]

What SOS needs to do is stop playing golf and dedicate 100% of his time to recruiting.

I guess it is kinda hard to stop playing golf when your perks include guest privileges at Augusta National.:laugh: