Sustaining The Momentum
posted by Scott Hood on Wednesday, June 27, 2007
But another campaign over with an over .500 mark is important for another reason – sustaining the momentum generated from the first two seasons of Steve Spurrier's tenure as head coach.
With one of the best freshman classes coming on board this year, this is no time for the Gamecocks to slack off. Recruits are watching closely. I'm sure they've been told over and over again by opposing coaches that USC can't win consistently over the long-term.
It's time to torpedo that talk.
The inability to sustain any amount of success has, in my opinion, been the ball-and-chain around USC's legs the last several decades. The year-by-year record is rife with examples. One of the best, of course, is the two years following the 1984 "Black Magic" season. The Gamecocks went 5-6 in 1985 and 3-6-2 in 1986.
Later, after the back-to-back Outback Bowl seasons in 2000 and 2001, the Gamecocks took two steps backwards with consecutive subpar seasons in 2002 (5-7) and 2003 (5-7).
As I've said before, there's a huge difference between rebuilding and reloading. USC has been guilty of residing in the former category for too long. It's time for the Gamecocks to move on up. Once they do, winning seasons, bowl trips and highly-ranked recruiting classes will become commonplace.
The evidence points to USC doing just that. Now they need to complete the journey. If they don't, the typical two steps forward and two steps back routine will remain the norm, and USC will likely continue hover around the .500 mark in terms of its all-time record. The school's all-time mark is now a mediocre 515-517-44.
The last time USC had four consecutive winning seasons was 1987-1990 when the Gamecocks went 28-17-1 over that four-year span. That's still a record for the most victories over a four-year period in school history. USC won 27 games from 2000-2003.
Prior to 1987-1990, the last time USC had four straight winning seasons was 1931-1934. USC actually had seven straight winning seasons from 1928-1934 under head coach Billy Laval during the height of the Great Depression.
Steve Spurrier recently raised eyebrows with a comment in Orlando, Fla., where he spoke to the Florida Citrus Sports Committee. Talking with reporters, he said, "I'm not really at a school that needs to worry about the national championship."
I believe Spurrier's message was this: USC hasn't proven it can beat the powerhouse programs in the SEC on a consistent basis. Until we do, we won't talk about the national championship.
Why has USC experienced trouble sustaining success? One major culprit is the constant turnover in coaches. Spurrier is the seventh different head coach for the Gamecocks since 1980. Meanwhile, Clemson has had four coaches over that same period.
Tommy Bowden is entering his ninth season as Clemson head coach. Do you know the last USC head coach to last that long? Pat yourself on the back if you said Paul Dietzel (1966-74).
In today's world, recruits are attracted to programs where the head coach appears likely to stick around. In Bowden's first eight seasons, he's managed to build a solid network of high school coaches around the Palmetto State that has helped the Tigers tremendously in recruiting. Spurrier should be able to do the same thing if he's around that long.
Seven years from now, I'll know USC is making substantial progress as a football program when we're debating how the Gamecocks will fare in Spurrier's 10th season as USC head coach.
For the sake of the future, let's hope it happens.
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With seven victories this season, South Carolina will accomplish something that has only been achieved twice in school history – four consecutive winning seasons.
But another campaign over with an over .500 mark is important for another reason – sustaining the momentum generated from the first two seasons of Steve Spurrier's tenure as head coach.
With one of the best freshman classes coming on board this year, this is no time for the Gamecocks to slack off. Recruits are watching closely. I'm sure they've been told over and over again by opposing coaches that USC can't win consistently over the long-term.
It's time to torpedo that talk.
The inability to sustain any amount of success has, in my opinion, been the ball-and-chain around USC's legs the last several decades. The year-by-year record is rife with examples. One of the best, of course, is the two years following the 1984 "Black Magic" season. The Gamecocks went 5-6 in 1985 and 3-6-2 in 1986.
Later, after the back-to-back Outback Bowl seasons in 2000 and 2001, the Gamecocks took two steps backwards with consecutive subpar seasons in 2002 (5-7) and 2003 (5-7).
As I've said before, there's a huge difference between rebuilding and reloading. USC has been guilty of residing in the former category for too long. It's time for the Gamecocks to move on up. Once they do, winning seasons, bowl trips and highly-ranked recruiting classes will become commonplace.
The evidence points to USC doing just that. Now they need to complete the journey. If they don't, the typical two steps forward and two steps back routine will remain the norm, and USC will likely continue hover around the .500 mark in terms of its all-time record. The school's all-time mark is now a mediocre 515-517-44.
The last time USC had four consecutive winning seasons was 1987-1990 when the Gamecocks went 28-17-1 over that four-year span. That's still a record for the most victories over a four-year period in school history. USC won 27 games from 2000-2003.
Prior to 1987-1990, the last time USC had four straight winning seasons was 1931-1934. USC actually had seven straight winning seasons from 1928-1934 under head coach Billy Laval during the height of the Great Depression.
Steve Spurrier recently raised eyebrows with a comment in Orlando, Fla., where he spoke to the Florida Citrus Sports Committee. Talking with reporters, he said, "I'm not really at a school that needs to worry about the national championship."
I believe Spurrier's message was this: USC hasn't proven it can beat the powerhouse programs in the SEC on a consistent basis. Until we do, we won't talk about the national championship.
Why has USC experienced trouble sustaining success? One major culprit is the constant turnover in coaches. Spurrier is the seventh different head coach for the Gamecocks since 1980. Meanwhile, Clemson has had four coaches over that same period.
Tommy Bowden is entering his ninth season as Clemson head coach. Do you know the last USC head coach to last that long? Pat yourself on the back if you said Paul Dietzel (1966-74).
In today's world, recruits are attracted to programs where the head coach appears likely to stick around. In Bowden's first eight seasons, he's managed to build a solid network of high school coaches around the Palmetto State that has helped the Tigers tremendously in recruiting. Spurrier should be able to do the same thing if he's around that long.
Seven years from now, I'll know USC is making substantial progress as a football program when we're debating how the Gamecocks will fare in Spurrier's 10th season as USC head coach.
For the sake of the future, let's hope it happens.
- Permalink, Discuss, Blog Home
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.