The Bottom Line Is Everything
posted by Scott Hood, Monday, October 15, 2007
I agree with those of you who say it wasn’t very pretty, at least offensively. Heck, USC only accumulated 62 yards of total offense in the final two periods.
In fact, the offense struggled so much in the second half Steve Spurrier decided to abandon the passing game altogether and stuck with the run trying to run out the clock.
Yes, it was ugly.
Fortunately, the defense, minus two key members of the secondary (Carlos Thomas and Stoney Woodson) played well enough to win, knocking down a pair of throws towards the end zone to cement the win.
An ugly win beats a pretty loss any day. If you believe otherwise, you’ve never been a coach or played the game.
They say you don’t want to know how sausage is made. If you did, you wouldn’t eat it.
College football is no different.
The process doesn’t matter. All that counts is wins and losses.
In the cut-throat world of college football, the bottom line is everything.
When it comes to polls and rankings and all that stuff, the voters, whether they’re the media (AP), coaches (USA Today Coaches) or a commingled group of football experts (Harris Interactive) ask just one question – did you win or did you lose?
The teams that win jump up in the polls. The losers fall.
Right now, one of those teams doing a lot of winning is USC. Is any true Gamecock fan unhappy with a 6-1 record and the No. 6 spot in the BCA standings?
If the win over UNC was as unimpressive as some USC fans claim, why did the Gamecocks leapfrog four spots in the Coaches poll? Because all that counts is winning.
Based on the reactions of some USC fans to Saturday’s events, I fear some have been so traumatized by years of mediocrity that weekly criticism of the football coaches and players is a Pavlov Dog’s response to any contest the Gamecocks play, win or lose.
With parity enveloping college football, and major upsets now a fixture every Saturday, the long 12-game season is becoming more and more like the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Survive and advance. Move on to the next opponent. Every game is a bare-knuckle adventure.
That’s what makes college football what it is.
Steve Spurrier understands the reality that exists today. He knew a 2-4 UNC team playing at home was dangerous. Just ask Michigan (loss to Appalachian State) and Southern Cal (loss to Stanford despite being a 40-point favorite) about that.
That’s why Spurrier was mostly pleased during his post-game press conference. He wore a broad smile on his face as the media peppered him with questions.
He said “we won” about a half dozen times in his 10 minutes in front of the media.
Why? Because that’s the bottom line in a bottom-line business. Coaches are judged on wins and losses, and little else.
A team that ‘survives’ enough times in a row will soon find itself near the top of the weekly polls. South Carolina is the perfect example.
Has USC played 60 minutes of perfect football in any game this season? No, far from it.
Remember, they trailed Mississippi State, 21-17, late in the third quarter and needed a huge play from Eric Norwood on a blocked punt to change momentum.
Without that play, who knows what would have happened. The Gamecocks may have lost. But it did happen, and USC won.
They also struggled to beat Louisiana-Lafayette. They committed six turnovers against S.C. State, four in one quarter.
But USC won every one of those games. In the new world of college football, that’s all you have to do.
I’ll say it again - the process doesn’t matter.
In my opinion, the primary reason some people are upset with USC’s performance in the second half against UNC is because the Gamecocks failed to cover the point spread.
I’m not naïve enough to believe gambling is not an important part of college football.
I believe USC went into the game as a seven-point favorite, and won by six points. The Gamecocks would have covered the spread had a 48-yard field goal by Ryan Succop wandered about six inches farther to the left rather than ricocheting off the upright.
Betting lines aside, I have just one piece of advice for those USC fans who need it the most.
Don’t worry, be happy.
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I sense some South Carolina fans are concerned about the second-half performance of the Gamecocks in Saturday’s 21-15 victory over North Carolina.
I agree with those of you who say it wasn’t very pretty, at least offensively. Heck, USC only accumulated 62 yards of total offense in the final two periods.
In fact, the offense struggled so much in the second half Steve Spurrier decided to abandon the passing game altogether and stuck with the run trying to run out the clock.
Yes, it was ugly.
Fortunately, the defense, minus two key members of the secondary (Carlos Thomas and Stoney Woodson) played well enough to win, knocking down a pair of throws towards the end zone to cement the win.
An ugly win beats a pretty loss any day. If you believe otherwise, you’ve never been a coach or played the game.
They say you don’t want to know how sausage is made. If you did, you wouldn’t eat it.
College football is no different.
The process doesn’t matter. All that counts is wins and losses.
In the cut-throat world of college football, the bottom line is everything.
When it comes to polls and rankings and all that stuff, the voters, whether they’re the media (AP), coaches (USA Today Coaches) or a commingled group of football experts (Harris Interactive) ask just one question – did you win or did you lose?
The teams that win jump up in the polls. The losers fall.
Right now, one of those teams doing a lot of winning is USC. Is any true Gamecock fan unhappy with a 6-1 record and the No. 6 spot in the BCA standings?
If the win over UNC was as unimpressive as some USC fans claim, why did the Gamecocks leapfrog four spots in the Coaches poll? Because all that counts is winning.
Based on the reactions of some USC fans to Saturday’s events, I fear some have been so traumatized by years of mediocrity that weekly criticism of the football coaches and players is a Pavlov Dog’s response to any contest the Gamecocks play, win or lose.
With parity enveloping college football, and major upsets now a fixture every Saturday, the long 12-game season is becoming more and more like the NCAA Basketball Tournament.
Survive and advance. Move on to the next opponent. Every game is a bare-knuckle adventure.
That’s what makes college football what it is.
Steve Spurrier understands the reality that exists today. He knew a 2-4 UNC team playing at home was dangerous. Just ask Michigan (loss to Appalachian State) and Southern Cal (loss to Stanford despite being a 40-point favorite) about that.
That’s why Spurrier was mostly pleased during his post-game press conference. He wore a broad smile on his face as the media peppered him with questions.
He said “we won” about a half dozen times in his 10 minutes in front of the media.
Why? Because that’s the bottom line in a bottom-line business. Coaches are judged on wins and losses, and little else.
A team that ‘survives’ enough times in a row will soon find itself near the top of the weekly polls. South Carolina is the perfect example.
Has USC played 60 minutes of perfect football in any game this season? No, far from it.
Remember, they trailed Mississippi State, 21-17, late in the third quarter and needed a huge play from Eric Norwood on a blocked punt to change momentum.
Without that play, who knows what would have happened. The Gamecocks may have lost. But it did happen, and USC won.
They also struggled to beat Louisiana-Lafayette. They committed six turnovers against S.C. State, four in one quarter.
But USC won every one of those games. In the new world of college football, that’s all you have to do.
I’ll say it again - the process doesn’t matter.
In my opinion, the primary reason some people are upset with USC’s performance in the second half against UNC is because the Gamecocks failed to cover the point spread.
I’m not naïve enough to believe gambling is not an important part of college football.
I believe USC went into the game as a seven-point favorite, and won by six points. The Gamecocks would have covered the spread had a 48-yard field goal by Ryan Succop wandered about six inches farther to the left rather than ricocheting off the upright.
Betting lines aside, I have just one piece of advice for those USC fans who need it the most.
Don’t worry, be happy.
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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 @.