Confronting What's Holding South Carolina Back
posted by Scott Hood, Monday, December 03, 2007
If you’re old enough to remember, the former president/peanut farmer went on national TV in July of 1979, and gave what many people interpreted as a pep talk to the American people.
At the time, things were rough in America. The economy was in shambles. There was an energy crisis. The cost of gasoline was spiraling upward. The nation was still recovering emotionally from Watergate.
The internet and cable TV were still figments of someone’s imagination.
In general, the mood of the country was dark.
And the Iranian Hostage Crisis hadn’t even started.
Carter spoke about a “crisis of confidence” in America during his speech in many seemingly unshakable institutions like government. It became widely known as the “Malaise Speech.”
While Carter was mostly ineffective as President, he was smart enough to realize America had arrived at a crossroads at that juncture in its history.
I sense some parallels between America in 1979 and the current state of the South Carolina athletics program. There’s no doubt from reading the boards the last week or so that some fans are questioning what’s going on.
Frankly, they should.
First, the football team loses its final five games of the season, a surprising skid that ultimately costs USC a bowl game. Then, the USC basketball team gets thumped by Clemson two days ago after failing to hold second-half leads against N.C. State and George Mason at a tournament in Orlando.
While the final margin against the Tigers was 11 points (85-74), I can assure you from sitting there at courtside at Littlejohn Coliseum that the game wasn’t that close.
But here’s the part that concerns me: Steve Spurrier questioned the effort level of some of his players in the final weeks of the season. He repeatedly exclaimed USC had to play with greater effort.
Saturday, point guard Devan Downey sent the same message to his teammates after USC’s fourth straight loss to Clemson: it’s time to step up and play harder.
After 15 years in the SEC, is USC still learning what it takes to compete at a high level? It appears so. Unless you bring your ‘A’ game every time out, you’re going to get beat.
At the major Division I level, coaches shouldn’t have to be concerned about their players giving maximum effort on every play.
That goes for every sport, no matter the age or gender. Youth and inexperience is not an excuse.
Still, it’s a problem that must be confronted. Hopefully, at some point in the near future, we won’t hear Gamecock players and coaches talking about effort anymore.
You can have the greatest facilities in the world, but unless you have players willing to lay it on the line each and every time they take the field of competition, they’re useless.
A first cousin of effort is killer instinct. If this year’s football team lacked something, that was it. It started with the second half of the North Carolina game and extended through the rest of the season.
Spurrier has bemoaned USC’s failure to make plays when opportunities arose. And there were plenty of chances against each of the last five opponents. In my opinion, that’s a symptom of a killer instinct.
I suspect killer instinct is something that’s well ingrained into the players at schools like Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. That’s one reason they’re so successful.
When you possess a killer instinct, you’re able to overcome adversity much quicker. Georgia faced questions after losing to USC at home in early September, but ripped off nine victories in its last 10 games. Now they’re in a BCS bowl game.
Tennessee was ripped to shreds by California and Florida in September, but recovered to capture the SEC Eastern Division and play in the conference title game.
What was USC’s response to one bad half of football at North Carolina? They proceeded to lose five games in a row. They should have won at least three of them.
Granted, USC has some players that demonstrate a killer instinct, just not enough. Defensive lineman Eric Norwood and strong safety Emanuel Cook are two. Cory Boyd was another, but his eligibility has been exhausted.
So, here we go again, someone must step up and replace Boyd’s presence and personality next season. If it doesn’t happen, USC could find itself in the same predicament.
The schedule next season closes with a five-game stretch against LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson. Every game will be difficult, as it should be. There are no off weeks when you’re competing in the SEC or against your arch-rival.
What should USC do? Step up to the challenge. Make plays. Play with effort. Play smart. Go for the kill when it has the chance.
If those things occur, I can assure you the conclusion of the 2008 college football season will be a lot happier for USC than 2007.
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Forgive me while I have my Jimmy Carter moment.
If you’re old enough to remember, the former president/peanut farmer went on national TV in July of 1979, and gave what many people interpreted as a pep talk to the American people.
At the time, things were rough in America. The economy was in shambles. There was an energy crisis. The cost of gasoline was spiraling upward. The nation was still recovering emotionally from Watergate.
The internet and cable TV were still figments of someone’s imagination.
In general, the mood of the country was dark.
And the Iranian Hostage Crisis hadn’t even started.
Carter spoke about a “crisis of confidence” in America during his speech in many seemingly unshakable institutions like government. It became widely known as the “Malaise Speech.”
While Carter was mostly ineffective as President, he was smart enough to realize America had arrived at a crossroads at that juncture in its history.
I sense some parallels between America in 1979 and the current state of the South Carolina athletics program. There’s no doubt from reading the boards the last week or so that some fans are questioning what’s going on.
Frankly, they should.
First, the football team loses its final five games of the season, a surprising skid that ultimately costs USC a bowl game. Then, the USC basketball team gets thumped by Clemson two days ago after failing to hold second-half leads against N.C. State and George Mason at a tournament in Orlando.
While the final margin against the Tigers was 11 points (85-74), I can assure you from sitting there at courtside at Littlejohn Coliseum that the game wasn’t that close.
But here’s the part that concerns me: Steve Spurrier questioned the effort level of some of his players in the final weeks of the season. He repeatedly exclaimed USC had to play with greater effort.
Saturday, point guard Devan Downey sent the same message to his teammates after USC’s fourth straight loss to Clemson: it’s time to step up and play harder.
After 15 years in the SEC, is USC still learning what it takes to compete at a high level? It appears so. Unless you bring your ‘A’ game every time out, you’re going to get beat.
At the major Division I level, coaches shouldn’t have to be concerned about their players giving maximum effort on every play.
That goes for every sport, no matter the age or gender. Youth and inexperience is not an excuse.
Still, it’s a problem that must be confronted. Hopefully, at some point in the near future, we won’t hear Gamecock players and coaches talking about effort anymore.
You can have the greatest facilities in the world, but unless you have players willing to lay it on the line each and every time they take the field of competition, they’re useless.
A first cousin of effort is killer instinct. If this year’s football team lacked something, that was it. It started with the second half of the North Carolina game and extended through the rest of the season.
Spurrier has bemoaned USC’s failure to make plays when opportunities arose. And there were plenty of chances against each of the last five opponents. In my opinion, that’s a symptom of a killer instinct.
I suspect killer instinct is something that’s well ingrained into the players at schools like Georgia, Florida and Tennessee. That’s one reason they’re so successful.
When you possess a killer instinct, you’re able to overcome adversity much quicker. Georgia faced questions after losing to USC at home in early September, but ripped off nine victories in its last 10 games. Now they’re in a BCS bowl game.
Tennessee was ripped to shreds by California and Florida in September, but recovered to capture the SEC Eastern Division and play in the conference title game.
What was USC’s response to one bad half of football at North Carolina? They proceeded to lose five games in a row. They should have won at least three of them.
Granted, USC has some players that demonstrate a killer instinct, just not enough. Defensive lineman Eric Norwood and strong safety Emanuel Cook are two. Cory Boyd was another, but his eligibility has been exhausted.
So, here we go again, someone must step up and replace Boyd’s presence and personality next season. If it doesn’t happen, USC could find itself in the same predicament.
The schedule next season closes with a five-game stretch against LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson. Every game will be difficult, as it should be. There are no off weeks when you’re competing in the SEC or against your arch-rival.
What should USC do? Step up to the challenge. Make plays. Play with effort. Play smart. Go for the kill when it has the chance.
If those things occur, I can assure you the conclusion of the 2008 college football season will be a lot happier for USC than 2007.
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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 @.