It's finally here: College Football, and for the majority of us tv-watching fans, the season is really going to kick off this evening when the NC State Wolfpack takes on Steve Spurrier and the USC Gamecocks. While staring at the countdown to kickoff clock I've installed over my bed, I realized a funny thing about Steve that we ND fans forget: Right around the same time Weis took over ND, Spurrier took over the Gamecocks.
The ole' ball coach, boasting nine 10+ win seasons and a MNC, took on the job in Columbia with pretty high expectations, after leaving the NFL and deeming that he was too good to have to go through the interview process at Florida a second time around to retake the helm of the Gators.
And his record since then? 21-16. One game weaker than Weis at ND.
Ah, but you all scream because you're a bunch of ESPN mouthpieces, "Spurrier had to do it in the SEC!"
Okay, but a few things here. First, the SEC mythology needs to die. That's for an entirely different argument. Assuming I'm right, and that the SEC just has a lot of great marketing, then what's up with the fact that Spurrier has never even supplied the Gamecocks with the "new coach bounce" that so many talk about when we point out that Weis took ND to 2 consecutive BCS bowls? His best season included 8 wins, and that was a 7 win season in 2006 plus a bowl win. So in the regular season he's won 7 games twice and 6 games once. Holtz left the Gamecock program after winning 5, 5, and 6 in his last 3 years. Can Spurrier claim to have made any improvement at all? Does anyone care? It's not at though the all-time winning percentage of the Gamecocks, 49%, makes one think that those who tend to the program are all that invested in success. Perhaps it's just a matter of an old coach finding a nice, comfy place to retire with lots of great golf nearby.
Hey, if they're looking for a replacement next year, I know just the guy.
By DeepTeaKup August 28, 2008 - 4:57 pm
Domer, come on, you of all people should be able to appreciate the potential of (the other) USC football. Even at best we are talking a middle of the pack SEC team, they would have been better off never leaving the ACC.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_history_of_the_South_Carolina_Gamecocks
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By DeepTeaKup August 28, 2008 - 4:58 pm
Oops, I meant to say the limited potential of USC football.
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By domer.mq August 28, 2008 - 5:23 pm
Hey, I know he’s pretty much just “Par for the course,” but SC’s hiring of Spurrier had been heralded as a major step towards relevance in college football. He’s had 3 years and hasn’t even supplied a glimmer of making SC relevant.
Butch Davis has created more buzz at UNC, and he’s hardly won at all and he’s got UNC basketball to compete with.
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By BJGator August 28, 2008 - 11:36 pm
I will choose to focus on the SEC mythology thing. Keep in mind that I am a current student at the University of Florida (that makes me a fan of the Gators, not Urban Meyer). The SEC is nothing but circular logic wrapped up in a paradox. I want to exclaim this so the whole world hears it. YOU CAN TELL NOTHING ABOUT THE STRENGTH OF A CONFERENCE BY WATCHING TEAMS FROM THE SAME CONFERENCE PLAY EACH OTHER! Lord Almighty, I am surrounded by people who use the “SEC teams beat up on each other” argument with annoying frequency and regularity. What I find interesting is that they spare good teams from other conferences such beatings. Last year, the SEC went 1-3 vs. regular season ranked OOC opponents. Yes, that means 12 teams played a total of 4 games against ranked opponents outside the SEC. If the SEC is so strong, why can’t they prove it against other BCS conferences. For comparison’s sake, consider that the PAC 10 went 4-3 vs. regular season ranked OOC opponents. Not only did the PAC 10 win far more of those games, but they did so with fewer teams and one less OOC game each. Allow me to express with numbers what I just articulated.
SEC – 48 OOC games – 4 vs. ranked opponents – 1-3 in those four games
PAC 10 – 30 OOC games – 7 vs. ranked opponents – 4-3 in those 7 games
So it could be argued that PAC 10 teams “beat up on each other” far more than SEC teams do. Now allow me to walk you through the circular logic that I deal with on a daily basis by reliving a conversation (paraphrased) that I recently had with one of my roommates.
Me: What makes the SEC so great?
Mike: Look at all the great teams.
Me: And how did these teams prove that they are great?
Mike: Because they beat up on each other during the regular season.
Me: But you need a frame of reference to compare the SEC to the rest of college football. Name some great out of conference wins by SEC teams last year.
Mike: SEC teams can’t schedule good teams OOC because they beat up on each other all season.
Few, if any, of the readers/writers of this blog can understand what I have gone through as a college football fan in the heart of SEC country. Logic does not serve here. Those around me blindly worship the SEC, unaware that teams like West Virginia, Clemson, Arizona State, and Missouri are actually good. They only recognize as legitimate that which they hear on a daily basis. So in the mind of the SEC fan, Ole Miss is a better team than Fresno State because they hear a ton about Mississippi, but very little about the Bulldogs.
I finally got my roommate to shut up by telling him that college football conferences are socialist in nature, and that Notre Dame, Army, Navy, and Western Kentucky are the only real ‘merican teams.
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By The Biscuit August 29, 2008 - 10:30 am
BJ, you’re a holy warrior in an unholy land. It may feel like you’re spitting into a hurricane, but keep it up – you’re doing the lord’s work.
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