Does a loss to FL this week mean we've taken a step backwards?

[HI Cock]

I've said quite a few times that we haven't lost to anyone this year we didn't lose to last year (although we did get beat much worse by GA and KY this year).

This is the last game to test the theory of whether we've improved as a team or not (we lost to Clemson last year). And of course, if we lose to Chat or Akron, the answer is clear.

 

[coolcock2001]

Yes, the result of one game will provide you with a definitive answer. There will be no nuance or multiple ways to interpret it among other data points.

 

[bucketdad]

UF looks like world beaters at times and inept at other times. I don't see any way anyone could gauge them self against them this year. We just don't know what we're going to get.

 

[PC31]

To the usual suspects here a win or loss will signal doom for the sorry Gamecocks and that idiot loser Muschamp and clueless RayRay
To normal people the answer is not so dramatic.
I say no.

 

[king ward]

Yes, the result of one game will provide you with a definitive answer. There will be no nuance or multiple ways to interpret it among other data points.

I'm glad you won't be fooled by any claims to the contrary.

 

[king ward]

To the usual suspects here a win or loss will signal doom for the sorry Gamecocks and that idiot loser Muschamp and clueless RayRay
To normal people the answer is not so dramatic.
I say no.

The Florida upgrade in coaching, playing at home, and our adverse injury situation dictate that we should not beat them any way, any how. We are proverbial toast. We might as well be playing UPC or Alabama.

 

[Carolina4]

Winning in the Swamp is difficult, especially for us. We are 6.5 point underdogs for a reason. Florida has talented players, they just haven’t put it all together for whatever reasons. I do feel they are more capable of doing that under Mullen and we are a team that would aid them in having a solid day offensively.

I still predict a loss in the Swamp. Won’t be shocked if we win though. I don’t think it’s a step back for our program, just more proof of where we are at right now. I don’t say that negatively. We just overachieved each of the past two years in terms of wins. This year I believe we are who we are as of now. We’ll get better though.

 

[Cockopotamus]

UF certainly doesn't look like the same team it was a month ago.


That said... who knows.

 

[BobbyB1975]

No matter how down Florida is , winning in the Swamp is always a tall order . Ask LSU . A win would be nice and possible but not likely .

 

[king ward]

... who knows.

Anyone who claims he does is a liar.

 

[anon_n4c0cp5zhdxn7]

It means I lost $100 on the over/under.

 

[cofcgamecock9]

Honestly, winning back to back vs Tennessee vs Ole Miss was a huge surprise to me. Never thought I would see it with how things had gone to that point.

I actually think we would beat Florida if the injury situation wasn't so bad. Coaches aren't going to use that as an excuse, but the reality is that it matters. The Ole Miss game, while we won, really killed us with injuries.

 

[alston]

We were much healthier team last year when we played UF and we played them at home. Big difference between the two games. Also playing on the road is a bit tough. Particularly back to back road games. I don't think the two have much to do with whether we are better or not.

 

[shorecock]

To play and compete is one thing but to get blow out is another. The team that showed up against Ole Miss last week was good enough (offensivly) to hang with UF. I think sometimes our fans think we have to blow teams out to feel like we are taking a step forward. Even a lose (as long as we didn't roll over and get beat by 50) doesn't mean we have taken a step backwards.

 

[GCDC1959]

Winning in the Swamp is difficult, especially for us. We are 6.5 point underdogs for a reason. Florida has talented players, they just haven’t put it all together for whatever reasons. I do feel they are more capable of doing that under Mullen and we are a team that would aid them in having a solid day offensively.

I still predict a loss in the Swamp. Won’t be shocked if we win though. I don’t think it’s a step back for our program, just more proof of where we are at right now. I don’t say that negatively. We just overachieved each of the past two years in terms of wins. This year I believe we are who we are as of now. We’ll get better though.

You must be a lawyer. Am I right? My opinion is see how we play. Fortunately, Florida qb is terribly inconsistent (advantage), but sometimes they (Florida) are able to overcome his shortcomings and win.

Hey, I sound like a lawyer too.

 

[HI Cock]

If they're better than they were last year (their record is), and we win, I'd say we've taken a step forward for sure. If we lose, they're the only team we beat last year that we lost to this year... and I think what it really means is that surprisingly, our Defense is a HUGE liability... and it would sort of remind me of 2014.

 

[gamecockjosh]

I'd argue 7-5 with this year's regular season schedule is comparable to 8-4 from last year's schedule. We had a very easy schedule last year. Reality is that Florida is much better and Ole Miss is better than Arkansas last year.

If we beat Florida, and, especially if we play Clemson competitively, it's actually a step forward in my mind.

The only way I would argue it is a step backwards is if we get blown out by both UF and Clemson.

 

[jimnasium]

I don't think it would say that much one way or the other with all the injuries and stuff, we are limping into Gainesville.

 

[robertfootball]

To play and compete is one thing but to get blow out is another. The team that showed up against Ole Miss last week was good enough (offensivly) to hang with UF. I think sometimes our fans think we have to blow teams out to feel like we are taking a step forward. Even a lose (as long as we didn't roll over and get beat by 50) doesn't mean we have taken a step backwards.

That's because our health can't take watching back and forth close games on a weekly basis.

 

[HI Cock]

I'd argue 7-5 with this year's regular season schedule is comparable to 8-4 from last year's schedule. We had a very easy schedule last year. Reality is that Florida is much better and Ole Miss is better than Arkansas last year.

If we beat Florida, and, especially if we play Clemson competitively, it's actually a step forward in my mind.

The only way I would argue it is a step backwards is if we get blown out by both UF and Clemson.

Actually, this is really the key to determining whether we've taken a step forward or not, isn't it?

 

[Wiles2]

IMO, a critical game for this coaching staff.

The odds of us beating CU at CU this year are close to nil. I'm hoping we can keep it under 20pts.

So if we were lose to UF, the highlights of the year are a solid win at Vandy and then three major nail biters to very average, unranked teams in Missouri, UT & Ole Miss. We were very fortunate to win those games and credit to the team for hanging tough.

In our losses, we were beat soundly - and that includes A&M who ran up and down the field on us and dominated the clock and yardage.

A win at UF this weekend would be a step in the right direction and us, at a minimum, holding serve.

I don't see how a loss this weekend is not a step backwards from last season, and a leap backwards in terms of hype coming into the year. (unless we pull a Clemson miracle.

 

[lowcountry_cock13]

Defense has taken a VERY large step back.

We have yet to compete to the level of competition of teams with equal or better talent.

Offense is much better than last year (which isn’t difficult to do) Oline and playcalling is probably to
Special teams is also improved.

 

[uscg1984]

A step forward or a step back? There is a third option: Treading water.

Whether we are better or worse than last year, at the end of the day, it's really all about our relative position to the conference and our opponents. If we're just as good as we were last year, but have a worse record and/or finish in a worse position in the conference, that's a step back. That's not the end of the world and might be logically explained by injuries and other factors, but it's a negative turn. It disrupts the upward trajectory we've seen over the last two years. Hence, the importance of year 4.

 

[QuakeandShake]

We dont match up well vs Florida. Solid defense. We will not get that magical 100 yard mark .

 

[funktavious]

I think the key is containing Scarlett who is a very good back. Force them into passing situations and we can use their ineptness at QB to our advantage(hopefully). I expect a frustratingly low scoring game that will be decided deep in the 4th quarter

 

[Mr_Blutarsky]

Not that it has any bearing on the actual outcome of the game, but there are a lot of unhappy campers on their board regarding their team.

 

[Horseshoe 04]

They can’t score worth a darn, we will be fine.

 

[uscgrad1991]

Did I read somewhere that we lost both of our starting safeties. Sorry been real busy this week.

 

[rogue cock]

Did I read somewhere that we lost both of our starting safeties. Sorry been real busy this week.

Jamyest ànd Charleston. Lost for the year.

 

[PokerCock]

Losing to Florida would certainly be disappointing given the improvement of Bentley and the offense over the last 6 quarters of play. It's sad, but Bentley just plays better on the road. I think it's because he isn't anticipating boos coming from the "best fans in college football".

Yes, the defense was disappointing last Saturday, but you're kidding yourself if you think Florida's offense compares to Ole Miss. Rumor is that they also have a divided locker room with the Franks situation at QB.

Boom wants this one bad. Cocks win 31-17.

 

[Athenscock1]

We dont match up well vs Florida. Solid defense. We will not get that magical 100 yard mark .

Gamecock in all my bones but a realist in my mind. The Fl. D is good. Ole Miss D bad. We won't run up and down the field like we did at Ole Miss. Trending up. Trending down. Hard to call. Injuries have hurt.

 

[gamecocks247]

The good thing is that they won't be able to take full advantage of the injuries in the secondary (their qb is awful). They have a pretty physical running game but we should be able to load the box. If Bentley does not turn the ball over I expect the cocks to win.

 

[gr8spur]

Winning or losing are measurements. But perhaps the greater question is how well or how poorly we play. We could play well and lose a close game 20-17. Or we could plat horribly and lose 73-0. Is the team playing well, and improving? That's the question.

 

[flatwoodcock]

I've said quite a few times that we haven't lost to anyone this year we didn't lose to last year (although we did get beat much worse by GA and KY this year).

This is the last game to test the theory of whether we've improved as a team or not (we lost to Clemson last year). And of course, if we lose to Chat or Akron, the answer is clear.

I don't think it would be a step backwards because until Mizzou beat them last week i really didn't think we had much of a shot at it but i feel better about it now unless all these injuries bite us in the ass.

 

[gamecockengineer2011]

Id feel better about the game if we were full strength on defense but we have only won twice down there in something like 13 tries. Their backs are against the wall on letting the season get away from them and they are playing at home which are never a good combination for a visiting team.

 

[ExpatCarolinian]

I've said quite a few times that we haven't lost to anyone this year we didn't lose to last year (although we did get beat much worse by GA and KY this year).

This is the last game to test the theory of whether we've improved as a team or not (we lost to Clemson last year). And of course, if we lose to Chat or Akron, the answer is clear.

Not sure I agree we got beat “much worse” by KY this year. Last year was a 10 point loss at home. This year was 14 points on the road. Seems pretty comparable.

And perhaps if we had demonstrated a bit more of a sense of urgency in the 4th quarter and avoided executing the longest, slowest non-scoring drive in history, we could have beaten them this year.

 

[uscgrad1991]

Jamyest ànd Charleston. Lost for the year.

Might have an effect on the outcome.

 

[HI Cock]

Not sure I agree we got beat “much worse” by KY this year. Last year was a 10 point loss at home. This year was 14 points on the road. Seems pretty comparable.

And perhaps if we had demonstrated a bit more of a sense of urgency in the 4th quarter and avoided executing the longest, slowest non-scoring drive in history, we could have beaten them this year.

I guess I was referring to getting absolutely dominated in the first half. It seemed like a worse beating than last year, especially since we scored first last year and had it not been for Deebo getting hurt, it might have been different.

The UGA game was really bad since we hung tough with them in Athens last year. This year's game was over halfway through the 3rd quarter.