wait, what!?!??
We kept the brains behind that awesome defense in the fold and we had nearly double digit de-committments and are now ranked 19th in recruiting?-
Cue all the "recruiting doesn't matter" posts. Funny you only hear that argument from the schools that aren't ranked in the top 10. Please show me the last national championship team that won without having at least one top ten class in the fold. I will wait...
Fact is, recruiting matters.... that is how you get talent... Ohio State showed this year what happens when you stockpile talent- winning a title with their 3rd string QB. Oregon had the scheme but the Buckeyes clearly had the better athletes on both lines and even at the skill positions.
Another fact: with SC rankings the last few years the Gamecocks are not national title contenders.
That was a great 3 year run of 11 wins and got the team on the brink of elite status but this year was a bridge year- to show college football watchers the team could win without marquee stars like Clowney- I'd like to think that if it had been another 10 or 11 win season then SC would have remained in the top 10 recruiting this year and for years to come- the program was on the brink, people were taking notice, but the year could not have gone any worse if the footballs gods were all Clemson grads: all the losses, the way so many losses occurred with the late game implosions, the loss to rival, the coaches 2-3 year comment, the lost recruits. At least a bowl win was salvaged. But I don't think the likes of USA Today will have us pre-season top 5 any time soon.
The fact that 8 potential opponents SC could face are ranked ahead of the Gamecocks in this year's rankings does not bode well for the future.
Odds are the team will be a middle of the pack program- I know SC fans are some of the most loyal bunch out there- put even the Cubs fans to shame- but for a team that somehow managed to win 11 games 3 times in a row and still not win a single division title in that span, I don't see much more than a middle of the pack legacy for this program with a few double digit surprises sprinkled in from time to time.
We kept the brains behind that awesome defense in the fold and we had nearly double digit de-committments and are now ranked 19th in recruiting?-
Cue all the "recruiting doesn't matter" posts. Funny you only hear that argument from the schools that aren't ranked in the top 10. Please show me the last national championship team that won without having at least one top ten class in the fold. I will wait...
Fact is, recruiting matters.... that is how you get talent... Ohio State showed this year what happens when you stockpile talent- winning a title with their 3rd string QB. Oregon had the scheme but the Buckeyes clearly had the better athletes on both lines and even at the skill positions.
Another fact: with SC rankings the last few years the Gamecocks are not national title contenders.
That was a great 3 year run of 11 wins and got the team on the brink of elite status but this year was a bridge year- to show college football watchers the team could win without marquee stars like Clowney- I'd like to think that if it had been another 10 or 11 win season then SC would have remained in the top 10 recruiting this year and for years to come- the program was on the brink, people were taking notice, but the year could not have gone any worse if the footballs gods were all Clemson grads: all the losses, the way so many losses occurred with the late game implosions, the loss to rival, the coaches 2-3 year comment, the lost recruits. At least a bowl win was salvaged. But I don't think the likes of USA Today will have us pre-season top 5 any time soon.
The fact that 8 potential opponents SC could face are ranked ahead of the Gamecocks in this year's rankings does not bode well for the future.
Odds are the team will be a middle of the pack program- I know SC fans are some of the most loyal bunch out there- put even the Cubs fans to shame- but for a team that somehow managed to win 11 games 3 times in a row and still not win a single division title in that span, I don't see much more than a middle of the pack legacy for this program with a few double digit surprises sprinkled in from time to time.