I'm simply talking about this year and next year's schedule versus any previous one in our history. We had the most difficult schedule in the country last season and probably will with this next one. I don't recall us ever having anything close to that.
Heres why NIL is gonna be especially brutal on USC
- Thread starter Bucs90
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Okay.
I'm just talking about how a hard schedule is a year in year out conversation around here. To the point of being cliche.
I'd say every schedule from 1981-1987 could be considered tougher than 2023-2024. Look for yourself...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_South_Carolina_Gamecocks_football_seasons
I also looked up end of the year SOS, and on a couple different sites, we were not #1. I believe the "toughest schedule in the nation" was a Preseason article.
College Football Strength of Schedule Rankings
Strength of Schedule Played and Strength of Schedule Remaining for all 133 NCAA Division 1 Football teams.
powerrankingsguru.com
ELO Strength of Schedule (SOS) - FBSCollege Football | WarrenNolan.com
2023 College Football ELO Strength of Schedule (SOS) Updated in REAL-TIME for Every Team at the Completion of Every Game.
But regardless, I am not arguing that the schedule isn't tough. I'm arguing that the schedule being tough is nothing new.
As it stands today, we'll be playing the #5, #6, #9, #11, #12, #13, #23 ranked teams in the country next year. I'm sure teams like UGA and BAMA will be closer to #1 and #2 going into next season and that also doesn't include playing A&M and UK on the road.
Maybe I'm naive, but I haven't seen anything like this. When you compare it to a schedule like Missouri plays next season, it leaves you scratching your head.
Maybe I'm naive, but I haven't seen anything like this. When you compare it to a schedule like Missouri plays next season, it leaves you scratching your head.
I would point out first that those are Preseason rankings, and those may (and probably will) change drastically by the end of the year.
Maybe I've just been a gamecock fan too long to think of this as anything but "same story, different year".
Not here and I've been one for the long haul too. Why would they change - UGA, Alabama, Oklahoma, LSU, Clemson etc? If anything, I think we'll see those teams in better positions overall than today.
He seems to be ignoring the fact our schedule seems harder because we're not very good.
In 2012, we played 3 teams that finished in the top 9 of the regular season polls. But it didn't seem bad because we were actually good at football.
Exactly. Teams like UGA, Alabama, Texas, etc. pull in 2-3x the number of four and five stars we do each recruiting year season. That's an exponential separation in talent over 4-year periods.
It's like a race between a 911 and a Toyota Camry. But our Camry driver is an X's & O's driver!
We also lost also our starting QB, our best RB, our best receivers, etc. Nothing like starting almost from scratch each year now as an NIL talent staging school.
“I would have probably tried to do it like all these guys are doing it now,” Spurrier said. “You find some wealthy, wealthy guys that sort of have more money than they know what to do with and then you can try to match what the other schools are offering them.”
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Context matters. We were recruiting in the Top 10 through happenstance, weren't getting portal robbed, and UK/UM/UT were in abbreviated shambles.
I simply can't believe you haven't read about our fans complaining about the schedule before this year.
And if anything, I think we'll see most of those teams drop, replaced by others. Preseason polls (whichever one these rankings are based on) are notoriously suspect. We haven't even had the spring portal shuffling yet.
But, we all have opinions, I'll give you that.
I wasn't talking about fan comments -- just the actual schedule in relation to what we've had in the past.
And I am talking about fan comments, just like yours, that echo similar schedule comments made for YEARS, almost as if written from the same script.
But you're right. I admit it. We've never had a tough schedule before. The SEC has been downright easy on us these past few decades. It'll be weird to start playing really good teams this year. Unlike all those other years where we complained continually about the schedule.
/s
This is comical Lurker. We'll have a Top 3 (if not #1) toughest schedule in college football going into next season on the heels of the #1 going into last. Please show us anything close to that in our history.
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