Ranking the lows

[GandBinNC]

For those longtime Gamecock fans, where would you rank the current state of Carolina Football compared to previous program lows? I'll go with the post Deitzel era, since that is my frame of reference:

1. 1982 - the Richard Bell season. 4-7 finish, including home loss to Furman.
2. 1988-89 - Steroid scandal, death of Joe Morrison and the Dickie Demasi-led offense following Ellis' injury.
3. 1998-99 - Final season of Brad Scott, first season of Lou Holtz. Infamous 0-21 streak.
4. Current - Year five under Muschamp.

For me, our current situation is the worst for the following reasons:

• Part of it is because we tasted real success for the fist time in program history in the not too distant past, and the contrast is disheartening.
• Part of it is Clemson's ascendance to elite status and multiple national championships during the time Muschamp has been at Carolina.
• Part of it is the lack of an AD in whom we can all have confidence to remedy the situation.
• Also, in those other times, we had some glimmer of hope. Joe Morrison followed Bell. Woods led Carolina to winning seasons in '89 and '90, and our deliverance from the Major Independent wilderness was right around the corner. Holtz brought hope, even during an 0-11 campaign in '99, and turned it around in a big way in '00.

Optimism is hard to muster at this point.

What say you?

 

[DrMickey]

That’s a pretty fair (and fairly depressing) take. It’s the contrast to the high years that makes it so much worse. Sigh.

 

[heavycock]

Agree that's a fair assessment. Even though there were a couple blowouts Brad Scott's last year, a lot of those games were pretty close heartbreaker type losses. Then Lou's first year we weren't close in any of those games (save Vandy) but there was hope that he was going to turn things around. The scores didn't reflect it but you could just sense something under the surface that finally materialized against UGA that next year.

I think the fact that we dug out of that hole over the past 20 years just to slide so quickly right back to where we started with no optimism or hope for things to improve is what makes this era the worst.

 

[Dizzy01]

This is bad but the steroid scandal was arguably worse for the time. That was in the time when it was hard to get national coverage for your program and if you weren’t top 10 you probably weren’t getting on TV. SC had their big chance on 84 before losing to Navy and then in 88 the SI article hit. The fact that we were in the only real sports related publication as the poster child for all that was wrong in college football was a really bad look.

Yes Muschamp sucks but people expected him to suck. The only people who apparently didn’t see this coming were Ray Tanner and the BOT. This is a bad stretch of Carolina football but Muschamp not being able to coach isn’t a national news piece.

 

[USCBruce]

I'm old enough to have personally witnessed first hand all of the above mentioned "program lows". But for me, I definitely would vote for the current year 5 debacle. To have tasted a little success, beaten our rivals 5 in a row, won New year's bowls, and then fallen flat on our face? This first and foremost should fall on the shoulders of Ray Tanner. He allowed it to happen under his watch, and then followed that up with a less than stellar coaching hire. Now granted, Muschamp is not responsible for the mess he inherited, but despite his above average success in recruiting, it has had very little payback. We look good on paper in recruiting, but to be honest we rank in the bottom half in recruiting in our own conference. We have been trending downward basically since the UVa bowl game. Think about it - our offensive and defensive lines get manhandled by the top tier SEC teams. For the third year in a row, we only have ONE reliable WR. That is unacceptable in Year 5! It became painfully obvious last Saturday that our team quit in the 2nd half. THAT is on the Head Coach! All the while, our rivals, under the direction of their AD, a FORMER USC staff member, have opened up the checkbook and gone after coaches, made coaching changes when necessary, and have blown us away with their social media blitz at potential athletes. Our program is falling further and further into the abyss. I sincerely feel like we are at a major crossroad with our football program. The University can either suck it up, and make a total commitment to a winning program, or we can continue to build luxury boxes and other attractive amenities, and permanently affix ourselves as a bottom-feeder in the SEC.

 

[jweaks]

Muschamp's coaching career ended on December 29, 2018 (hint: Virginia).

He just hasn't been told yet, and for some reason gets to keep collecting paychecks.

The incompetence is mind-boggling.