Reasons to step back from the ledge...

[55vett]

Those ready to give up on Muschamp and this team are overlooking the obvious:

• We are only 4 games into Year #3 of the Muschamp Era. Has everybody forgotten how bare the cupboard was when he arrived? Expectations obviously were too high for this season given our current talent level.
  
• Georgia and Kentucky are pretty good -- legit Top 10 teams sprinkled with playmaking NFL talent. Losing to them this year isn't the most embarrassing thing in the world.
  
• We are possibly only a QB change or QB tweak away from correcting our offense. Bentley's inability to consistently throw accurate passes with heat conflicts with our #1 offensive problem -- our receivers' inability to get separation on their routes. We need a QB who can throw darts and hit receivers earlier in their routes and in tighter spaces. Scarnecchia showed a little bit of that last night during garbage time. Is he the answer? Don't know but he deserves a shot.
  
• Our offensive line may be the best pass-blocking bunch that we've had in a decade. Bentley, who routinely has enough time to order a pizza while painstakingly surveying his targets and overthinking his decision to release the ball, hasn't been able to take advantage. Changes/tweaks at QB can rectify this situation.
  
• Turnovers are cyclical. Last year we were one of the most fortunate teams in the country in terms of turnovers gained. This year we're not so lucky.
• The trash-talking swagger behind the unsportsmanlike penalties isn't such a bad thing. When we start winning meaningful games -- and we will under Muschamp -- you all are going to love the fact that our defense finally has some nastiness to it again. Horn, who will learn how to avoid flags as he matures, is going to be great for us.
  
• We can still have a great season. Everybody on our remaining schedule is beatable, including Clemson as we saw yesterday.

Throw in the towel if you want. I'm not. Go Cocks!

• 
  
  

 

[achilles#]

• We are possibly only a QB change or QB tweak away from correcting our offense. Bentley's inability to consistently throw accurate passes with heat conflicts with our #1 offensive problem -- our receivers' inability to get separation on their routes. We need a QB who can throw darts and hit receivers earlier in their routes and in tighter spaces. Scarnecchia showed a little bit of that last night during garbage time. Is he the answer? Don't know but he deserves a shot.
• 
  
• We can still have a great season. Everybody on our remaining schedule is beatable, including Clemson as we saw yesterday.

Throw in the towel if you want. I'm not. Go Cocks!

• 
  

You have some interesting points, but...

Someone on another board said "Look at Will Grier. What player in his right mind would come to play qb for Muschamp?"

To that I might add, look at Driskel. One year away from him, and he played well enough to get an NFL shot (and I think he is still on an NFL roster as of now).

So why is that?

Weiss->Pease->Roper->BMac. None of them did (or are doing) well as OC for Muschamp. They all worked under Muschamp. Please explain this.

As for your point about saying everyone left on our schedule is beatable, sure. But virtually everyone left on our schedule is perfectly capable of beating us as well. Offhand I'd say we will only be favored against Tennessee (maybe) and the small school I can't remember the rest of the way.

 

[jbouton]

Those ready to give up on Muschamp and this team are overlooking the obvious:

• We are only 4 games into Year #3 of the Muschamp Era. Has everybody forgotten how bare the cupboard was when he arrived? Expectations obviously were too high for this season given our current talent level.
  
• Georgia and Kentucky are pretty good -- legit Top 10 teams sprinkled with playmaking NFL talent. Losing to them this year isn't the most embarrassing thing in the world.
  
• We are possibly only a QB change or QB tweak away from correcting our offense. Bentley's inability to consistently throw accurate passes with heat conflicts with our #1 offensive problem -- our receivers' inability to get separation on their routes. We need a QB who can throw darts and hit receivers earlier in their routes and in tighter spaces. Scarnecchia showed a little bit of that last night during garbage time. Is he the answer? Don't know but he deserves a shot.
  
• Our offensive line may be the best pass-blocking bunch that we've had in a decade. Bentley, who routinely has enough time to order a pizza while painstakingly surveying his targets and overthinking his decision to release the ball, hasn't been able to take advantage. Changes/tweaks at QB can rectify this situation.
  
• Turnovers are cyclical. Last year we were one of the most fortunate teams in the country in terms of turnovers gained. This year we're not so lucky.
• The trash-talking swagger behind the unsportsmanlike penalties isn't such a bad thing. When we start winning meaningful games -- and we will under Muschamp -- you all are going to love the fact that our defense finally has some nastiness to it again. Horn, who will learn how to avoid flags as he matures, is going to be great for us.
  
• We can still have a great season. Everybody on our remaining schedule is beatable, including Clemson as we saw yesterday.

Throw in the towel if you want. I'm not. Go Cocks!

• 
  
  

I like your post. My own issues are with the qb position. We have another year of this to deal with at this position. Most of my post since last night are very negative. Knowing the qb situation as I mentioned makes it impossible to get excited about our team. I am not a fair weather fan, lord I have pulled for the Gamecocks since 1968 and have everything happen to us. Let's just hope we become competitive next year. The fan base deserves nothing less with the money spent to watch the current events unfold.

 

[jeff2001]

We have no chance to beat clemson.

 

[Judson1]

I can’t throw in the towel. This team will always have me upset. But the seasons a wash and October isn’t here yet.

 

[jonesz21]

Those ready to give up on Muschamp and this team are overlooking the obvious:

• We are only 4 games into Year #3 of the Muschamp Era. Has everybody forgotten how bare the cupboard was when he arrived? Expectations obviously were too high for this season given our current talent level.
  
• Georgia and Kentucky are pretty good -- legit Top 10 teams sprinkled with playmaking NFL talent. Losing to them this year isn't the most embarrassing thing in the world.
  
• We are possibly only a QB change or QB tweak away from correcting our offense. Bentley's inability to consistently throw accurate passes with heat conflicts with our #1 offensive problem -- our receivers' inability to get separation on their routes. We need a QB who can throw darts and hit receivers earlier in their routes and in tighter spaces. Scarnecchia showed a little bit of that last night during garbage time. Is he the answer? Don't know but he deserves a shot.
  
• Our offensive line may be the best pass-blocking bunch that we've had in a decade. Bentley, who routinely has enough time to order a pizza while painstakingly surveying his targets and overthinking his decision to release the ball, hasn't been able to take advantage. Changes/tweaks at QB can rectify this situation.
  
• Turnovers are cyclical. Last year we were one of the most fortunate teams in the country in terms of turnovers gained. This year we're not so lucky.
• The trash-talking swagger behind the unsportsmanlike penalties isn't such a bad thing. When we start winning meaningful games -- and we will under Muschamp -- you all are going to love the fact that our defense finally has some nastiness to it again. Horn, who will learn how to avoid flags as he matures, is going to be great for us.
  
• We can still have a great season. Everybody on our remaining schedule is beatable, including Clemson as we saw yesterday.

Throw in the towel if you want. I'm not. Go Cocks!

• 
  

We need an offensive coordinator and need to hire brad Lawing to help with d line and recruiting

 

[uscg1984]

I don't want to have an internet war with a fellow Gamecock fan, but I'd like to comment on each of your points below. Please don't take it the wrong way. I'm disappointed about the team and pretty pessimistic about the rest of the season and beyond. If you are optimistic, don't let me drag you down. But I wanted to point out why none of your points make me feel any better:

• We are only 4 games into Year #3 of the Muschamp Era. Has everybody forgotten how bare the cupboard was when he arrived? Expectations obviously were too high for this season given our current talent level. We are 28 games into the Muschamp era and we struggle with the same issues we struggled with in game 1. We were no better last year than we were in Muschamp's first year. The difference last year was the level of our competition.
• Georgia and Kentucky are pretty good -- legit Top 10 teams sprinkled with playmaking NFL talent. Losing to them this year isn't the most embarrassing thing in the world. Georgia is a legit top 2 team. Kentucky is a legit top 25 team. They could have beaten us by 40 last night but they bumbled around just enough to prove they aren't ready to join the elites. UGA beats them by multiple TDs.
  
• We are possibly only a QB change or QB tweak away from correcting our offense. Bentley's inability to consistently throw accurate passes with heat conflicts with our #1 offensive problem -- our receivers' inability to get separation on their routes. We need a QB who can throw darts and hit receivers earlier in their routes and in tighter spaces. Scarnecchia showed a little bit of that last night during garbage time. Is he the answer? Don't know but he deserves a shot. Our starting QB next year will be either Bentley or a true freshman. If it's Bentley, we will see more of the same. If it's a true freshman, we will at least know next year what the next 4 years will look like because Hilinski won't develop under this staff. He will step on campus as good as he is going to be for us.
  
• Our offensive line may be the best pass-blocking bunch that we've had in a decade. Bentley, who routinely has enough time to order a pizza while painstakingly surveying his targets and overthinking his decision to release the ball, hasn't been able to take advantage. Changes/tweaks at QB can rectify this situation. The few times Kentucky brought the heat last night, it paid off for them. But KY demonstrated to our remaining opponents that you don't need to pressure Bentley if you can play tight coverage on our receivers. You can give Bentley all day long and it won't make any difference.
  
• Turnovers are cyclical. Last year we were one of the most fortunate teams in the country in terms of turnovers gained. This year we're not so lucky. Turnovers aren't just rays of fortune that fall out of the sky. The better teams get more takeaways than giveaways.
• The trash-talking swagger behind the unsportsmanlike penalties isn't such a bad thing. When we start winning meaningful games -- and we will under Muschamp -- you all are going to love the fact that our defense finally has some nastiness to it again. Horn, who will learn how to avoid flags as he matures, is going to be great for us. There's a difference between Swagger and stupidity. That penalty was essentially an intentional turnover.
  
• We can still have a great season. Everybody on our remaining schedule is beatable, including Clemson as we saw yesterday. Everybody on our schedule can beat us too, with the exception of Chattanooga. Even Tennessee played with heart yesterday in Athens.

 

[jonesz21]

I don't want to have an internet war with a fellow Gamecock fan, but I'd like to comment on each of your points below. Please don't take it the wrong way. I'm disappointed about the team and pretty pessimistic about the rest of the season and beyond. If you are optimistic, don't let me drag you down. But I wanted to point out why none of your points make me feel any better:

• We are only 4 games into Year #3 of the Muschamp Era. Has everybody forgotten how bare the cupboard was when he arrived? Expectations obviously were too high for this season given our current talent level. We are 28 games into the Muschamp era and we struggle with the same issues we struggled with in game 1. We were no better last year than we were in Muschamp's first year. The difference last year was the level of our competition.
• Georgia and Kentucky are pretty good -- legit Top 10 teams sprinkled with playmaking NFL talent. Losing to them this year isn't the most embarrassing thing in the world. Georgia is a legit top 2 team. Kentucky is a legit top 25 team. They could have beaten us by 40 last night but they bumbled around just enough to prove they aren't ready to join the elites. UGA beats them by multiple TDs.
  
• We are possibly only a QB change or QB tweak away from correcting our offense. Bentley's inability to consistently throw accurate passes with heat conflicts with our #1 offensive problem -- our receivers' inability to get separation on their routes. We need a QB who can throw darts and hit receivers earlier in their routes and in tighter spaces. Scarnecchia showed a little bit of that last night during garbage time. Is he the answer? Don't know but he deserves a shot. Our starting QB next year will be either Bentley or a true freshman. If it's Bentley, we will see more of the same. If it's a true freshman, we will at least know next year what the next 4 years will look like because Hilinski won't develop under this staff. He will step on campus as good as he is going to be for us.
  
• Our offensive line may be the best pass-blocking bunch that we've had in a decade. Bentley, who routinely has enough time to order a pizza while painstakingly surveying his targets and overthinking his decision to release the ball, hasn't been able to take advantage. Changes/tweaks at QB can rectify this situation. The few times Kentucky brought the heat last night, it paid off for them. But KY demonstrated to our remaining opponents that you don't need to pressure Bentley if you can play tight coverage on our receivers. You can give Bentley all day long and it won't make any difference.
  
• Turnovers are cyclical. Last year we were one of the most fortunate teams in the country in terms of turnovers gained. This year we're not so lucky. Turnovers aren't just rays of fortune that fall out of the sky. The better teams get more takeaways than giveaways.
• The trash-talking swagger behind the unsportsmanlike penalties isn't such a bad thing. When we start winning meaningful games -- and we will under Muschamp -- you all are going to love the fact that our defense finally has some nastiness to it again. Horn, who will learn how to avoid flags as he matures, is going to be great for us. There's a difference between Swagger and stupidity. That penalty was essentially an intentional turnover.
  
• We can still have a great season. Everybody on our remaining schedule is beatable, including Clemson as we saw yesterday. Everybody on our schedule can beat us too, with the exception of Chattanooga. Even Tennessee played with heart yesterday in Athens.

Tennessee actual looked decent at times. Improving

 

[allyourbase]

Thanks. I needed some optimism. I haven't felt this bad about a loss since, well, the last time UK kicked our butt. I'm mainly feeling bad because UK, one of the few SEC teams we are better than traditionally, has surpassed us. It's hard to take. And I feel bad because we looked like a badly coached team yesterday. I'm hoping it was just a really bad outing. I will feel a LOT better if we take care of Mizzou next week.

I have a few meager comforts from yesterday's game. It didn't get out of hand in terms of the final score. The defense gave us a chance despite their lousy 2nd quarter play. Also, we were a few mistakes away from making it closer. Missed field goal, dropped passes that could have led to 6 points, and other things kept us out of the game. We've got to get a handle on turnover margin. I don't know if we can, but it would make a huge difference.

I think we have some winnable games, but I'm feeling worse about it than I did. I don't see us beating Florida. And definitely not beating Clemson. They have a few down games a year, but they are always crisp and ready against us, and this team doesn't seem capable of beating ranked teams. But yeah, I'm not giving up on the team and I'm not going to bash individual players.