I don't wear garnet colored glasses and yet I still disagree with you on many points. Yes, there appears to be a systemic issue with recruiting and Spurrier has acknowledged that.
Here's a few points I either disagree with or would like to make as a counter:
- Kentucky has a much better ball team than in the past. This remains to be seen by many, but if you couldn't see the difference last week in QB play, receiver quality, and capable running backs, you must have not been watching. We were not the only SEC win they will enjoy this year.
- Tennessee isn't as great as they have been billed. Their defense is improved but Dobbs isn't the second coming of Manning by any means. Regardless of the fact that he is an Aerospace engineering student, he is making frequent mistakes, and his accuracy isn't great. They are beatable.
- I predict we will beat Missouri this year. They are winning "ugly" again, and I think their luck will run out.
- How can you speak of Clemson's quality as a team when they haven't beaten a team with a pulse yet? I HONESTLY believe, we will beat them this year. they have a very week OL, and that will hurt them beginning tomorrow night at Louisville. By the time we play them, I predict they will have 3 or probably 4 losses, and they will be making posts such as your's.
- I believe our coaches will find a way to have our defense playing 60 minutes from now on.
- We are one of those teams that will improve exponentially (moreso than our competitors) as the season progresses.
Don't get me wrong, I am disappointed in where we are today, and to further disappoint, I don't see a miraculous turnaround by the start of next year.
Just consider this, everything you stated in your post was probably posted by someone at Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and Clemson in the past years as we (the Gamecocks) began a rise in competitiveness. We were cellar dwellers of the SEC, along with Ky., and Vandy.. Our history or geographic location doesn't recruit for us the way Florida, Georgia, Ala., Auburn, .......even Clemson does them. We have to really work for it and come up with "legal" methods of attracting and retaining quality recruits. And for all those who don't believe there is value in start power, at least it is an indicator of how we are doing relative to our peers in recruiting. Right now, our lunch is being eaten by our competition.