This obviously is not an SEC caliber program. Can we join C-USA?? At least better chance of acquiring a winning record!!
Can SC please leave the SEC??
- Thread starter Cockofdawn
- Start date
I never thought I would be at this point because I love the SEC, but maybe the Big 12 would allow this program to produce more 10 win seasons and make playoffs. I mean look at the stretch this year. LSU, OU, Ole Miss, Bama, ATM, then Clemson. We consistently have one of the most difficult schedules in the country. Hell, we were about to open with Miami next year too. It’s a death sentence.
We've always been & always will be an ACC team playing in the SEC. All conferences need cellar dwellers......Roy Kramer knew what he was getting.
It is sort of interesting that Clemson is basically an SEC program in the ACC and South Carolina is an ACC team playing in the SEC.
Maybe a trade is in order?
Klimpsun would be just like SC in the SEC!! Taters are a lower lever SEC team at best. If they had the Schedule SEC teams play they wouldn’t make playoffs!!
I think they would be better than us, all things being equal. They generally recruit better and have better talent than SC.
Not sure about that. The years they would pound the ASheShe was allowing them to rest staters and get backups valuable playing time in Garbage time.
Our football program would be incompetently run regardless of the conference.
Yep. The Gamecocks have sucked everywhere. Whatever the SoCon used to be 1,000 years ago, the ACC 500 years ago. There’s a tendency to look at these teams they’ve had in the SEC and think “if this team was in another conference…” then there would not be that particular team. Roster & resources would be different.
Very average until an influx of in-state talent rarely seen in our history, AND poaching some of that talent during a transition period at Clem. In other words, a perfect storm.
Okay it was a “perfect storm”. Isn’t that what we want? Back to back top 5 finishes and national relevancy. Pretty sure there are more five stars on the roster this year than Spurrier had those years. Hell, there’s an in state 5* in Dobson this cycle. Not to mention just pulling Darius Gray.
Yes what a genius idea! We drop out and Clemson takes our place. We would never, ever be heard from again. Being in the SEC assures financial security forever. I`m sure plenty of Indiana fans were saying they should leave the Big 10 for the same reasons now look at them. We left the ACC and it haunted us for years. It is a privilege to be in the SEC. Don`t encourage a loser`s mentality. Let Donati try to fix it. Everyone seems to think he knows what he is doing - give him time. Despite our sorry record, I think Vandy was the only game we haven`t been competitive in. And we were 9-3 last year how soon we forget.
You have to wonder why we're hanging in there. We're spending an awful lot of money to be overall mediocre.
Yes not refuting anything you say just pointing out that even Spurrier needed quite a bit of luck to win at SC.
Luck? There were a lot of homegrown players who chose to stay in state and play for the gamecocks to write their legacy. Tell them it was luck…it was a compilation of talent and a good head coach.
Agree 100%. We should be in the ACC. We would be a consistent 8 win team with 10-11 win seasons every 2-3 years.
Doubtful. We would lose our "come play in the SEC and get playing time" recruiting chip, so our recruiting would take a significant hit. That's really our only recruiting chip and we've playing it virtually non-stop for 30+ years.
And we'd be recruiting against an in-state ACC opponent who is better than us. If you were an ACC caliber football player and you were choosing between USC and Clemson, both in the ACC, why would you choose USC?
FSU's hubris sentenced us to this. Or maybe it was King Dixon and that administration trying to recoup what Dietzel's hubris caused.
Call it a difference of semantics but to me it’s luck that a generational crop of SC talent came out right at the time Clemson was transitioning to an unproven coach. NOT saying an effort wasn’t made by SOS (I.e, dancing in ML’s kitchen) but some of those players are on record stating they probably would have gone to Clem under normal circumstances. Anyway, agree to disagree. Winning at SC is HARD.
Winning at SC is a challenge. It has more to do with the competition though. There is plenty of talent in SC, NC, GA, and VA. South Carolina has been pulling in consistent high quality talent for years, though not truly elite classes. Facilities are top notch, with new suites and video screen coming to the stadium, indoor practice facility, etc. Ole Miss is doing fairly well right now with a similar set of circumstances.
Facilities everywhere are good now. Suites and video screens don't affect recruiting or the play on the field. Suites bring in money to line the admin and coach's pockets. Video screens let fans watch replays and let the programs charge for advertising. Every SEC team has an indoor practice facility.
Yes, there is a lot of talent in the states you list but there are also a lot of FBS football teams, most of which have much more successful histories and reputations than South Carolina. Ole Miss is winning because they have Lane Kiffin, we have Shane Beamer, that is a substantially different circumstance.
Not disagreeing with anything, just attempting to dismiss this notion Carolina isn’t postured to be a big time program.
Do you disagree?
Look at the records and the championships, it isn't pretty but Clemson is a better football program historically than South Carolina.
Since 2004, South Carolina's SEC record is 81-91 (.465) . Since 2004, Clemson's record against SEC teams is 24-21 (.533). Clemson has a winning record over 2 SEC teams, Missouri and South Carolina. South Carolina has a winning record over 3 SEC teams, UK, Vandy and Miss. State.
South Carolina's all time winning percentage in all games is .492, Clemson is .604. Our SEC winning percentage all time is .383. If we swapped conferences with Clemson, I think they would do better in the SEC than we do. I doubt they would be challenging to win the conference every year but they would probably win more games than South Carolina.
I think South Carolina would win quite a few more games in the ACC than in the SEC.
Is there any serious disagreement that Clemson is a better program?
I mean, I know we hate them and all, but facts are facts.
I can't understand how he was upset that I thought they would do better in the SEC than we have. I despise them but I have to be honest.
And I think we, likewise, would do worse than them in the ACC.
The only selling point we have to recruits is "come to the SEC and get playing time". Take that away and what do we have? We'd be the second-best ACC program in our state trying to recruit players.
The true top level recruits can go pretty much anywhere in the SEC and get playing time. I guess we can be more appealing to the 3 stars that UGA, Bama, LSU, etc. aren't really going after but are being pursued by UVA, NCSt, etc..
Stop with the post menopausal histrionics. There are only about 10-15 schools that can legitimately field winners every year, out of several hundred. Aside from the 0-21 years, our teams haven’t been that bad since joining the SEC, and arguably better than 150 other schools over that span. Only 10-15 schools have the money, the prestige, and the power to realistically make the playoffs every year, and while not one of them, we are close. Here’s the secret recipe…What we need is an unscrupulous, aggressive, winner for an AD; an uncompromising , take-no-prisoners, progressive genius for head coach; a BOD that can effectively rally the money and has the balls to make critical and timely decisions; and a wealthy booster base who likes to pay-to-play. Didn’t say it was easy, but it can be done.
It's not about the playoffs. It is about being able to count on 7 or 8 win seasons most years and looking like we have a clue.
If it's only wins you're looking for why not the MAC? Or we can stop being stupid and hire a good coach.