Front Porch FootballUSC Gamecocks: College Football’s Headless Knight
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By: Ben Bramhall
The Headless Knight, a figure who looks strong, but lacks the leadership, creativity, or clutch qualities to keep himself from being decapitated in battle. This is the Carolina Gamecocks, or more importantly, Muschamp.
Those who know me, know that I’m an outsider when it comes to the college football madness that goes on in the state of South Carolina. I’m a Penn State fan. But even then, I’ve always been more of a fan of the NFL, NBA, and recently, I’ve begun watching more and more NHL and MLB. That in no way means that I don’t watch or follow college football in any capacity. In fact, I probably watch more than the casual fan. And because I live in the beautiful state of South Carolina, I watch every single Clemson and South Carolina football game. Everyone in my family is essentially a Clemson fan, but I don’t have those ties. I find myself watching and pulling for both teams. Heresy, I know, but I don’t have any allegiances to either team. Why am I telling you this? Simple, I’ve learned that many Gamecock fans will either call you a hater or a Clemson lover if you level any kind of criticism towards their team. Not all of you, just some of you. Again, I’m an outsider, with no ties to any of the SEC or Clemson football. That said, let us begin.
2015
Let’s rewind back to the 2015 season, where things were in absolute turmoil. The amazing crop of players like Alshon Jeffery, Marcus Lattimore, Stephon Gilmore, D.J. Swearinger, Jadeveon Clowney, Connor Shaw, and many more were gone, and they were never adequately replaced by the Ol’ Ball Coach through recruitment. It seemed that he had lost his fire for coaching college ball, and the Gamecocks started the season with a sub-par 2-4 record. At this point and out of left-field, Spurrier shocked the world by announcing his immediate retirement. Gamecock fans, I get it. He ushered in a golden age (I guess…) for Gamecock football, but quit denying the fact that he abandoned you. He left you right as things were beginning to collapse. Things went from bad to worse, and the Gamecocks finished with a 3-9 record. A once promising SEC contender was now in the basement, while the in-state rival became a national power.
Hiring Muschamp
The situation was pretty desperate, so the Gamecocks needed to get the head coaching hire right. The coaching carousel had a solid group of candidates to choose from. They could go with Justin Fuente, the promising young gun who turned Memphis into a respectable football program and fostered the promising NFL QB prospect (now NFL bust…) Paxton Lynch. No dice, he gets an offer from Virginia Tech and takes the job. No big deal, there’s also Tom Herman. Herman is a disciple of Urban Meyer and the Ohio State offense is pretty devastating. Again, a no, he takes the job at…Houston?!? They’re not even in a power five conference. Something really persuaded him to go there (cough…Texas job opening soon…cough cough). Ok…well…how about Kirby Smart? The guy is an understudy of Nick Saban…what else do you need to know? He can bring that Bama grit to the Gamecocks and make the program stro…and Georgia just hired him…damnit. Oh c’mon, doesn’t anyone want to coach the Gamecocks?
I get the program was left in a mess but…ok let’s face it, the Gamecock job wasn’t a desirable one at all. No real winning tradition, the program would have to be built from scratch, and they’re surrounded by strong programs like Clemson and Georgia. Not to worry, they said. Athletic Director Ray Tanner has it covered. Fuente? Herman? Smart? Those guys are hacks (disclaimer: they aren’t). We’ve found the man for the job, the man who will bring more glory to Gamecock nation than Spurrier ever could. Gamecock nation, please give a warm welcome to your new head coach. Meet Will Muschamp, the man whose previous stints include turning Florida into a losing program and coaching a brutally terrible defense at Auburn for a year…fantastic.
2016
Despite the lackluster hire, Gamecock nation was in full-spirits. Their recruiting was slowly beginning to build up, scoring a very promising high-school QB prospect by the name of Jake Bentley. But keep in mind, Muschamp is inheriting a 3-9 team, so expectations should be kept somewhat modest. Pleasantly surprising, the Gamecocks actually didn’t do too bad. Although they finished their SEC play with a 3-5 record, they’re going into their annual rivalry matchup with Clemson with a 6-5 record (not great, but better than expected).
Heading into this matchup, this is where talking heads began to burst out of hiding. Many fans were predicting an upset over the 10-1 Tigers, and some went so bold as to say that Jake Bentley would have a better game than Heisman-candidate Deshaun Watson…oh boy. The Tigers apparently weren’t pleased with these remarks and proceeded to go Operation Desert Storm on the Gamecocks, pulverizing them, 56-7. It was a massacre so bad, it would make Daenerys Targaryen’s burning of King’s Landing look like an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
The Gamecocks would then lose their bowl game to a hungry South Florida team in a shootout and those damn Tigers would win their first national title since 1981 against the Crimson Tide (a great game to go back and watch, btw). Not exactly the ending to a season that people wanted, but going 6-7 after an awful 3-9 campaign isn’t anything to be ashamed of. Progress was made, Jake Bentley showed some promise, and things were actually looking up.
2017
Fast forward to the 2017 season. Recruiting was really starting to look good and hopes for a solid season were very high. To the naked eye, the season was a pretty successful one for the Gamecocks in terms of their record. They would go 9-4 overall, 5-3 in the SEC, placing them 2nd in the SEC East, and even won a bowl game against Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan team in a comeback victory.
However, there were some glaring holes that I noticed and mentioned to many of my friends plenty of times after the season was over. The first concern was Jake Bentley. He really didn’t show any progress as a developing passer, and although he was always touted as more of an athletic QB, his athleticism seemed rather pedestrian compared to some of the other college QBs. This then led me to looking back at Muschamp’s second season as the head coach of Florida, where they went 11-2 due to a strong defense but rather pedestrian offense. The next year, Florida would go 4-8. This fact led me to asking the question: Did the Gamecocks overachieve this season? There’s no way to know for sure, but one might need to worry.
Another concern was the sudden awakening of Georgia as a national power. To be fair, they were always pretty good under Mark Richt, but Smart turned them into a contender for the national title in just two seasons (would’ve been nice if the Gamecocks had gotten Smart…sigh). Like every other sports team in Georgia, they would choke away the game to Bama, continuing the state’s legacy of failure and proving them to be more cursed than Stanley Yelnats (don’t ever forget to carry Madame Zeroni). Regardless, their program was a national power, and the Gamecocks were now surrounded by two college football powers (Clemson and Georgia). How legit are these concerns? On to 2018!
2018
2018 is here, and the concerns are pretty legit. The Gamecocks settle with a 7-6 overall record and 4-4 record in the SEC. Not awful, but the Gamecocks definitely took a step back. Besides the victories over weaker conferences foes and annual SEC doormat Vanderbilt, the Gamecock wins were hardly inspiring. The Gamecocks would get stomped by Georgia, routed by Kentucky, fail in the clutch against Texas A&M and Florida, and get beat by Clemson (5 years in a row…bruh). We also can’t forget the Gamecocks getting shut down by Virginia in the Belk Bowl…yikes.
Then there’s Jake Bentley, who regresses into a rather mediocre QB. Sure, he had some good games here and there, but he was pretty abysmal for a good part of the season. He was very inconsistent in reading defenses, made some very poor decisions, and showed no real progress as a passer in his third year. To make matters worse, Clemson would once again become the best team in the nation (I’d venture to say that this particular squad could give the USC Trojan dynasty a run for their money). In a spectacle never seen before, Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide would be absolutely manhandled by the Tigers in the national title game. I am still shocked by that game. In any case, it was a dark day for the Gamecock faithful. Their team had regressed back to mediocrity, their rival has become a dynasty, all is lost…all is lost (melodrama at its peak).
The Present
Which leads us to now. We still have some time before the 2019 season starts, but I think that people need to consider this one to be pivotal for the Gamecocks. This will be Muschamp’s 4th season as the head coach. And while he’s shown that he is a very capable recruiter through bringing in some interesting prospects, he hasn’t really done anything to prove that he can take the next step as a head coach. He has coached some very bad games and has looked lost at times where he needs to step up. He has his players in the building now since this is his 4th season, so there can’t be any more excuses. The Gamecocks need to win.
I’m not saying they need to win the national title or even the SEC, but they need to at least be competitive in the conference. The pivotal season could not come at a worse time though. The Gamecocks have a freakin’ GAUNTLET of a schedule. They’ll play their typical tough SEC East opponents (Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, and a rising Tennessee), two very tough SEC west opponents (Alabama and Texas A&M), Clemson, and Appalachian State, who should never be taken lightly. The Gamecocks could potentially go 4-8 this season. THIS CAN NOT HAPPEN! If Muschamp let’s this happen, then he needs to go. You have the pieces to be a good team, and if he can’t do it, the Gamecocks need to find a head coach that can.
Understand this, I’m wishing the Gamecock faithful good luck. I want them to be good again, and for their rivalries to become competitive like they once were. I’m just not sure that Muschamp is the right man for the job. He is the Headless Knight. He looks capable, but in terms of leadership in clutch situations, it’s just not there. Your move, Muschamp. Change my mind.Bio:
Bramhall was born, raised, and currently lives in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He graduated from Wofford College. He just finished his masters in school counseling at Gardner-Webb University. However, his true home might as well be the state of Pennsylvania. He is a huge Penn State Nittany Lions football fan. He’s also the Philadelphia Eagles’ biggest fan, which used to be a miserable life of “what ifs” and “oh so close” moments. But after his team won the Super Bowl, he is now a god among men and is never wrong about anything football. If you didn’t like the Philly Special, he doesn’t like you. The 76ers and Phillies are cool, too. #TrustTheProcess #RingTheBell
