Are Steve Spurrier's Best Coaching Days behind Him?
Posted on October 2, 2011 by Jacob Bunn
Before the season, I chose Georgia as my pick to win the SEC East this year. I did so cognoscente of the belief that the top talent in the division this season resides in Columbia. Sad to say, I made my pick simply because I did not think Steve Spurrier could coach his team to another SEC Championship Game.
What happened to the field general who coached his team to a national championship in 1996? What happened to the offensive genius who used to leave watchers marveling at his team’s ability to move the football? What happened to the never say die spirit of Spurrier’s that used to translate to his team’s play week in and week out?
The biggest problem for Spurrier was Saturday what it has been for some time: Stephen Garcia. The quarterback who is seemingly in his seventh straight season in Columbia has become the difference between prosperity and adversity for South Carolina.
“Offensively, we could do nothing. We were pretty sad, pretty sad the entire game,” Spurrier said in his postgame press conference. When asked about whether or not Garcia would be the starting quarterback next week against Kentucky, Spurrier said he did not know. “Right now, we are just going to lick our wounds. We’ll watch the tape, and see if we need to make some changes around here,” he said.
Garcia has had many issues off of the field during his tenure in Columbia. One of his incidents occurred in the summer leading up to this season. Many believed at the time that Spurrier, being the no-nonsense type of disciplinarian that he is known as, would tell Garcia to hit the road once and for all. But he didn’t, and Garcia was reinstated yet another time to the team. Some people who have known Spurrier well over the years were surprised at this result.
While Garcia provided short of nothing at the quarterback position for the Gamecocks, the problems on offense were systemic. Many consider South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore to be the premiere running back in the nation. But, he was only given the ball 17 times, and he only produced 66 yards on those carries. Spurrier attributed poor blocking for the inability to run the ball.
A tremendous amount of credit for Saturday’s outcome goes to a largely maligned Auburn defense for exposing the problems the Gamecocks have with their offense. The Tigers have South Carolina’s number, and that’s the bottom line. Gene Chizik, Gus Malzahn and the Auburn staff have outcoached the Gamecocks three times in only 371 days.
Coming into the game, Auburn’s defense was ranked 110 out of 120 defenses in college football. That is sure to change after Saturday’s performance. “They (Auburn) defensively had not played very well, but we made them look like about the best defense in the league most of the night,” Spurrier said.
At the end of the day, South Carolina is right now the most overrated team in the country. Of course, it can repair its problems and win some later this season. But, there is no way this team deserves to be in the top 25 after Saturday’s game.
There was a time when you could count on Steve Spurrier’s team being a national contender year after year. This year would have been a perfect opportunity for the Gamecocks to make a run, too, because the SEC East is not at its competitive best. If Spurrier cannot do it this year, when will he?
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Email Jacob at jacob@bunnsports.com and follow him on Twitter at @JacobBunn
