Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

Your Opinion:

What (in your opinion) were the best and worst single seasons since
Steve Spurrier took over the program in 2005 ? .... AND WHY ?

East for me to pick the worst. 2007 started with A LOT of promise as
one of the best seasons ever here. I really thought that would be the
team that would best Morrison's 1984 season, and I thought that would
be our first trip to Atlanta to play for an SEC Title. Even with the loss
to LSU early that year, the team seemed to have all the elements in place
to get stronger as the season progressed (AND DID UP TO A POINT), and
a team that could possibly upset UF to win the East, and go to Atlanta.
SOMETHING happened during the UNC game that year that no on still
understands fully to this day, and it happened just before halftime of that
game. From the second half of the North Carolina contest, and through the
rest of the season, we were fielding a team that didn't want to be on the
field against any opponent. Some of the best football played with Spurrier
as the coach took place in the first 6 games of that year, and by far
(IMO) the worst football we've played to date, was played in the last
six games of that season.

For the best season: I'm going with the 2011 season. So much going
against that team from game one to game 14, it was hard for me to
realize how we won 7 games, let alone 11. Stephen Garcia struggled as
the starter to win games against Navy, Vanderbilt and a below average
UGA team. It came to a head against a very bad Auburn team, and we
walked off the field losers to a team that even in a struggle we were
beating through most of the game, but gave it away in the end.
It brought about a much needed change, that changed to course of this
program drastically for the next 3 years. Connor took over as the starter
on his way to becoming the best QB in this program's history, but he
had to work through the learning curve to get there, in 2011. We lost
our DC at the end of the year, and went into a Bowl game with a strong
Nebraska team without any defensive leadership, and emerged as a much
stronger team because of it. An incident that I think made this team
much stronger the next couple of seasons, up to this day. We overcame
so much that year, to establish a new win record, and end the season
with our best ever season ending ranking, that we've now bettered the
next two seasons. THAT year (2011) was the stepping stone to bigger
and better things for this team, and I really think the best is yet to come.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

I'm not sure we can have an accurate conversation about this until Spurrier calls it quits. HOPEFULLY the worst is behind us and our best is yet to come.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

The best season thus far has to be last year's team. Most consistent QB play and we had some pretty amazing wins.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

2007 - worst. Losing to vandy at home after coach lost his mind at UNC.

2012 - best team ever at Carolina. Only losses were on the road to LSU and Florida. And the UGA win...

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

Worst... I agree 2007, Started with such promise, then fell apart.
Best is yet to come

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

Worst for me was 2008; beatdown in Clemson then in the Outback Bowl that nobody showed up for. Spurrier admitted to almost quitting after that.

Best was a tie b/w 2010 and winning the East, and 2012. 2012 was our greatest team ever. 2010 had so many monumental, program-changing wins (Bama, Florida) that I couldn't not include it. Not the ending we had hoped for, but it showed we had arrived as a challenger.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

Worst season: 2008

Unlike 2007, there was never any real promise of a great season. 2007 had its share of great wins and heartbreaking losses (UT, CU). Our biggest win in 08 was Ole Miss who went 9-4 and there were some UGLY losses.

. Our offense never really got in a rhythm all year. We went from Beecher to Smelley to Garcia who just wasn't ready yet. I'm pretty sure we led the nation in interceptions.
. Offensive line had it's worst year by far. Had NO running game and couldn't protect whoever it was back there playing QB.
. Defense was actually a bright spot for the most part...until Florida.
. The last three games were just embarrassing to watch. Florida beats us 56-6 (I still have nightmares of that trick play we attempted on the kickoff return). Clemson carries Dabo off the field as they beat us 31-14. And then the Outback Bowl. I vividly remember the commentator saying "coach spurrier just needs to find 11 guys who WANT to play".
. Don't forget Spurrier said himself he almost walked away after that season.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

The 2005 team may have been the least talented team that coach has had here.

And the 2006 was really fun to watch. The got hot at the end of the season running the ball.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

I agree with the spurfan93. Worst was 2008. Got pounded by Florida 56-6 and then went to Clemson and watched Chris Smelley just have a horrible game vs the Tigers. That team had a bunch of talented individuals (especially on defense) and in my opinion just gave up. It was obvious during the Outback Bowl that certain players were looking to their future NFL plans, and didn't care about that game. It became even more obvious when they all declared for the draft IMMEDIATELY after the game was over.

The best is a little harder for me. 2010 was a fun season to watch. I really think 2012 was a better team though. The only losses were to LSU and Florida in their stadiums. The icing on the cake was taking a backup QB to Clemson at night and getting an easy win. That's when I knew we had really turned the corner. Lattimore was gone, Connor was out, and we still had enough to over power Clemson in their own house.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

Worst 2008- like many said above
Best 2012- only losses to LSU and UF on the road as injuried as we were.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

Worst: 2008 - QB shuffle

Best: 2010 - SEC East title

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

THink we can mostly agree 2008 was the worst year.

2009 is up there...but the win over Clemson saves that from the worst.

I'd have to say best so far is 2012 by a narrow margin over 2013.
The only reason is the losses...in 2012 loss to a good LSU team, and handed a game to a UF team that had a good defense.

I can't say 2013 because of the UT loss...at least in 2012 UF had a good defense (though we handed them the game in the first quarter), that UT team last year had an average D, virtually no QB play, no real playmakers and a good Oline...and yet we shit the bed against them.

The UGA loss at the time wasn't a killer because at that point, UGA still looked like a good team before the injuries hit them.

So worst: 2008
Best: 2012

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

Worst: 2007
Best: hard to say between 11,12,13 but a slight edge goes to 12.


But I still believe that the best is yet to come!!

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

In my opinion, our worst was 2008. 2007 started out with us winning against UGA, but then moving up in the rankings because a lot of teams in front of us were stumbling. I never really thought we were a top 15 team that year. Never envisioned us crumbling like we did though.

2008 was just a dud year. Nothing special about that year.

The best team I think was last years team. That team has some pretty dang impressive wins.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

I consider 2007-2009 as a low point in the programs history. Nothing is worse than 0-11 but there was a lack of energy. I remember after that horrid Outback bowl that Spurrier admitted he had been considering leaving

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

Best team is hard because it's not just W-L, but the talent on the field as well.
'11 defense was best ever of any Gamecock team
'13 offense was the best of the HBC era.

'13 still has to be the best team...our guys beat 5 Top 25 teams and finished 4th overall. Not sure the '11 or '12 teams could have won all those games.
'13 featured the best OL of HBC's tenure.....and of course, our best QB ever.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

If those three teams weren't back to back on the schedule, I think we would've played in Atlanta and the NCG.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

I don't see any case where you rank 2007 lower than 2008 .. The 2007 offense caught fire down the stretch .. the defense however, pretty much packed it in after Vandy. But the offense with Blake leading the charge was electric. That team also beat Ole Miss, Georgia, and almost made a huge comeback against LSU. If the defense didn't quit, that season could've been a whole lot different.

2008 was just a cluster****. Outside of the win in Oxford, they didn't play well all year. Even in the NC State 34-0 and Tennessee 27-6 drubbings. I think the LSU game took the wind out of their sails. That is a game we should have won.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

The years Blake Mitchell played QB were the worst. Remember how mostly every first pass of his in a game was an INT? May have only happened twice or so, but it seemed like it happened more often than not. Smelley wasn't all that great either.

Re: Best / Worst Gamecock team With Steve Spurrier as the Head Coach
 

Pretty much agree with what has been said here. 08 worst. 12 Was the best probably. That 11 defense was awesome though. Ingram Clowney Gilmore, and the list goes on. Ingram and Anotonio Allen were an absolute pleasure to watch. Never have I seen such playmakers.