2010 Auburn/FSU beatdowns were the eve of 33-6 run; Did USC...NEED this loss?

[GSC2013]

Just for anyone who thinks the sky is truly falling, remember two past beatdowns, in 2010, when Auburn beat USC senseless in Atlanta, and FSU busted 'em in the mouth. 0-2, back to back big time losses.

What followed was the 33-6 epic run we went on.

Who knows. Maybe we NEEDED this humbling to reignite the desperate sense of urgency day to day. It was almost starting to feel like USC players and fans felt like we "deserved" some of these wins over teams not named Georgia/Florida, and almost like the end was already sealed before kickoff.

Cant change last night. And it sure isn't the first beatdown the Gamecocks have taken.

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. To humble some guys. To make some refocus. Sharpen the drive a bit.

Heck, I'm kinda excited to see how we react. We'll play ECU with a DESPERATE attitude for a change!!!! Truly desperate, as ECU is now a MUST WIN AT ALL COSTS game.

Same for Georgia. This USC team is fighting for it's season and life now.

Is it just me...or is anyone else kinda happy to see if the players can get that nasty, desperate, angry streak back that guys like Eric Norwood, Melvin Ingram and DJ Swearinger had???

I don't know. Maybe the team and all of us needed this. Heck, look at Clemson. They got embarrassed by West Virginia. Since then, they've only lost to 2 teams: USC and FSU, both great teams, and they've won the Orange Bowl and beat LSU, UGA. They NEEDED that beat down to refocus them too.

Just keep fighting.

[ChickenButt]

I'm hoping so. The team definitely looked like they thought they just needed to show up. A&M was out for blood.

[803scdantes]

Sorry, but a beatdown is not a blessing in disguise. I know we have to spin it that way since it was our team that got the brakes beat off it, but a beatdown is just that- a beatdown. Getting pwned by TAMU on our home field will not magically make our players comprehend a playbook or give them additional talent.

[thekob]

Originally Posted by 803scdantes

Sorry, but a beatdown is not a blessing in disguise. I know we have to spin it that way since it was our team that got the brakes beat off it, but a beatdown is just that- a beatdown. Getting pwned by TAMU on our home field will not magically make our players comprehend a playbook or give them additional talent.

Agree.

At best it just reveals to players and the coaches some glaring issues that need to be addressed immediately. It's time for the coaches to earn their play and try to patch together something workable. If there was anyone getting a big head over the press we've been getting, this should pop that bubble.

How we respond against ECU will be indicative of how we do the rest of the season. After getting pushed down (and doused with gasoline and lit on fire) do they get back up?

[TonyVercetti]

Originally Posted by 803scdantes

Sorry, but a beatdown is not a blessing in disguise. I know we have to spin it that way since it was our team that got the brakes beat off it, but a beatdown is just that- a beatdown. Getting pwned by TAMU on our home field will not magically make our players comprehend a playbook or give them additional talent.

This

[southerntramp]

Oh good Lord....

All this all the time..."need to wake up...get ready...not prepared...not coached well enough...blah blah blah blah blah...." OLD OLD OLD

While media coverage is good...you are ranked high....you are picked to win the freakin EAST and play for the Championship....they KNOW THAT THEY HAVE A TARGET ON THEIR BACKS.....They want all the glory and fame with ranking, etc. but you have to prepare (I think I heard that they were not prepared by HBC...WTF?!?!?)) and then go out and take it!!!!....ACTIONS....PLAY...TALK IS CHEAP!

[2000grad]

I was at the FSU one...9 INTS?

[spareparts]

This is an interesting thought for a thread. But I needed that loss like I needed an IRS audit during a root canal. I am so absolutely dumbfounded and astounded by how crappy everything was that it almost seems like it took place in an alternative universe. Like I traveled through another dimension, a dimension of extreme suckage

[cockybreeyan]

Yea they did honestly. They thought they were hot stuff. Welcome back to earth. Now let's play some ball

[Acockolypse Now]

Press play for my message to ATM

[Spurrier_Superior_One]

One thing USC has never been able to do is handle hype time after time we have a big game and then believe our hype and drop a game you know like in 2010. The worst thing to happen to USC in the offseason was the SEC Network, my God you think we were guaranteed a National Title listening to the so-called experts on there. Everyone drank the koolaid and their head got too big for their hats we received an ass cutting of a lifetime.

[GSC2013]

Originally Posted by 803scdantes

Sorry, but a beatdown is not a blessing in disguise. I know we have to spin it that way since it was our team that got the brakes beat off it, but a beatdown is just that- a beatdown. Getting pwned by TAMU on our home field will not magically make our players comprehend a playbook or give them additional talent.

But it could make them study that playbook and film more, and take it more seriously. It could make them work harder. And not just think trotting out to 2001 against any team not named UGA/Florida guarantees victory.

Take UGA, for example, in 2012. They were loaded for bear. And we beat the brakes of 'em 35-7. They responded by making it to Atlanta and being 4 yards short of winning the SEC Championship. All those star players on UGA's roster needed that wake-up call to play to their potential.

Even Nick Saban knows this. When you hit a high point....sometimes you need a big kick in the ass to keep that standard up for the long term.

[GSC2013]

Believe me, I'd never WANT that beatdown. No one would.

But I think if you look at history...at teams that have sustained success over 5, 8, 10, 12 years....the recipe includes an occassionaly ass whooping to remind everyone "Hey, you have to WORK just as hard now as before to keep up this standard".

It sucks. But, look at other programs who have sustained long-term success. They have those occasional wake up calls. Its just part of the recipe.

[GSC2013]

Originally Posted by spareparts

This is an interesting thought for a thread. But I needed that loss like I needed an IRS audit during a root canal. I am so absolutely dumbfounded and astounded by how crappy everything was that it almost seems like it took place in an alternative universe. Like I traveled through another dimension, a dimension of extreme suckage

Yes. But..just a few historical reminders:

2012 USC blasts UGA 35-7. UGA responds...and comes within 4 yards of SEC Championship vs Bama (who did win the NC).
2012 Florida bullies Florida State all over the field. FSU responds...and wins NC the next year.
1996 Florida- with Spurrier- get MANHANDLED by Florida State. By season's end....Florida beats FSU in the Sugar Bowl to win it all.
2013 Missouri- Got punked in 2012 with a season full of SEC beatdowns. Those guys woke up and responded by winning the East in 2014.
2008- Alabama takes a beating from Utah in their bowl, humiliated. They win the NC the next season.
2007- LSU loses to Kentucky. They finish as National Champions.
1999- Va Tech is hot-stuff with Vick. FSU blasts them. They respond by winning multiple ACC championships over the next decade.

My point is just that if we are a program that will maintain top-25 level success....these occasional wake-up calls are just reality. Its what keeps 4-star caliber players working as hard as a walk-on every day.