Watch/Listen: Who has been the most disappointing team so far this season?

 

 

It’s been a rough season in Columbia, S.C. A preseason top-10 team, South Carolina has bottomed out to the lowest point they’ve hit since Steve Spurrier came to town a decade ago.

After an unprecedented three-year run of success which saw the team set the school record for wins in a season, then tie it the following two years, the Gamecocks are struggling to compete in the up-and-down SEC East.  In a division filled with question marks, South Carolina’s fall from grace is the most disappointing start to the season for any team. But are they the most disappointing team in all of college football?

While a host of South Carolina’s fellow preseason top-10 brethren have dropped a game here or there, no one else has fallen out of the rankings as the Gamecocks have, and none have even two losses, while Carolina already has three.

Who has disappointed as badly as the Gamecocks have? There’s a short list of teams that even come close. LSU appears to be the South Carolina of the SEC West, coming into the season with high expectations and a no. 12 preseason ranking. Unlike South Carolina, though, LSU entered the season with no clear-cut choice at quarterback, a problem they’re still dealing with, and the team has lost far more talent to the NFL in recent years.

A few hours north of South Carolina, the North Carolina Tarheels have let fans down as well, although their expectations weren’t as high. They still ranked 23rd in the preseason polls, but were unconvincing in two wins to open the season before dropping three straight. Facing Notre Dame this week, the Heels will be hard-pressed to make a bowl game after likely dropping to 2-4.

South Carolina has certainly disappointed their fans, and they had the voters fooled according to Spurrier. That likely contributed to their rapid fall from the rankings after a brutal home loss to Missouri, and they’re unlikely to climb back into the top 25 anytime soon. It’s the first time Carolina has fallen from the rankings since September 2010.

One of the most disappointing parts of the Gamecocks’ spiral has been their refusal to play to their strength on offense: the running game. They have two guys who look like they can be workhorses, Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds, and a talented, veteran offensive line that is built to pound opponents.

Yet Dylan Thompson is second in the conference in passing attempts, and Spurrier keeps going to the air. That was never truer against Kentucky, when Spurrier called seven straight pass plays to end the game, resulting in two Thompson interceptions and a loss that fans won’t forget soon.

The defense is another matter. Spurrier and Lorenzo Ward talked as if this year’s unit would be among the best they’ve had in recent years, despite the talent they’ve lost to the NFL. That obviously hasn’t come to pass, as South Carolina has fielded one of the worst defenses in the country this season. They struggle to cover the pass, tackle and rush the quarterback, a trifecta of doom.

While there’s no doubt that the Gamecocks are a massive disappointment, should folks be as let down as they are? Now that the season is well underway, it’s become more apparent that the talent loss has had a greater effect than anyone imagined. Voters and fans alike seemed to overlook before the season that South Carolina lost the winningest quarterback in school history in Connor Shaw and the most talented defensive player the school has ever had, Jadeveon Clowney, after last season.

Did no one look around and wonder where the big plays would come from? There’s no one like current-Houston Texan D.J. Swearinger flying around in the defensive secondary making things happen, no receivers like Ace Sanders or Bruce Ellington who can be relied on in the clutch. And certainly, Thompson is no Shaw when it comes to making something out of nothing for the offense.

After coming so close to the pinnacle of the SEC, it’s hard for South Carolina fans to look at the regression and not be concerned. Next year’s team will be even younger, with a large crop of young players expected to contribute right away on defense. Thompson, for as unremarkable as he’s been, still represents a better option than Connor Mitch, the backup quarterback who barely beat out a walk-on for the job. If the talent coming through the pipeline doesn’t work out, the golden age of South Carolina football could be over.

That would be most disappointing of all.