When Steve Spurrier looks in the clubhouse mirror before stepping on the putting green this offseason, he’ll do so with a guilty conscience.

His coaching gaffes — questionable fourth-down decisions, neglecting to go for two in a crucial spot and an ego-driven obsession with the passing game — have led to consecutive disappointing losses for the Gamecocks, a team with backward momentum no longer trending as a threat in the SEC.

In danger of suffering the program’s first losing season in 11 years, South Carolina football hasn’t felt this low since 2007 when the Gamecocks climbed to No. 6 before losing a Spurrier-record five straight games to end the season.

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Once untouchable in the 1990s at Florida with a post-NFL career resurgence thanks to three unprecedented seasons of success in Columbia, the Head Ball Coach is teetering on the edge. I don’t think we’re nearing the R word just yet, but calling ball plays hasn’t looked enjoyable for the 70-year-old ‘offensive guru’ and Gamecocks’ all-time winningest coach.

A win over Georgia on Sept. 13 was an anomaly for this year’s team, a bad loss for the Bulldogs which could keep Mark Richt’s team out of the College Football Playoff. There’s no signs of that squad showing up again, especially after back-to-back demoralizing losses (with multi-touchdowns leads in the fourth quarter) have brought this team to its knees.

Spurrier’s been his own worst enemy this season and needs to take accountability as the leading man of the most overrated team in college football.

Coming off top 10 finishes each of the least three years, no one’s taken South Carolina’s fall from grace harder than the players and Spurrier’s doing them a disservice by not owning up to his faults.

Uber-confident during ‘talking season’ as he calls it, Spurrier’s one of the only coaches in the country to blame players for his in-game ineptitude in losses. Following South Carolina’s win over Vanderbilt last month, Spurrier called his team’s performance ’embarrassing’ in a typical overreactive rant.

His comments pertaining to ‘we have the voters fooled’ came into play the following week when the Gamecocks fell out of the Top 25 for the first time since 2010 after a one-point loss to Mizzou. That kind of remark sticks with writers and opposing coaches when ranking teams and no doubt left a detrimental mark on his team heading into Saturday’s Kentucky game.

After bludgeoning the Wildcats with a 19-play, 79-yard opening drive that chewed nearly eight minutes off the clock, Spurrier’s plan took a turn for the worse.

The Gamecocks ran the football 22 times (out of 28 offensive plays) in the first quarter, a recipe that’s worked out well during the program’s wonder years. Spurrier reversed course after that however, keeping it on the ground just 26 times the rest of the game.

Picking up first downs with Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds was so boring from the sideline, the inventor of the Fun-N-Gun needed to see more action through the air.

The result? An underwhelming, three-interception outing from quarterback Dylan Thompson who played directly into Kentucky’s strength against the pass.

“That’s not my decision, I’m not the type of guy to go to coach and tell him I want the ball or whatever, but at times I want the ball, but I’m not going to go to coach and tell him I want the ball,” Davis said after the game.

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I’m not requesting a player takeover, but at some point, Spurrier needs to be justly criticized for his utter impatience with the run game. His aggressive, step-on-the-throat offensive mentality has never been South Carolina’s strongsuit and often backfires. It’s easier to react after losses, sure, but the HBC’s infatuation with the forward pass has damaged this team’s psyche and has kicked a midseason tailspin into action.

South Carolina’s three losses through six games is the most since 2005 (Spurrier’s first season) and it’s not getting any easier for the Gamecocks.

A road trip to Auburn in three weeks is a near guaranteed loss and matchups against Tennessee, Florida and Clemson the rest of the way no longer appear to be games South Carolina should win.

Throughout his tenure and notably last summer, Spurrier has reiterated his intention on leaving the coaching ranks on his own accord. He has too much pride to tarnish an illustrious legacy as one of college football’s best ever and knows when it’ll be time to take off the visor.

Bear Bryant’s SEC record 159 wins seemed within reach when this season started as an Eastern Division favorite with an elite recruiting class (verbal commits) on the way next spring, but 30 league wins needed to surpass the league’s winningest coach seems like it would take — at least — six more years.

Should South Carolina finish 6-6 this fall, he’ll ponder his next move and give it another shot.

But another subpar campaign in 2015? He couldn’t stomach it.