Has South Carolina Really Improved?

One could argue that they are making the games closer, and that the cream of the crop SEC teams are getting stronger, thus accounting for the Gamecocks' poor conference showing. But if a team doesn't keep up with the rest of the conference's rise, then it isn't improving.

Last year, South Carolina had beaten Louisiana-Lafayette and Georgia, and was ranked No. 17 with that 2-0 record. When they beat an FCS team (South Carolina State), they moved up five spots in the polls to No. 12. The Gamecocks then lost to LSU, and dropped to No. 16.

Just how does a team get ranked higher after losing than when they were undefeated?

Now here is where it gets interesting. The Gamecocks beat Mississippi State to jump to No. 11, beat Kentucky to be in the top ten at No. 7, beat North Carolina and suddenly were No. 6.

Of course, they inexplicably dropped the next five games—four of them being to quality teams—and suddenly, that No. 6 ranking looked rather suspicious, much like Kentucky's No. 8 ranking before losing four of their last seven.

So what about this year? Well, the Gamecocks will probably be 4-1 after the first five games, beating NC State, Vanderbilt, Wofford and UAB, but losing to Georgia. Will they be highly ranked after a 4-1 start? Probably, and that's what is wrong with the polls.

The next four games are Ole Miss, Kentucky, LSU and Tennessee. Two probable wins there give them a 6-3 record, and out of the Top 25.

They finish their season with Arkansas, Florida and Clemson. Let's give them the Arkansas game due to the Petrino hire and no D-Mac or Felix Jones.

The Gamecocks finish 7-5, and will most likely go bowling after beating Wofford, NC State, Vanderbilt, UAB, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Arkansas.

Improvement? From an overall record standpoint, yes, but two of their four projected conference wins are over teams with a 2007 losing record (Vandy 5-7, Ole Miss 3-9) .

The other two are over teams that lost much of their big talent (Kentucky's Andre' Woodson, Arkansas' D-Mac and Felix Jones, plus a new coach hire) and are expected to have a big drop-off this year.

South Carolina may upset one of the big boys, but then could lose to a lower-tiered conference foe as well, judging by their past history.

In the end, Spurrier's Gamecocks will end up just a little over .500, and Gamecock Nation can celebrate a bowl berth.

But they can thank the added fourth non-conference game for that bowl berth. Heap the accolades on Spurrier if you must, but last year, Spurrier's Gamecocks received the same praise in the preseason and didn't live up to the hype.

Deep down, recognize that the probable bowl berth this year is a product of the system, and not improvement.

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