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South Carolina's Steve Spurrier was as angry as the Gamecocks' fans who watched his team's last performance. This season he hopes he finally has some of the firepower to fix the problems.
Spurrier doesn't plan to forget South Carolina's dismal 20-7 loss to Connecticut at the Papajohns.com Bowl last January and understands why fans probably won't either.
''The state of our football program right now is we're not very good,'' Spurrier said.
It's hard to argue with the 65-year-old ball coach, entering his sixth season at South Carolina.
Nearly each time Spurrier seems ready to turn the corner to success, the Gamecocks lose their way.
- South Carolina was 6-1 and No. 6 in the country in 2007, then closed with five straight defeats.
- A 7-3 mark a year later had the Gamecocks thinking Southeastern Conference title before they lost their last three.
- A 6-2 opening last fall dissolved into a 1-4 finish. The last two crash-landings included demoralizing bowl defeats that left Spurrier wondering about his program's direction.
This offseason, Spurrier has tried to channel that disappointment into resolve.
''Our fans remember the UConn game and I remember the UConn game and we weren't very good. Don't tell us to forget because we're not going to forget it,'' Spurrier says. ''We're going to try our best to never, ever have a performance like that again.''
To do that, the Gamecocks must rely on the quick growth of some of their youngest players and newest coaches.
The disappointing endings didn't dampen Spurrier's recruiting as the Gamecocks landed perhaps their two best groups ever the past two years. Receiver Alshon Jeffery, tailback Kenny Miles and defensive backs Stephon Gilmore and DeVonte Holloman each had made significant contributions last fall. And last February's prize recruit, Marcus Gilmore, has already shown flashes of his abilities a week into fall camp.
New offensive line coach Shawn Elliott plans to cement a group that is South Carolina's most experienced unit up front in years and seeking to end the Gamecocks' three-year distinction as the SEC's least productive running attack. Even sometimes troubled quarterback Stephen Garcia has looked good throwing the ball - when he's allowed to leave his spot in Spurrier's doghouse.
''Our offense has hindered our team sometimes the last couple of years,'' senior fullback Patrick DiMarco said. ''We're hoping with our new offensive line coach and some new glitches in the offense that it'll make the difference in some of the close games that we've lost the last few years.''
Spurrier takes pride that the Gamecocks' skill level and commitment has grown since his earlier days when he couldn't count on players to put in the offseason work necessary in college football's strongest conference.
''I think we've got the best group of athletes since we've been there,'' Spurrier says. ''I know they have the best attitudes.''
Now, if only Spurrier could figure out how to stop his program's free fall come season's end.
Spurrier has pronounced things solved a few times, most notably when the Gamecocks defeated state rival Clemson in 2006 and this past November.
South Carolina rallied from two touchdowns to win at Death Valley four years back, Spurrier saying the victory could be the catalyst to bigger things. It certainly looked that way the next fall when the team raced out to win six of its first seven and reach No. 6 in the country. Spurrier even sounded like his old, needling self when he cracked there were no bowl celebrations around campus after that postseason-qualifying sixth win because everyone expected more.
Instead, the Gamecocks stumbled home with five straight losses to miss bowl season entirely.
Last Thanksgiving weekend, Spurrier was equally giddy after the Gamecocks' defense shut down Clemson and ACC player of the year C.J. Spiller in a 34-17 victory. Then came the Connecticut debacle and more questions about Spurrier's program.
Still, the coach sounds as pumped up about the future as he is livid about the team's recent past.
''We really feel like we're heading in the right direction at South Carolina,'' Spurrier said. ''We really do.''
