South Carolina: Most Disappointing Team Of 2014

CONGRATULATIONS … OR SOMETHING

By FITSNEWS || Was any other team in college football a bigger disappointment in 2014 than the South Carolina Gamecocks? No … in fact it’s not even close.

South Carolina began the 2014 season ranked No. 9 in the nation. They were picked to win the SEC Eastern Division and contend for a national championship.

Obviously none of that happened.  Steve Spurrier‘s squad was badly exposed in its season opening loss to Texas A&M – with its defense giving up 52 points and a school-record 680 yards to an Aggie team that turned out to be not quite as good as the Gamecocks made them out to be.

Still, on September 27 – a month after the humiliating home loss to Texas A&M – the Gamecocks enjoyed a 20-7 lead over Missouri with less than seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter.  A win over the Tigers and Spurrier’s squad would have been 4-1 on the season … but it was not to be.

Carolina collapsed against Missouri … and then again in even more spectacular fashion the next week against Kentucky.  And then once more for good measure the following month against Tennessee.

The end result?  A 6-6 record that could produce Spurrier’s first losing season as a college coach since 1987 – his first year as head coach of the Duke Blue Devils.

Oklahoma is the only other team that began the 2014 season ranked in the Top Ten … only to finish it unranked.  But the Sooners posted a much better 8-4 record, and three of their losses were to top tier opponents – No. 5 Baylor, No. 6 TCU and No. 11 Kansas State.

Stanford began the season ranked No. 11 … and also finished unranked.  But the Cardinal lost to multiple ranked opponents along the way including No. 2 Oregon, No. 15 Arizona State, No. 23 Utah and No. 24 USC.

South Carolina lost to three teams that finished the season unranked – and to No. 16 Missouri, No. 17 Clemson and No. 19 Auburn.  Its strength of schedule was much weaker than either Oklahoma or Stanford – and the Gamecocks posted a worse record.

From 2010-13, South Carolina exceeded expectations in the national rankings (including a No. 4 finish last season after beginning the year ranked No. 6).

This year, it just wasn’t meant to be …

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