The strangest season I have ever seen? Maybe.

Let’s be clear about last night’s win over Vanderbilt by USC…the Gamecocks were in total control of the game from start to finish.  That includes both building the lead AND tearing it down with mistakes.  So with all due respect to the Commodores, they had very little to say about what happened.  When we were focused and playing like we can, we were up 28-0 and they didn’t have 100 yards.  Now, once we decided to start giving away touchdowns like candy, of course it got tight.  Anyway, that was a Vandy team that had 14 seniors starting out of 22 and they took advantage of our blunders. 

So after three games and about a million exhaustive hours of listening to Freudian-like psycho-analysis of the Gamecocks from the National Sports media, we are right where most of us thought we would be.  Our 2-1 record includes a loss to a desperate team on the road with a Senior QB who HAD to play a perfect game against us and did. 

So now we’ll get two weeks of folks guaranteeing we will lose to Central Florida because they beat Penn State.  And, yes, if we go to Orlando, make a fresh bucket of unforced errors and get all “panicky” then of course we will lose.  More likely is that we will continue to get better, those mistakes will be reduced and we start rolling off a few wins. 

News flash to anyone who couldn’t read a depth chart before the season started:  We are the youngest football team in the United States.  That’s not theory or spin, that is a fact.  We have less than 10 seniors on the entire depth chart.  It may be as few as 5. Possibly 6 but certainly less than 10.  Assuming our injured senior center returns, we will lose 6 starters for next fall.  And yes I am including Clowney in that number even though he is a junior.  6. 

So why is everyone so unbelievably STUNNED that these young guys have had the UNMITIGATED TEMERITY to make a few errors as they get a few games under their belts?  I expect that kind of reaction from ESPN and our deluded neighbors from the northwest, but I mean Gamecock fans.  Look if you were one of the Carolina folks who swallowed the tripe that USC would not in any way miss losing Devin Taylor, Melvin Ingram, Devnonte Holloman, Antonio Allen, Stephon Gilmore, etc, etc, then I am sorry.  I have no  doubt the next great names to add to that list are coming but my goodness it takes a few weeks of experience to get rolling. 

We are just a few years removed from a program that used to have joyous celebrations over 7-win seasons.  I know because I have all the commemorative DVDs and tapes.  And now, instead of enjoying this 24-5 streak we are enduring it like it’s a root canal.  How about let’s just enjoy the ride as our younger guys grow?  What a long, strange season it has been and will continue to be if we don’t. 

Lighten up Carolina fans.  It’s a great time to be a Gamecock!