Wow, tough crowd
Steve Spurrier was wrapping up his postgame press conference on Saturday night, in a crowded, cramped interview room at Neyland Stadium. Eric Hyman, as he occasionally does, was listening in, standing a few feet away.
“I thought our coaches had a good game plan,” Spurrier said.
A voice could be heard behind me.
“I did too,” Hyman said as he left through the open door.
Hyman was frustrated. Spurrier was frustrated. The players who spoke next – Moe Brown, Eric Norwood, Stephen Garcia – were frustrated.
But nowhere was the aggravation more evident than among the fan base. A quick perusal of the message boards, and my own gameday blog, revealed an onslaught of visceral comments, many aimed at Spurrier.
It was a bit surprising, considering this was just one loss, dropping the Gamecocks – who entered ranked No. 22 in the country – to a still-respectable 6-3.
Look, you could easily understand the anger at not beating Lane Kiffin, or a seemingly-vulnerable Tennessee team. And maybe it was the way it happened – once again early turnovers leading to a rout, as it did last season in the Outback Bowl and the games against Clemson and Florida games.
But the reaction still seemed to outweigh the circumstances. What did fans realistically think this team would do, win the SEC East? With this schedule, that was never happening. Before the season I said a 7-5 record would be quite respectable, and at 6-3, the Gamecocks are on track for that or better.
Now if the Tennessee game is the start of another late-season slide, it would be acceptable to start heading to ledges. For now, though, the season appears to be unfolding nearly exactly as most expected.

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