DEFEATS HAVE CONSEQUENCES …
Talk about a reversal of fortune …
The University of South Carolina football team traded places with the Texas A&M Aggies five days after getting routed 52-28 at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks (0-1, 0-1 SEC) fell from No. 9 to No. 21 in the Associated Press Top 25 – a drop of twelve spots. Meanwhile the Aggies (1-0, 1-0 SEC) rose twelve spots from No. 21 to No. 9.
In the Amway Coaches poll – published by USA Today – South Carolina is also ranked No. 21, while Texas A&M rose to No. 13.
Not only that, head coach Kevin Sumlin‘s squad received a pair of first place votes in the aftermath of the beat down it administered to Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks (well, defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward‘s Gamecocks, anyway).
Clemson University also saw its national standing diminished after getting pummeled on the road by Georgia. Head coach Dabo Swinney‘s Tigers fell from No. 16 to No. 23 in the AP poll – a seven-spot drop. Clemson dropped to No. 24 in the coaches’ poll. Meanwhile the Bulldogs rose from No. 12 to No. 6 in the AP poll, and climbed to No. 8 in the coaches’ poll. Georgia also received a pair of first place votes in the AP poll.
By an overwhelming margin, FITS readers agree: South Carolina’s loss was worse than Clemson’s (even though the margins of defeat were identical).
For those of you keeping score at home, the Southeastern Conference still has eight of its fourteen teams ranked in the AP Top 25 – including four in the Top Ten (No. 2 Alabama, No. 5 Auburn, No. 6 Georgia and No. 9 Texas A&M). Clemson is one of four Atlantic Coast Conference squads in the poll – including top-ranked defending national champion Florida State, which held onto its No. 1 ranking despite a less-than-impressive season opening win over unranked Oklahoma State.
After a date with S.C. State, Clemson will travel to Tallahassee to play the Seminoles (1-0, 0-0 ACC) on September 20. South Carolina will host East Carolina on Saturday – followed by Georgia on September 13.
1. Florida State (46) 1-0, 1456
2. Alabama (1) 1-0, 1317
3. Oregon (5) 1-0, 1314
4. Oklahoma (2) 1-0, 1283
5. Auburn 1-0, 1186
6. Georgia (2) 1-0, 1114
7. Michigan State 1-0, 1093
8. Ohio State 1-0, 982
9. Texas A&M (2) 1-0, 978
10. Baylor 1-0, 962
11. UCLA 1-0, 944
12. LSU (1) 1-0, 926
13. Stanford 1-0, 886
14. USC 1-0, 729
15. Ole Miss 1-0, 525
16. Notre Dame 1-0, 519
17. Arizona State 1-0, 431
18. Wisconsin 0-1, 364
19. Nebraska 1-0, 352
20. Kansas State 1-0, 325
21. South Carolina 0-1, 196
21. North Carolina 1-0, 196
23. Clemson 0-1, 164
24. Missouri 1-0, 147
25. Louisville 1-0, 141
Dropped from rankings: Washington 25
Others receiving votes: Texas 126, Oklahoma State 94, Duke 60, Florida 49, Penn State 49, Mississippi State 49, Michigan 38, TCU 29, Washington 27, BYU 21, Marshall 18, Iowa 18, Virginia Tech 17, Tennessee 14, Cincinnati 8, West Virginia 7, Texas Tech 7, Rutgers 6, Arizona 4, North Dakota State 2, Louisiana-Lafayette 1, Pittsburgh 1.
1. Florida State (57) 1-0, 1541
2. Alabama 1-0, 1432
3. Oklahoma (2) 1-0, 1407
4. Oregon (2) 1-0, 1358
5. Auburn 1-0, 1289
6. Michigan State 1-0, 1141
7. Ohio State 1-0, 1114
8. Georgia (1) 1-0, 1108
9. Baylor 1-0, 1018
10. Stanford 1-0, 999
11. UCLA 1-0, 964
12. LSU 1-0, 912
13. Texas A&M 1-0, 895
14. USC 1-0, 713
15. Notre Dame 1-0, 605
16. Arizona State 1-0, 502
17. Ole Miss 1-0, 438
18. Nebraska 1-0, 384
19. Wisconsin 0-1, 373
20. Kansas State 1-0, 370
21. South Carolina 0-1, 272
22. Missouri 1-0, 189
23. North Carolina 1-0, 168
24. Clemson 0-1, 155
25. Texas 1-0, 150
Dropped from rankings: Washington 25
Others receiving votes: Oklahoma State 106, Florida 84, Louisville 73, Mississippi State 72, Michigan 59, Washington 51, Duke 47, Brown 26, Iowa 23, TCU 23, Minnesota 16, Louisiana-Lafayette 13, Marshall 11, Virginia Tech 11, West Virginia 7, Cincinnati 7, Arizona 6, Oregon State 5, Pittsburgh 2, Colorado State 2, Rutgers 2, Northern Illinois 2, Texas Tech 2, Boise State 1, Temple 1, Memphis 1.
15 comments
I thought for sure USC would be knocked out of the top 25.
Both should have been
That’ll be next week (0-2), or definitely after the Georgia game (1-2).
OUCH. But hey … Gamecock fans got ZERO room to talk back this week.
They should no longer be in the top 25. That what y’all have problems with around here: you have to earn that spot. The talk that led up to the USC game was just outta this world . If it’s written in the state or comes from USC….it is probably not true !
I guess it was kind of like the talk about that Clemson self proclaimed top 2 nationally ranked Defensive line. You know the same one that gave up almost 350 rushing yards, 5 rushing td’s 4 of which were all over 20 yards long. It would have been more if Gurley didn’t run 100+ on a kick return, or a blown replay call that incorrectly gave Clemosn the ball with UGA inside the redzone, or the last plays to just run out the clock that almost got a TD without trying. Was it talked about like that? Don’t you have some kid name Beasley? I didn’t see him a factor in the game for like, …ever. Clemson is who shouldn’t be in the top 25 and they wont be after FSU beats them, or when Louisville, beats them or UNC, beats them or when USC beats them. They cant stop the rush so GT might beat them too. Hell Clemson will be lucky to make a bowl game this year. They will be 1-3 going into October and they will have no less than 5 losses this year, but more than likely 6, and a 6-6 ACC team might not be enough this year if your only wins are over teams like SC state, Wake Forest, and Georgia State. I would honestly just worry about your own shitty team and let USC fans worry about their team that isn’t too good either. but since Clemson cant beat em, they might as well talk about em huh?
Aw, they’s just kids.
How many AP voters come out of UNC. It must be a lot. They looked terrible in their victory against Liberty and they are now ranked above Clemson. How many years has an early season ranking for UNC ended with them not in the polls? Being ranked below UNC is the ultimate humiliation.
I predict both teams will end up ranked at least in the top 15 – possibly top ten.
Why do you boys all have to be such Debbie Downers??
What the fuck do you know about football, other than what teams uniforms are prettier?
LOL What the fuck do you know about anything? Not much – based on your posts.
So you know nothing about football. Am I correct? Don’t try to switch the subject.
USC was lucky they didn’t fall off the map completely.
Lorenzo Ward screwed USC with his frozen uncovered 4 Defense. No team can win with that defense without 3 active stunting linebackers. Ward doesn’t have a clue how to run or even name a proper 4/3 Covered Defense. So, USC will loose badly again, and again, as long as they run that uncovered 4 defense.
On the other hand. Clemson lost to Ga. due to rotten Specialty teams that buried them behind the 20 yard line over and over again. Seems Clemson perpetually has special teams problems. Clemson can’t kick off, punt cover, punt or kick off return. Solve that very solvable problem, and Clemson can actually turn things around. They didn’t look that bad in the first half, but lost several touch down chances due to horrible field positions caused by the poor specialty teams in the first half. Clemson should have been up by 2 touchdowns at the half. They basically ran out of gas in the 2nd half, and quit playing ball. And, that’s a big disappointment coming from a Clemson team.
Clemson can and will get better. USC has a fundamental defensive coaching problem. USC has the players, but not the coaching leadership they need. That’s a fatal problem until next year. I hope USC can do better, but I don’t see it from Lorenzo Ward. He needs to go now.
The Aggie Yell Leaders won that game.Those guys are hot.Rick Perry used to be one…
Remember what I said just after the game? Cocks and Aggies would swap places and that’s what they did. Ha! Of course, it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure it out.