re: How quick will South Carolina fall on their face when Spurrier leaves

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1) This is it. They are in the pinnacle of SC football history on the back of one of the 5 or 6 greatest SEC coaches of all time. Nowhere to go but down from here. Not that they'll start going 0-21 again, but they will drop off to "normal" SC levels. Maybe 7-5ish on the reg. Let's be honest, most recruits likely go to SC because of spurrier. It also helped that 2 of the best players in school history (that both played in the last 5 years) were from SC.

2)The foundation is laid, similar (not remotely on teh same level, but similar) to what spurrier did at UF. He's got them winning, got people pumped about SC, and the ball can keep rolling downhill. They won't be 11 wins a year good, but 9-10 wins can be expected. All the next guy has to do is just steer the ship.

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Of these two scenarios, #2 is more likely for a variety of reasons.

First of all, the capital improvements around the campus since the Holtz years are astounding. Building that infrastructure and embracing the responsibilities required to be an SEC-caliber school are in place, and with current championship-winning leadership, will continue on that path. No, I'm not saying that USC has better facilities than everyone else. What I *am* saying is that they have brought them up to speed and it has made them that much more competitive.

Next, USC is winning the in-state battles for not only recruits, but for the hearts and minds of the casual fan. Used to be that a kid growing up in SC was evenly split on the prospect of pulling for USC or Clemson, on account of USC's lack of success vs. Clemson's relative ascension. Now, it's much more 75/25 USC. Georgia fans can attest to the fact that, when the flagship school in a state is winning, the rival begins to wither. Clemson has more staying power than GT does, and an administration that is willing to work harder for athletic success, but USC has far more cash, and will always have more cash going forward. Alumni donations are growing rapidly, as is the relative financial clout of the fanbase. Couple that with SEC cash, and Carolina will continue to push Clemson into more and more of a niche fanbase.

Finally, SC as a state overall is growing. As more people move here, the talent base increases overall. Georgia and Florida have seen this, as well. Granted, SC will never be as big as either of those two states on account of sheer land size, but the principle holds true. And SC produces a ton of high-quality talent for a state its size, anyway.

Coaching hires mean everything, and I'm not foolish enough to believe that USC can withstand another Brad Scott and still win 10 games a year. But the infrastructure is in place to do big things moving forward, and I expect Tanner and Co. to push on with another quality coach, be it internal or outside the system. There's absolutely no reason USC isn't a destination job at this point, as opposed to a reclamation or challenge gig, as seen by Holtz/Spurrier.


TL;DR version: USC is going to be fine after Spurrier retires due to infrastructure, population, leadership and success over rivals.