re: How is Connor Shaw the 16th ranked QB?

quote:

---

One of the most underated SEC players of all-time

-Led his team 3 bowl wins. (they hav 7 all-time)
-Never lost a game at home 17-0, in which he started
-He is 22 games above .500 as a starting QB.
-Had over 5,700 yards passing.
-Not only is he the most accurate passer in school history 65.1%, with just one interception his senior year, he is also the school's leading rusher as a Qb with over 1,500 yard rushing.

---

I agree Shaw is an underrated guy. Though I feel ultimately what is keeping USC from getting over the hump ie championships is Spurrier as weird as it sounds. He has done great with getting USC competitive and they are probably the 2nd best SEC east team of the past decade especially if he coaches 2 more years.

But as iconic as his "Fun n Gun" was it was a very simple offense. And despite trying at times to recapture that magic he just hasn't. His fun n gun dominated 90s SEC football because everybody was running Bear defenses. Now the Nick Saban's of the conference that regularly play Nickel/Dime and even Quarters in the secondary (Quarters as in 7 DB's).

And because of that Spurrior has never evolved his offense to the "next step". Granted he has installed some Zone Read in the offense and he runs the ball a lot better than he used to.

It sounds weird to say about someone considered to be one of the SEC's all time great offensive coaches but Spurrier has no offensive identity currently. Its like they do so much and the offense changes to much depending on one or two guys. Its like he has no system anymore. Nothing to build to, to recruit to etc.

Saban is not an offensive guy, but you know as long as he is Bama's coach we will run the Earhardt Perkins system that the whole Parcells/Belichick/Saban coaching tree uses. Our offense changes subtlety at times (addition of Wildcat/Pistol etc) but the same base offense we were running in 2007 is the same one we are running now, and its the same one Saban ran at Michigan State, the Dolphins and LSU.

Literally every time you watch South Carolina under Spurrier the offense looks different. Its a completely difference offense now than it was under Thompson, or Garcia, or how it looked in 2005 or even when they beat us in 2010.

I think that is a good reason USC is having problems breaking through to the top. I mean they have been consistently good since he has been there, even great compared to Sakerlina prior to his arrival. But if you take the SEC as a whole from 2005-2010 the conference has dominated college football but it seems of the teams that haven't been hopeless they are the ones not sharing the spotlight with Alabama, Auburn, Florida, LSU, even Georgia.