Auburn beat Mississippi State last Saturday 24-10, in a game you'd have to actively seek out to find. Buried away on the back pages of the internet and tv highlight shows, Auburn ended their 2020 campain with a mark of 6-4. And Auburn University took toward ending Gus Malzahn's tenure shortly thereafter, on Monday. You see, Auburn doesn't tolerate being on the back page.
They were incredibly tactful with the breakup. The announcement read like this: "Auburn Director of Athletics Allen Greene announced Sunday a leadership change for Auburn football as Gus Malzahn will no longer direct the program."
It surprised the college football world. After all, in the state of Alabama, Auburn is the Robin to the Crimson Tide's Batman. Malzahn led Auburn to a national title game in his first year at the helm on The Plains, and his right year record stood at 68-35 (.660).
But Auburn made a critical decision here, and it's one I want Gamecocks fans and administration to observe; they decided an average mark of 8.5 wins and 4.4 losses wasn't good enough.
You have a choice on the fate of your program. Ultimately, your program will be a reflection of what you'll accept. The same holds true for any relationship. Ladies and gentlemen, if you'd like to be walked all over by your boyfriend or girlfriend, allow yourself to be walked all over. Similarly, if you want to continue a mediocre existence, all you have to do is accept it.
If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten.
If newly hired Shane Beamer is 68-35 after eight years in Columbia with a national title game appearance, do you think he'll be fired? They'd immortalize him with a statue outside of Williams Brice Stadium.
So what's the difference? In a word, EXPECTATION.
It's high time Gamecocks fans expect better of themselves and their program. You're a sleeping giant, and I firmly believe that. There's really no reason you can't achieve in line with the country's top programs; even Clemson.
It begins when you decide enough is enough. When you do, you'll stop settling and you'll begin to enjoy the light of self confidence. You know your worth, and the inferiority complex that has plagued the South Carolina football program for the better part of a century will evaporate.