Since it’s the offseason I figured it would be fun to look at each season since 2010 and see which song best fits the results of that season.

Let’s get into it starting with the 2010 season.

2010: We Are The Champions by Queen

Of the SEC East… All jokes aside 2010 was a great year for South Carolina Football. The team finished with a 9-5 record, an SEC East title and a win over top ranked Alabama.

Stephen Garcia, Marcus Lattimore, Alshon Jeffery and a boatload of stars on defense helped this team reach the SEC Championship. Unfortunately, Cam Newton wasn’t human that year.

Auburn dominated the Gamecocks 56-17, and South Carolina went on to lose to Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

This was still the last SEC East team to ever beat Alabama, so they’re still champions to me.

2011: Happy by Pharrell Williams

There’s no other way to describe the mood of South Carolina fans in 2011. After coming off of a division title, South Carolina continued to dominate with an 11-2 record.

Connor Shaw became the starting quarterback, and South Carolina fans experienced nothing but the luxury of having stars on both Offense and Defense. Any time you beat Florida, Georgia and Tennessee in the same season it’s a good year.

They went on to beat 21st ranked Nebraska 30-13 in the Capital One Bowl. This was only the beginning of the greatest stretch in Gamecock football history.

2012: Fear & Love by Dirty Heads

This may not be as popular of a song, but it perfectly describes the emotions South Carolina fans felt in 2012. Although this ended up being a good year with another 11-2 record, there was some fear concerning Marcus Lattimore.

Lattimore was building up his Heisman resume that year when he suffered a career ending injury against Tennessee. Nobody knew if he would play another snap for the Gamecocks, but the team won their last four games after his injury.

A dominant win over Georgia and a continued beatdown of Clemson made the year enjoyable. They finished the year with a win over Michigan on the Outback Bowl where Jadeveon Clowney created “the hit heard round the world.”

2013: Holding Out For A Hero by Bonnie Tyler

2013 was another great year for the Gamecocks, but it was the last time they would win 11 games in a season (for now). The reason I chose this song is because 2013 is the year Connor Shaw established himself as a hero.

In week eight, South Carolina had to play Missouri on the road. The Gamecocks had their worst three quarters all year, and Connor Shaw was dealing with a knee injury. In the fourth quarter, Connor Shaw came off the bench and helped the Gamecocks go into overtime after starting the quarter down 17-0. Shaw played almost perfectly with a sprained knee and a missed field goal by the fifth ranked Tigers gave the Gamecocks a key SEC win.

The year ended with their second Capital One Bowl win in three years. They also finished the year ranked fourth nationally, which is the highest ranking South Carolina has achieved.

2014: Trouble’s Coming by Royal Blood

2014 was not a great year for South Carolina football. It started off with a horrific loss to Texas A&M that led to the most forgettable star in Kenny Hill.

They squeezed out a win over Georgia, but the five year win streak over Clemson came to an end. South Carolina’s defense fell off heavily after 2013, but Dylan Thompson was good enough to help South Carolina make a bowl game.

There was a lot that went wrong that year, and some fans were wondering if Steve Spurrier wanted to be there anymore. I picked this song because I don’t think any South Carolina fan knew how much it would go downhill from there.

2015: Pain by Three Days Grace

I don’t think there’s a better way to describe the 2015 season. Steve Spurrier announced his retirement after a 2-4 start, and the Gamecocks struggled on both sides of the ball.

Perry Orth was the starting quarterback, and the team struggled to win games after Shawn Elliott took over as head coach. Elliott wasn’t actually a bad coach. He took over a program in shambles, but lost the last five games of the season.

The team finished with with a 3-9 record, and they made the questionable decision to hire Will Muschamp as the next head coach.

2016: First Date by Blink-182

2016 was the first year under Will Muschamp so it was a lot like a first date for South Carolina fans. Muschamp inherited a mess of a team where he had to completely rebuild the program.

There were a lot of doubts about how Muschamp would handle this team, but he led the Gamecocks to a 6-7 record in his first year. That’s not ideal, but it was coming off of a 3-9 season.

This was Jake Bentley’s Freshman year and just like Blink-182, Bentley was supposed to be in High School. The Gamecocks made a the Birmingham Bowl that year but lost to USF.

2017: The Joker by the Steve Miller Band

South Carolina somehow went 9-4 in 2017, but it was clearly a fluke. Jake Bentley continued to be a solid quarterback, and he had Bryan Edwards and Hayden Hurst to help him out.

This also became the year Deebo Samuel became known among fans. The Gamecocks had nine wins that year but not a single one over a ranked team. The highlight of that year was South Carolina coming back to beat Michigan in the Outback Bowl.

That season was enough to convince Ray Tanner to give Will Muschamp a contract extension that would eventually come back to bite the program.

2018: Won’t Get Fooled Again by The Who

A lot of South Carolina fans thought the program was heading in the right direction. They just came off a nine win season, and Will Muschamp had another Top 25 recruiting class.

The Gamecocks finished 7-6, and they didn’t beat a single ranked team. The highlight of 2018 was Jake Bentley throwing for 510 yards and five touchdowns against Clemson.

The defense struggled again that year, and people began to question how Muschamp couldn’t create a dominating defense as a defensive head coach. They ended the season with a shutout loss to Virginia in the Belk Bowl.

2019: Same Old Song And Dance by Aersomith

By the end of 2019, South Carolina fans realized that this is the Same Will Muschamp they saw at Florida. This was the only year that Ryan Hilinski really started, but the offense was such mess that he never truly got a chance.

South Carolina finished 4-8, but it wasn’t all bad. Kevin Harris made a name for himself when he rushed for six carries, 147 yards and three touchdowns against Charleston Southern. Even though it was against an FCS team, 24.5 yards per rush is insane on six carries.

Javon Kinlaw and Israel Mukuamu also helped the Gamecocks upset third ranked Georgia on the road.

The season was painful, but it didn’t help that South Carolina had to play Georgia, Alabama and Clemson in one year.

2020: Numb by Linkin Park

I can say this was easily the mood of most South Carolina fans in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic was still in full swing, and stadiums didn’t allow full capacity.

Will Muschamp was already on the hot seat, but his buyout made it almost impossible to fire him. Muschamp brought in Mike Bobo as the offensive coordinator who gave Collin Hill the start at quarterback.

South Carolina finished 2-8 last season, and there were very few bright spots. Kevin Harris became a star for the offense, and the Gamecocks did pull off an upset over Auburn. By the end of the season, most fans were so numb to this team that they were willing to do anything to see Muschamp gone.

I didn’t want to use another Steve Miller Band song, but “Take The Money And Run” would’ve been perfect to describe the end of the Muschamp era.

2021: I’m Still Standing by Elton John

The season hasn’t started yet, but Shane Beamer has lifted the spirits of South Carolina fans. There’s still a lot of skepticism, but fans are confident Beamer will do a better job of reviving the program than Muschamp.

The roster isn’t at a level where they can make the SEC Championship, but it’s certainly good enough to make a bowl game this fall.

Williams-Brice Stadium will be packed this year, and there’s a lot of optimism surrounding this program for the first time in a long time.