Even with today's loss to Alabama evening the weekend series at one apiece heading into Sunday, it bears noting that this season's accomplishments to-date (33-9, 15-5) absolutely are on par with coach Ray Tanner's three consecutive College World Series teams from 2002-2004. This season's Gamecocks also are compare favorably with Tanner's best club in his USC tenure, the 2000 team that bulldozed the SEC with an amazing 25-5 conference record before losing in the NCAA Super Regional to Louisiana-Lafayette.

That's why I think this year's team represents the best chance Tanner has had in some time to host not only an NCAA Regional but also securing a key Super Regional for Carolina Stadium, a stadium where, by the way, the Gamecocks this season are 21-3.

What also boggles the mind -- and which irritates me to no end when national pollsters fail to acknowledge it -- is that this team started off 6-4. To have gone 27-5 since then and to have won a record nine consecutive SEC series dating to last year (six straight in 2010) is an achievement I still don't think has sunk in for the smarmy experts at Baseball America or the dingbat college coaches (or, more likely, their assistants) who also vote.

And, by the way, USC was first overall heading into Saturday's play, despite being ranked behind other league teams consistently in various polls. So there. I'll leave you with this by way of comparison with previous teams, and I have to credit my buddy David Cloninger at GamecockCentral.com for scrounging these numbers together. All three of Tanner's CWS teams sparkled down the stretch, losing no steam and playing superb baseball with rhythmic consistency in all areas of the game. Here's USC's second-half SEC record since 2000:

2010: 4-1
2009: 10-5 (17-13)
2008: 6-9 (15-15)
2007: 8-7 (17-13)
2006: 4-11 (15-15)
2005: 7-8 (16-14)
2004: 10-5 (17-13)
2003: 12-4 (19-11)
2002: 12-3 (21-8)
2001: 9-6 (17-13)
2000: 13-2 (25-5)

One last thing I'd like to note: Since 2000, Tanner has not once had a losing SEC record, nor will he this season. That 10-year stretch may be one of the most remarkable in recent SEC history, and it stands as a tribute to a coach that is constantly overshadowed by one after another big-name football flop and a basketball program that has been to the NCAA Tournament only once -- once! -- in the past 13 years.