COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – No one handles college football’s center stage like No. 1 Alabama – and few understand that as well as South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier.
For many of his 12 seasons at Florida, the sharp-tongued Spurrier and his dynamic “Fun-n-Gun” offense were the face of college football. There wasn’t a pass pattern he wouldn’t try or a school he wouldn’t needle as the Gators kept winning their way to the 1996 national championship and six Southeastern Conference crowns.
Now, the spotlight’s moved on to defending national champion Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) and Spurrier sees a similar ability to thrive amid the 24/7 attention that will descend on South Carolina (3-1, 1-1) Saturday.
“They really do have the ability to go one game at a time and not get full of themselves after wins,” Spurrier said. “They’ve got a track record, a big win does not affect them the next week.”
And Alabama’s had a lot of them recently. It beat Arkansas 24-20 on the road two weeks, rallying to defeat an SEC Western Division opponent many had thought was ready to supplant the Crimson Tide.
Alabama followed that up last week by blasting Florida 31-6, the Tide’s second straight decisive defeat of the powerhouse Gators.
Now, they head for a third straight SEC showdown in a hyped-up, sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium with ESPN’s “GameDay” on campus.
“Each week you have a new challenge and you learn more about your team. Like how are we going to respond this week,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “We play another very good team on the road in a difficult place to play. Are we going to be able to challenge ourselves to continue to do the things we need to do to play at a high standard?”
No one’s standards are higher than Alabama’s right now.
The Crimson Tide hasn’t lost a regular-season game since 2007 or to anyone at all the past two seasons. Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram leads an offense that tops the SEC in points scored (37.8 per game), while a defense expected to take a step back without last year’s All-American pillars – defensive tackle Terrence Cody, linebacker Rolando McClain and defensive back Javier Arenas – leads the country in fewest points allowed per game.
Spurrier, who’s had only one winning SEC season in six years at South Carolina, accepts his second-banana role in this week’s national broadcast. “But that’s OK,” he said. “If they believe this is one of the biggest games in the country this week, we’re happy to participate and I believe we’ll give a good account of ourselves.”
In fact, Spurrier had a hand in South Carolina’s sorry history in the spotlight. In 2001, the “GameDay” crew set up across the street from the stadium when Spurrier brought fourth-ranked Florida in to face the rising, 14th-ranked Gamecocks of coach Lou Holtz. Fans called for a “Black Out Florida,” with South Carolina having a shot to win the SEC Eastern Division with a victory.
Instead, Florida quarterback Rex Grossman threw for 302 yards and the Gators scored on their first nine possessions in the 54-17 rout. Even Spurrier joined in the fun that night, quipping of the all-black stands, “One of our receivers said, ‘Coach, it was nice of them to wear all black so we can pick the ball out of the sky.”’
Spurrier hopes to be on the winning side again as South Carolina, 0-4 against No. 1 teams all time, tries for the landmark upset.
Gamecock players certainly feel the buzz around town about Alabama’s arrival. “We’re just excited to play,” South Carolina safety DeVonte Holloman said. “Supposedly, Florida was supposed to be their only competition. We’re excited to come and show what we’ve got against the best team in the nation.”
Alabama didn’t get that way by accident. Saban has brought a single-minded, mantra of improvement to every situation, even pointing out mistakes following the Crimson Tide’s championship win over Texas last January. Trailing Arkansas 20-7 was a teachable moment for Saban and an awakening for younger players eager to continue Alabama’s success.
“It made us realize that we can’t go in and just play one half against great teams,” Alabama sophomore safety Robert Lester said. “We’ve had to show that we are capable of coming out the first play and playing great football until the last play.”
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AP Sports Writer John Zenor in Tuscaloosa, Ala., contributed to this report.
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