COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -Though Steve Spurrier hasn’t had the kind of success at South Carolina he had during his first 15 years as a college coach, he still doesn’t lose to the little guys.
Spurrier will put his 36-0 record against teams outside the six major BCS conferences on the line Saturday against Florida Atlantic.
The coach isn’t talking down about the Owls (0-1). Spurrier pointed out Tuesday that the Owls have been to bowl games the past two years, beating Memphis in 2007 and Central Michigan in 2008. He didn’t mention Florida Atlantic opened its season with a 49-3 loss to Nebraska.
And though Spurrier has experienced things with the Gamecocks (1-1) that never happened at Florida – losing Southeastern Conference records and streaks of games scoring less than 20 points, the Owls are the kind of team Spurrier has always beaten.
o win, of course, but the coach said he also hopes to get a chance to play a larger number of players so he can settle on a backfield and corp of receivers.
“We’ve had two close games, two four-point games, both of them. Coaches have the tendency to stick with guys who are playing pretty decent, taking care of the ball and what have you,” Spurrier said. “You’re not into experimenting with too many players in close games.”
The Owls came to Columbia in 2006, losing 45-6. The 39-point margin is the second biggest win for the Gamecocks under Spurrier. But this is a different Florida Atlantic team. Senior quarterback Rusty Smith was a freshman then, splitting time behind center, going 3 of 8 for 39 yards with an interception and two sacks. Now Smith is an NFL prospect getting praise from a man who knows a good quarterback when he sees one.
“Rusty Smith has thrown for a lot of yards – really a good player that a lot of people think will be an NFL draft pick,” Spurrier said.
Meanwhile, the coach is withholding a lot of praise from his sophomore quarterback, Stephen Garcia.
“Stephen’s improving. He had a lot of good plays the other night and a lot of not-so good plays. The final analysis of the whole thing, we weren’t good enough as a team. It was as simple as that,” Spurrier said. “But he’s improving. Hopefully he’ll show a lot of improvement this week. He’s got potential.”
s (1-1) will have a few new starters. Defensive tackle Melvin Ingram will take over for the injured Nathan Pepper, and Heath Batchelor will start at right guard.
Spurrier said he wants to get some of his freshmen more playing time Saturday, including Kenny Miles at running back and Alshon Jeffery at receiver.
While the players might be different, expect Spurrier’s philosophy to be the same. He wants to run the ball so Garcia will have more time to pass. He wants to keep the passing game fairly simple for Garcia and keep the quarterback from improvising too much.
“Stephen and these guys practiced a lot on their own this summer and all preseason and we’re trying to do the things over and over that we’ve been doing. And that’s what we’re trying to do,” Spurrier said. “You can’t have a new game plan every week.”
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