Florida v. South Carolina

by Arnaldo

The 'Ol Ball Coach  Steve Spurrier; you have to be the single worst Gator fan if you know nothing of this man. . .

Steve Spurrier played quarterback for Florida in the '60s. He was known for as a solid passer but also a talented kicker. He gained national notoriety in a 1966 game against Auburn where he waved off the starting kicker to attempt the winning field goal himself, winning 30-27. That season, he led the Gators through a 9-2 season and an Orange Bowl victory over Georgia Tech, and a Heisman trophy for himself, the first for Florida.


After a very successful NFL 9 year career with the San Fransisco 49ers and a one year stint with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (their inaugural season), Spurrier returned to Florida as a quaterbacks coach for a year, then moved around programs and head coaching positions before being offered the Florida job.


In the 12 years he coached at Florida, Steve Spurrier reinvented the program. He created a culture of winning. He's responsible for the standard we hold towards Florida football. He named the Swamp for God's sake, saying, "A swamp is where Gators live. We feel comfortable there, but we hope our opponents feel tentative. A swamp is hot and sticky and can be dangerous. Only Gators get out alive." Sound familiar? Spurrier inherited a team under NCAA investigations which was unranked, and had never claimed an SEC championship in 57 years.

That all quickly changed. The Gators were never unranked again after that first week in his 202 weeks of coaching. His second season had Florida claiming the SEC title in 1991, and in '93, '94, '95, '96, and 2000. Out of those 202 weeks at Florida, the Gators were ranked in the top 5 117 weeks, and in the top 10 179 weeks, an outstanding figure. Oh, and let's not forget, he coached a Heisman-winning quarterback in Danny Wuerffel in 1996, on the way to winning Florida's first National Championship. The 'Ol Ball Coach is Florida football, even he can't deny it.  At his news conference last week, when asked about visiting his alma mater, he said, "Florida is always going to be my school, I love Florida. My wife and my daughters and even Steve Jr. got a graduate degree from there.  So we’re Gators, but we’re Gamecocks now.  When my coaching days are over, I’ll be more of a Gator then.  But I’m a Gamecock now."  No attempts at hiding his true colors were made.  But the fact remains, Steve Spurrier will be on the visiting sidelines, and his No. 7 Gamecocks are the best they've ever been.  After all, leave it to the man who put Florida on the map to build a championship contender out of a school that was never supposed to have sustained success.


Much like the LSU game, this game is garnering a ton of national attention.  The popular ESPN pregame show, College Gameday, will be broadcasting from outside the north entrance of Ben Hill Griffin for the first time since FSU 2009, Tim Tebow's last home game.  Gameday has already featured Florida twice this season, at Texas A&M and at Tennessee, and it's starting to become unprecedented how much they seem to be following the Gators.  And as always when the 'Ol Ball Coach comes to Gainesville, the media can't get enough of the "coming home" subplot, especially with the new Heisman statue of Steve Spurrier outside the west stands.

The Match-Up


These two teams are very much alike, almost too much so.  They're both run-first offenses (yes, a Steve Spurrier running offense), they both play great defense, they both rely on mobile quarterbacks who often find the first-down marker with his feet.  When you get down to it, the Gators and the Gamecocks are mirrored images.  The differences will come down to physicality, condition, and subtle position mismatches.


Spurrier has South Carolina as complete as South Carolina has ever been, but this does not mean they're perfect.  They've definitely struggled at times against Vanderbilt, Kentucky, and obviously, LSU, and have been way too reliant on the now injured Marcus Lattimore (leading rusher and receiver) and Connor Shaw's scrambling abilities.

Injuries - First and foremost, Marcus Lattimore.  As South Carolina's starting running back and most targeted receiver for that matter, Lattimore saw 40 carries for 212 yards and 3 touchdowns two years ago at the Swamp, and up until last week, had been putting up similar numbers.  Against LSU, he was held to only 35 yards and was sent out of the game with a bruised hip.  He's missed most of this week's practices and will not start against Florida.  He will dress and may play, but will not be providing his usual impact either way.  The Gamecocks will rely on Kenny Miles, who is much smaller, and hasn't had the same experience, despite being a fifth-year senior.  Both South Carolina's defensive tackles, Kelcy Quarles and Byron Jerideau, are nursing various injuries and may not be at 100% and splitting snaps.  Look for the Gators to exploit this key weakness in their interior defense.


While South Carolina is getting thinner, Florida is getting deeper.  Both Jelani Jenkins and Dominique Easley are expected to start after being shorted play time against Vanderbilt, while their subs, Antonio Morrison and Dante Fowler Jr. have filled in well. At the offensive line, left guard James Wilson, left tackle Xavier Nixon, and center Jon Harrison all sat some to all of the Vanderbilt match with injuries.  There was also a flu bug running rampant in the South Carolina locker room.  While none of the players are sick, they have had some symptoms and dehydration in the past week, which takes a toll on the body.  Watch for what effect this has against the ever present physicality of the Florida defense.


Containing Connor Shaw - South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw is a scrambler, but when well contained, is not the most reliable passer.  Against an LSU team that held him to -1 yards rushing, he threw 19/34 for two touchdowns and two interceptions.  LSU also forced him to throw by containing Marcus Lattimore to only 35 yards.  Replicating the LSU defensive performance could be just as beneficial for Florida.


Gators special teams - It seems every week I'm more and more impressed with the special teams tandem, punter Kyle Christy and kicker Caleb Sturgis.  They are by far college football's best duo.  Christy has pinned opponents within their own 20 yard line 9 out of 24 punts while Sturgis is 84.6% on field goals and perfect on PATs.  As games like LSU have shown, the SEC is a defensive, running league now-a-days where the field position battle is key, and three points anywhere can make a difference.  Look for Florida to have the special teams edge.


Arnaldo's prediction:

Florida wins 27 - 20