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Florida Gators opponent preview: South Carolina Gamecocks
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AP/Wade Payne
Florida Gators legend Steve Spurrier will try to strike a blow against his former school when the South Carolina Gamecocks entertain the top-ranked Gators on Saturday afternoon in Columbia.
After guiding some of the most high-powered offenses in the nation during the 90's at Florida, Spurrier has been frustrated by his inability to move the football during his tenure at South Carolina in this decade. This year, the Gamecocks are 98th in the country in scoring offense.
The passing game has made some progress this season to rank second in the SEC in passing offense. Sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia has fired 13 TD passes with six interceptions for South Carolina in 2009. Wideout Alshon Jeffrey has emerged as a freshman to lead the team in receptions (33) and touchdown catches (6).
South Carolina's rushing attack is last in the SEC. Freshman Kenny Miles leads the club in rushing with 488 yards. He has recorded a pair of 100-yard rushing efforts this season.
Once again, South Carolina's defense is ahead of their offense this season. The Gamecocks are 19th in the nation in total defense while ranking 7th in the country in passing defense. Standout senior linebacker Eric Norwood is second in the conference with seven sacks. He has registered 29 sacks in his career.
While Spurrier has improved the South Carolina program since taking over as head coach in 2005, he hasn't come close to capturing the magic from his Florida days. He is 34-26 at South Carolina but the Gamecocks have a losing record in conference play under Spurrier with a mark of 18-21. In contrast, Spurrier lost a grand total of only 14 SEC games in his 12 seasons at Florida.
While it has been a tougher path for Spurrier at South Carolina, he is still behind his young club. "We feel like we've got a really good group of young guys here now," Spurrier said, "We got new coaches now. Most of these coaches here have been responsible for recruiting the guys who are here now."
"This team this year at 6-4 has achieved okay," Spurrier said, "We've been underdogs most of the time. We've won all the ones we're supposed to and some we weren't supposed to. This team is going to be stronger next year."
The Gators lead the all-time series between the two schools with a record of 22-4-3. Florida is 16-1 against South Carolina since the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1992.
In last year's matchup in Gainesville, the Gators buried the Gamecocks in a 56-6 rout. Florida's offense gained 519 yards in the win while South Carolina was held to just 173 yards. The Gamecocks were able to convert only one third-down attempt in 15 tries in the defeat.
Gators streak continues in quiet Swamp
Florida figured to be a little flat for last Saturday's contest at Gainesville against Vanderbilt. The Gators had disposed of Georgia the week before in a big rivalry game. Even the fans were a little disinterested for the matchup against the Commodores. With the home team entering the game as a five touchdown favorite, the fans weren't being counted on to provide a lot of noise on this night.
The Gators were able to record their 19th straight win in a 27-3 victory against the overmatched Commodores. The offense put up 375 yards against Vandy with no turnovers.
While Tim Tebow's numbers are a little down in his senior campaign, the Florida quarterback is ready for a big finish to his collegiate career. "I actually feel the best physically that I've felt in any season, this late in the season," he said. "Just feeling really good. Even though I've had some carries the last few games, I feel really good. The body feels good. I feel refreshed. So that's exciting going down the stretch."
On defense, the Commodores were held to under 200 yards of total offense. For the fifth time this season, the Florida defense did not give up a touchdown. In two other contests, the Gators have allowed only a single touchdown.
Florida leads the nation in scoring defense and ranks second in the country in total and passing defense.
FLORIDA GATORS (9-0, 7-0 SEC) at South Carolina Gamecocks (6-4, 3-4 SEC)
When: Saturday, November 14, 3:30 PM EST
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium (Columbia, SC)
Odds: Florida is favored by 15.5 points
TV: CBS
Radio: WFLF 540 AM
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