Following the first SEC win for South Carolina in exactly a year, USC coach Steve Spurrier held his first post-conference-win press conference in just as long. Spurrier addressed Carolina's opponent this week, Kentucky, and addressed how his team has lived up to expectations thus far this season.
Kentucky went as high in the rankings as No. 8 last season, while the Wildcats fell to a postseason collapse that saw them fall to 8-5 after a 5-0 start. It is clear that UK coach Rich Brooks has vastly improved the quality of football in Kentucky. The Wildcats won the Music City Bowl for the second year in a row last year, however, they had only won one bowl game in the 30 years prior to their 2006 Music City Bowl victory.
"Kentucky is a very good team. Rich Brooks and his staff, I think, have really improved the quality of all the athletes out there," Spurrier said. "Kentucky 10 years ago, was considered a slow team. They didn't have a lot of fast, speedy players, now they look like most all the SEC teams, especially defensively. They've got tremendous team speed, which is probably the strongest thing about SEC teams."
Spurrier is looking for improved play from his own team. He has many things to be pleased about after Carolina mustered a 31-24 win at Ole Miss last weekend, but the truth is the Gamecocks are still missing a lot of pieces.
"We're going to try and continue to play better on offense," Spurrier said. "Continue to play better special teams, play better everywhere."
One of the players on the team whose play is crucial is redshirt sophomore quarterback Chris Smelley. Smelley led USC in its victory last Saturday and for the first time since the opening game of the season, was declared the starting quarterback before the Thursday preceding a weekend game. Smelley went 22-of-32 for 327 yards, three touchdowns and one interception and was declared the starter in Spurrier's remarks directly after the game.
Even though Spurrier has communicated a lot of faith in Smelley after his performance against the Rebels, Spurrier still expects more from his quarterback. Spurrier has a history of being hard on his quarterbacks. It appears that Smelley will be no exception to that rule.
"Chris had a good game - he had a good game, he did not have a super game," Spurrier said. "He had some bad plays here or there that hopefully he can correct. He did make a lot of good throws here and there."
With that being said, Spurrier is excited about the prospect of having one quarterback that can be called the starter. With Smelley being the clear leader going into Saturday's game in Lexington, the rest of the offense, top to bottom, knows who and what to expect in the huddle.
"It's helpful if you have one quarterback and everyone knows who is your quarterback," Spurrier said.
Having one quarterback might provide some stability for the offense. However, Spurrier expects the offensive line to be the main provider of stability. The offensive line is the anchor of both the passing and running game. While Smelley managed to get the pass offense working against Ole Miss, senior running backs Mike Davis and Bobby Wallace struggled throughout the entire first half against the seventh best-run defense in the SEC. Spurrier thinks there is a simple solution to improving the run game.
"We're struggling there [in the run game]," Spurrier said. "Better blocking, better running should do it. We've got to get them some different plays too, I think we've been a little stale in our plays."
That's not the only suggestion that Spurrier has for his big men up front. When it comes to pass blocking he has an idea that hits closer to home that he hopes will improve the pass blocking.
"If they are going to rally around a guy they need to sort of pretend that their mom is back there passing," Spurrier said. "Then they wouldn't fall on the ground, this, that and the other."
It appears that the solutions to winning against Kentucky are right in front of the Gamecocks. However, the solutions for turning a season that many consider very disappointing so far may be a little bit harder to find. The one thing that Spurrier is certain of is that the Gamecocks are not where they should be.
"We've still got a ways to go," Spurrier said. "We potentially can be a lot better, put it that way. But we're not there, we're certainly not there yet. We can be a lot better offensively."
Spurrier does believe that the Gamecocks are heading in the right direction. Whether it has been the improvement of his recruits or the close play in difficult SEC matchups, Spurrier is certain that USC is on the way up. Which, in the SEC, is an accomplishment on its own.
"We're hoping that we're making progress, that's what we're hoping, and time will tell if we are," Spurrier said. "We're hoping that we've made some progress and we're very healthy right now at the halfway point."
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