A historic year for USC, even if there is no trip to Atlanta
They won't win the SEC East, but they have the right to call themselves the division's best team after defeating Florida 17-12 at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday.
"This was a special one. I don't mind telling you," said Spurrier, later adding, "This is one of the best I've ever had. I ain't kidding. I'm serious; this is one of the best I've ever had."
Yes, the Gamecocks, theoretically, can still win the East. But for that to happen, Kentucky — last seen enabling Vanderbilt to record its most emphatic conference victory since the Nixon administration — will have to defeat Georgia on Saturday. And that's not happening. I'm sure some USC fans will talk themselves into believing UK coach Joker Phillips, a former USC assistant, can lead the Wildcats to an astonishing win, but no one should hold their breath. The Bulldogs are going to win seven straight SEC games, and, as Spurrier has already said, they deserve the trip to Atlanta if they do.
But that doesn't mean USC has to curl up in shame. This season will appear as a disappointment on paper, given the Gamecocks' high preseason ranking and designation as the division favorite coming out of SEC Media Days. But in actuality, it's a tremendous success.
USC finished 5-0 against the rest of the East and 6-2 overall in the conference. Both are school records. And the Gamecocks have now won nine of 10 games against the division over the last two years, most notably beating Georgia, Tennessee and the Gators twice each in the last two seasons — a monumental achievement given the program's less-than-stellar past.
Those six wins against the division's traditional powers have served as validation, not only for Spurrier's decision to accept the USC job in 2005 but his belief that great things could be accomplished in Columbia. Hence, the misty eyes during his postgame speech in the locker room, as reported by freshman tailback Brandon Wilds, and downright giddy meeting with the media after that.
"When I took this job seven years ago, some of my buddies down in Florida said, 'Steve, you're crazy,'" Spurrier recalled. "'You're going to go up there and get your butt beat like every other South Carolina coach. You're not going to beat Florida, can't beat Georgia, Tennessee. Why do you want to get into all that?'
"I just said, 'I believe South Carolina does have a chance. They got excellent high school athletes in this state, and if we do a good job recruiting, get the right players, we got a chance to play just like anyone else.'"
This hasn't been a very pleasant autumn for Spurrier. It has been one spent answering uncomfortable questions about NCAA investigations, sending press conferences into made-for-YouTube upheaval, seeing his enigmatic quarterback dismissed, watching his all-American tailback suffer a season-ending injury and lamenting an anemic offense that struggles to do the one thing he loves most — throw the ball.
And yet here he and the Gamecocks are at 8-2 overall, despite not having players like Marcus Lattimore, Kyle Nunn and, yes, Stephen Garcia in addition to rolling out a game plan titled "Play defense and pray the run game can get two touchdowns" each week. Ten wins, still the school record thanks to the magical, mystical year that was 1984, remain very much in play. With a win over The Citadel, USC could even get the 10th win the same way it got it back then — by beating Clemson. Surely those buddies of Spurrier's down in the Sunshine State never thought the Gamecocks would hit double-digit wins. But they might.
During his postgame comments, Spurrier took a moment to remember the late Charles Crews, a longtime booster whose financial donations helped build the football facility at the south end of the stadium, one that houses Spurrier's office and bears Crews' name. Crews passed away in February.
"I wish Dr. Crews was here," Spurrier said. "The first time we beat Tennessee, he was just ecstatic. He was overjoyful. He would've had a big time here today."
In a related story, South Carolina proved it is a program capable of hitting the big time someday. Unless a miracle happens between the hedges, it won't get a chance to do so this season. But that doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. For all the Gamecocks have dealt with this season, they don't need a division title to make it a meaningful, successful campaign. Doing what no one believed they could is good enough. They won't win the East, but that's nothing that needs to be cried over.