College football

Spurrier has inconsistent debut

South Carolina takes a big early lead, but has to hold on for a 24-15 victory against UCF.

By wire services
Published September 2, 2005

COLUMBIA, S.C. - On a day when Hurricane Katrina and a statewide gas panic dominated the headlines, the State, South Carolina's largest newspaper, ran a front-page column on the beginning of the Steve Spurrier era as the Gamecocks coach.

Spurrier had a new black visor and the same offensive style, but he needed a fourth-down stop by his defense with less than three minutes left to save a 24-15 victory over Central Florida in his return to college football Thursday night.

"It was a tough night," Spurrier said. "But we're one and oh and we're not going to sit around and cry about it because we could've lost the dadgum thing."

Blake Mitchell, a sophomore making his first start, threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns for the Gamecocks.

Despite the late charge, the Golden Knights extended the country's longest losing streak to 16 games - the past 12 under former Georgia Tech and Notre Dame coach George O'Leary.

Trailing 24-3, UCF rallied in the final quarter with Mike Walker's 13-yard touchdown catch and John Brown's field goal.

Minutes later, the Golden Knights had fourth and goal from the 1 with 2:50 left, but Kevin Smith was stopped short trying leap for the end zone by linebacker Ricardo Hurley and defensive lineman Ryan Brown.

South Carolina punter Josh Brown ran out of the end zone for a safety and the Golden Knights got the ball back in the final minute. But time ran out on UCF and Spurrier improved to 15-1 all time in opening games.

"We started off a little big-eyed, but I think we settled in and competed," O'Leary said.

Sophomore defensive tackle Leger Douzable of Alonso made his first start for UCF.

For the first three quarters, this one was all about Spurrier. The former Florida coach was back in the SEC after two disappointing seasons with the Washington Redskins and another one out of the game entirely.

The sold-out crowd of 82,753 at Williams-Brice Stadium couldn't wait to see their newest hero take the sideline. They packed the State Fairgrounds across from the stadium hours before kickoff and even cheered loudly in the middle of the pregame prayer when Spurrier's name was mentioned.

Spurrier said the crowd was alive and enthusiastic until the Gamecocks bogged down in the second half. For him, it was like he'd never left the college game.

"It felt very similar," Spurrier said, "calling plays, getting them in there. Chucked a few deep, hit some, missed some."

Five plays into the opening drive, Mitchell faked a handoff to Bobby Wallace, stepped back and hit Noah Whiteside in stride for a 49-yard touchdown with 12:46 left in the first quarter.

Mitchell was firing again the next time South Carolina got the ball, finding Mike Davis on a short pass that went for 64 yards. Tight end Andy Boyd capped the drive with a 12-yard touchdown catch to put the Gamecocks up 14-0 less than eight minutes into the game.

Mitchell, who had completed 9 of 22 passes in his career, connected on 15 of 19 in the opening half. His 283 yards passing by halftime surpassed the Gamecocks totals of every game but one from last season.

Mitchell finished 18-for-23.

But this was far from the scoring machine Spurrier built over 12 seasons at Florida.

Mitchell missed a wide-open Travis Lee on South Carolina's third series that would've easily gone for another touchdown.

Mitchell got a third touchdown, flipping a pass out to the flat to Syvelle Newton - last year's starting quarterback - who went 25 yards for the score in the third quarter for a 24-3 lead.

Just when it looked like Spurrier had the Gamecocks rolling, UCF came back.

Things figure to get rougher next week when the Gamecocks go to Georgia in Spurrier's first SEC game in four years.

"We got to get better on defense, we got to get better on offense, we got to get better everywhere," he said. "Simple as that."

[Last modified September 2, 2005, 02:15:35]