College football

Coaches can't hide from Spurrier hype

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published November 7, 2005

GAINESVILLE - Let the hype begin.

The long-awaited Florida-South Carolina game this weekend will pit Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier against his former school and team.

Though Spurrier and Florida coach Urban Meyer realize that will be the dominant story line, each is approaching it differently.

Meyer said the former coach's presence is still felt in the program, as he thinks it should be. Spurrier said people need to let the past go.

"This happens a lot around the country," Spurrier said Sunday. "I had 12 wonderful years there. I thought it was time to move on, and I moved on. I got an opportunity here. Hopefully fans are happy I'm here, and I think the Florida fans are happy with their coach. So everybody is happy. Let's go play the game and let the players decide who wins it. I think that's what we all should focus on this week, but probably won't."

Actually, there's a lot more to focus on. Both teams are in the hunt for the SEC East title, although Florida's path is clearer. The Gators need a win over the Gamecocks, then a Georgia loss to Auburn. South Carolina needs a win and two Georgia losses (Auburn and Kentucky).

South Carolina (6-3, 4-3) began 2-3 but has won four consecutive games, including road wins over Tennessee and Arkansas. For Florida (7-2, 5-2), this may be the worst possible time to meet Spurrier's team. The Gators lost five starters to injury in Saturday's double-overtime win against Vanderbilt; the status of four is unknown. Senior safety Vernell Brown is out with a broken fibula, which seriously hampers the Gators' ability to play man coverage against a South Carolina team that loves to throw.

Meyer said the staff is evaluating how it will compensate for Brown's loss. Meanwhile, he understands the magnitude of meeting Spurrier.

"I don't think it's irrelevant," he said. "That will be brought up quite often, but for our players, this is a championship."

[Last modified November 7, 2005, 01:10:19]