Gamecocks: Pressure on Crimson Tide

COLUMBIA -- Even after cracking the top 25, Steve Spurrier isn't ready to make a meeting with No. 2 Alabama some kind of grand, program- elevating game for his young South Carolina team.

The Gamecocks just aren't on the Tide's level, to Spurrier. Not yet, anyway.

In Spurrier's words, 22nd-ranked USC isn't "some super-duper team."

"There was more pressure on that Kentucky game (last week). I can assure you of that," Spurrier said Tuesday during his news conference. "And (there's more pressure on) the game next week, when we play Vanderbilt. Because we line up with those guys a lot better. We all know that."

The Gamecocks will face the Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday for a 7:45 p.m. kickoff, televised by ESPN.

South Carolina has been in this position before -- recently. And it didn't go so well.

The Gamecocks had just crept into the polls last November when they went to visit a Florida team that was running roughshod through the league.

The then-No. 3 Gators, aided by turnovers, pounced on the Gamecocks for a 21-0 first-quarter lead.

Granted, it was in mid-November and not mid-October, but the 56-6 blowout had an adverse effect on the remainder of the season. The Gamecocks were listless at Clemson and in the Outback Bowl against Iowa.

Bad attitudes were blamed then. This team says it's different. Even the worst-case scenario this weekend can't break it, Spurrier and the Gamecocks' leaders say.

"You know, if something good happens, we're going to give it our best shot and see what happens," Spurrier said. "But we're not going to toss in the towel if it doesn't work out for us.

"There's a lot of football left. This is just one game. We want to get in the mix with them, see what happens. But we also remember down the road a little bit, too."

Spurrier started saying Sunday that the Tide (6-0, 3-0 SEC) will feel the heat, not the Gamecocks (5-1, 2-1).

"The pressure's on their shoulders," senior receiver Moe Brown said. "They've got aspirations to win an SEC Championship, a national championship. They're ranked that highly. Naturally, the pressure's on them."

This week, 10 of 60 AP voters have the Tide the No. 1 team in the country. Brown, for one, said there's not a lot of separation between Nos. 1 and 2.

At the current rate for Florida and Alabama, the SEC title game would effectively be the national championship game.

"They're not separated by that much," Brown said. "To me, we're going to play (Alabama) like they're the best team in the country. We're going to play them like we're going to beat the best team in the country."

Spurrier very rarely is outward in showing a lot of public respect for other coaches and teams. But he did make an exception Tuesday, with regards to Alabama and Nick Saban.

Saban is considered a defensive-minded coach, and it's difficult to argue with the results when the Tide is No. 2 in the country in total defense (220.5 yards a game) through half the season.

"He's one of the best recruiters in the country and that's why he's one of the best coaches," Spurrier said of Saban. "I put him in the top four or five coaches in the country. He and his staff do a super job there and they're just sound, very sound, on defense.

"They play a lot of the same coverages everyone else plays. They just play them a lot better."

Saban was pretty high on the Gamecocks during his news conference Monday. At times, you wondered which team was the overwhelming favorite, which team was No. 2 in the country.

Saban repeatedly called USC a "good all-around team."

"South Carolina is really playing well on both sides of the ball and on special teams," Saban said, especially crediting USC's offensive balance. "They are 5-1, and other than a four-point loss at Georgia, this team would be undefeated and probably ranked a lot higher. This is certainly going to be a challenging game for us."

South Carolina has one win in Tuscaloosa in the program's history. But, on the positive front, it did come in the last visit.

The Gamecocks won 20-3 in 2004. Alabama's fledgling quarterbacks threw four interceptions in the game.

"It's probably a little bit different Alabama team than it was then," Spurrier said, "but who knows."

Reach at thaney@postandcourier.com and check out the South Carolina blog at
www.postandcourier.com/weblogs/gamecocks.