So typical, so Carolina

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- So much for a sweet home-away-from-homefield Alabama advantage.

With everything going its way -- more fans, not having to adjust from New England chowder to grits, Clemson momentum -- South Carolina on Saturday turned in its worst bowl performance in two decades.

The Papajohns.com Bowl was delivered on time but quickly turned into a cheesy mess for the Gamecocks, 20-7 losers to Connecticut at Legion Field.

It was cold and miserable and a rout, similar to a cold night in Memphis when the 1988 Gamecocks folded in a 34-10 loss to Indiana.

At least the sun was out this time.

But South Carolina lost yardage on a completed flea-flicker pass.

One of Stephen Garcia's few successful plays ended up with the sophomore quarterback losing a fumble.

The Gamecocks dropped three passes -- during a single possession.

One Connecticut drive was extended twice by penalties (roughing the punter and roughing the quarterback).

"We couldn't even catch the snap on a field goal attempt," head coach Steve Spurrier said.

It was so typical of this traditionally topsy-turvy program to tease its fans into thinking something worth celebrating would happen in Birmingham, only to fall apart against an underdog.

'Blame me'

Yes, credit the Huskies. Coach Randy Edsall and Co. endured the death of cornerback Jasper Howard this season. A classy bunch, Connecticut took a knee on the final two plays Saturday inside the South Carolina 5-yard line.

But it's not like Connecticut was the best team in the Big East, or second best.

Or third. Or fourth.

The Huskies finished fifth.

They gave South Carolina more fits than anything received from Alabama or Florida.

"We just thoroughly got beat. I don't know what else to say," Spurrier said. "I'm embarrassed. Blame me. I don't know what else to do. We thought we'd coached our butts off and had the guys ready to play."

Defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson agreed that this was different than the 31-10 loss to Iowa at the Outback Bowl last January. That effort was nagged by tardiness, attitude issues and poor practices, Johnson said.

"These practices were totally different," Johnson said. "I thought we had really good preparation."

Just another brick in the frustration wall, another reason to rightfully expect better.

So it was execution and strategy.

Looking to 2010

Like ...

Where was the Wildcat formation featuring freshman cornerback Stephon Gilmore? You know, the look that sparked the Gamecocks against Clemson?

Gilmore appeared for one play, a handoff in the third quarter to tailback Bryce Sherman.

Of course, Connecticut was thinking Wildcat. Edsall mentioned it earlier in the week while referring to the Clemson game.

So what?

On a day when nothing else was working, why not try what worked best last time out?

The Papajohns.com Bowl experience was a long, cold dud that had so much promise coming in. Birmingham really looked like a bridge between a nice win over Clemson and a team good enough to challenge for first place in the SEC East in 2010.

But Spurrier late Saturday was blasting his returning players, not praising them.

"Just cause you got a lot of guys coming back doesn't mean crap if they can't play any better than we played out here," he said. "So we have some new guys coming in and we'll have some spirited competition in the spring."

Surely it will be better than the competition on display at Legion Field.

Reach Gene Sapakoff at gsapakoff@postandcourier.com or (843) 937-5593.