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S.C. in Difficult Spotlight Vs. Auburn
4:40 AM EDT, September 27, 2006
By PETE IACOBELLI, AP Sports Writer
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina's last national television appearance didn't go so well. Steve Spurrier is hoping for a much better result this time around.
Spurrier was excited about the Gamecocks' chances to upset then-No. 9 Georgia in a Saturday night game in prime time Sept. 9. Instead, the coach's offense sputtered and left him pointless, 18-0 -- shut out for the first time in the college game since 1987.
The one saving grace?
"Fortunately, Texas and Ohio State were playing the same time, so most of the country didn't see us," Spurrier said, chuckling.
The Gamecocks (3-1, 1-1 Southeastern Conference) meet No. 2 Auburn (4-0, 2-0) on Thursday night, with Spurrier less certain of what to expect from the Gamecocks this time around. The Tigers are as quick and solid as any team in the SEC, plus they throttled South Carolina 48-7 a year ago.
"But anyway, we've got to believe we've got a chance," Spurrier said. "We've got to believe that if the ball bounces our way a little bit here and there we can hang on the field with these guys."
Auburn features a potent running attack and its featured back has some additional motivation for the matchup against the Gamecocks.
Auburn's Kenny Irons, the SEC's leader in rushing yards per game, began his career at South Carolina under coach Lou Holtz. But Irons landed behind then-freshman talent Demetris Summers and eventually left the program. Summers was later dismissed from the team under Spurrier for marijuana use.
Irons has no bitter feelings. "That's just life," he said. "In life, you go through some struggles and some changes."
But Irons could be in line for some big numbers against his old school. Auburn is second in the SEC with more than 184 yards rushing a game and the Gamecocks are 11th in the league at stopping the run.
Worse yet is the Gamecocks' history against highly ranked teams. They've never beaten a team ranked No. 1 or No. 2 and lost their past 19 games to top 5 teams since a 31-13 victory over No. 3 North Carolina in 1981.
"These (games) are the best ones. The whole world is watching," South Carolina receiver Kenny McKinley said. "You get to go out there and show everybody what you can do."
