Spurrier, Gamecocks in SEC bowl picture

COLUMBIA - He's not thrilled with his quarterback and his running game's in shambles. South Carolina's Steve Spurrier sure doesn't sound like a coach on track for a bigtime bowl appearance.

Yet, with three games to go, the Gamecocks are in position to win their way into one of Southeastern Conference's top-level games. That's a big feat for a team that started 0-2 in the SEC and left some fans wondering if the South Carolina's head ball coach had lost his touch.

Now, those same people are checking work schedules and flight times to follow Spurrier wherever he'd headed.

Spurrier chuckled when he remembered someone telling him after Saturday night that his program had come a long way when it got booed for its poor offense at times "and they win by 21 points over Tennessee," he said. "I said, 'Well, maybe our expectations have gone up a bit.'"

They'll grow higher if the Gamecocks (6-3, 3-3) can beat Arkansas (4-5, 1-4) at Williams-Brice Stadium this Saturday. And even that likely won't please Spurrier.

He says quarterback Stephen Garcia, a freshman, has been given too much too soon and needs another spring and more games next year before he gets it.

The Gamecocks are last in SEC rushing yet still ran the ball 44 times against Tennessee for 101 total yards because Spurrier didn't trust his passing game.

"We've got a lot of work to do, especially us offensive coaches. We're not pleased at all the way we performed here the last couple of weeks," he said. "We're going to try to get a lot better."

That's been the plan since September when Spurrier's nerves were clearly on edge.

The Gamecocks had lost to Vanderbilt for a second straight year and squandered away the chance to make national headlines with a 14-7 defeat to No. 2 Georgia to continue a sixgame game SEC losing streak, by far the longest of Spurrier's career.

He'd changed playcallers, quarterbacks and receivers, all with little effect as the Gamecocks sunk near the bottom of the SEC on offense.

South Carolina's fortunes began to change last month with consecutive road wins against Ole Miss and Kentucky to finish a four-game win streak.

The Gamecocks qualified for a bowl last weekend with the victory over the Vols, just the fourth time they'd beaten Tennessee since 1903.

Six wins is nice, but no guarantee of anything, Spurrier said. Just last season, the Gamecocks started 6-1 and Spurrier crowed his club and its fans weren't simply happy to make a bowl they wanted more.

What they got, though, was a season-crushing, fivegame losing streak. When bowl bids were handed out, Spurrier's Gamecocks were left on the sidelines wondering what happened.

"Certainly, we hit the skids last year, although we had a couple of ballgames there we had our chances to win and couldn't do which left us with six wins instead of seven or eight," Spurrier said.

Spurrier will count on just enough offense and his SECleading defense to take the Gamecocks wherever they're headed.

With regular SEC bowl teams like Tennessee, Auburn and Arkansas struggling, South Carolina sits ready to benefit this bowl season.

Despite the early loss to the Commodores (5-3, 3-2), the Gamecocks have a chance to surpass them for third in the SEC Eastern Division, which could get them to the top-tier Outback Bowl.

South Carolina offensive lineman Justin Sorensen says there's bowl talk in the locker room. "Me personally, I just worry about getting this next one, because it'll help us out in the bowl run," he said.

Spurrier hoped his players would enjoy getting that sixth win, something many schools are still searching for. He expects any bowl trip to help the Gamecocks build for bigger things down the road.

"Obviously, our goals are going to be higher. Hopefully, next year and the year after, we still return a big nucleus of our team, bigger goals than bowl eligible will happen for us," he said.