Though Steve Spurrier hasn't had the kind of success at South Carolina he had during his first 15 years as a college coach, he still doesn't lose to the little guys.

Spurrier will put his 36-0 record against teams outside the six major BCS conferences on the line Saturday against Florida Atlantic.

The coach isn't talking down about the Owls (0- 1). Spurrier pointed out Tuesday that the Owls have been to bowl games the past two years, beating Memphis in 2007 and Central Michigan in 2008. He didn't mention Florida Atlantic opened its season with a 49-3 loss to Nebraska.

And though Spurrier has experienced things with the Gamecocks (1- 1) that never happened at Florida — losing Southeastern Conference records and streaks of games scoring less than 20 points, the Owls are the kind of team Spurrier has always beaten.

Spurrier's first goal Saturday is to win, of course, but the coach said he also hopes to get a chance to play a larger number of players so he can settle on a backfield and corp of receivers.

"We've had two close games, two four-point games, both of them. Coaches have the tendency to stick with guys who are playing pretty decent, taking care of the ball and what have you," Spurrier said.