Ballplays: The Adventures of Steve Spurrier

Let's Show Corso!

2007-09-06T01:47:00.000-04:00

In the build-up to THE GAME of the first half of the football season, with immense implications for who wins the SEC, I will do a series of posts here chronicling the journey to victory. First up, this amazing new website:

LET'S SHOW CORSO!

Watch the outstanding clips showing how wrong a Spurrier-naysayer can be, when Lee goes on and on about how Spurrier won't be able to recruit consistently enough to beat Tennessee, Florida, or Clemson. LOL, it's hard to believe, but Steve did it with the scrub team he inherited! Coached 'em up!

In about 2 years, his recruiting will bear fruit with national titles. It's gonna be sick.

Bless Meyer, He Tries

2007-08-27T19:01:00.000-04:00

No commentary, here's an article from ESPN:

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Former USC running back Emmanuel Moody said Monday he will transfer to defending national champion Florida.

"I followed my heart," Moody, the Trojans' second-leading rusher last season, told ESPN's Joe Schad. "It's when you get that feeling that you know something is right and you can't really describe."

Florida coach Urban Meyer accidentally confirmed Moody is transferring.

"He's not here yet," Meyer said during his weekly news conference. Meyer quickly realized his error and said, "He's not here."

Then, he paused and said, "Oops."

Gamecock Recruiting Heats Up

2007-08-20T17:30:00.000-04:00

Some programs, such as Florida, USC-West, and Clemson, perennially have outstanding recruiting classes before the season even starts. This year is no exception. But like last year, expect South Carolina to pick up steam as the season rolls along with each passing Gamecock victory. Players only tepidly thinking about USC due to the intrigue of the Head Ball Coach will come around, just as they did last year, leaving the HBC with the best recruiting class in the country -- according to us, anyway. Other observers rated it fourth best. No small feat for the fledgling program in Columbia, South Carolina.

One such indication of the way recruiting works for USC right now is WR T.J. Lawrence. He recently narrowed his choices down from twenty to five. He says:

"South Carolina and Florida are the top two. Florida, they are the national champions and they have an awesome program. And South Carolina likes to pass the ball, and me being a receivers, that's attractive to me. There's no leader between them but South Carolina is recruiting me the hardest."

T.J. isn't the only WR in the country to get stars in his eyes thinking about playing in the HBC's WR-friendly schemes. He will be a part of the country's best receiving corps, including freshman standouts such as Mark Barnes, Chris Culliver, and fellow Polk County star Larry Freeman (L-Free!!!).

The Spur Lid

2007-08-19T10:37:00.000-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the latest in the Fall 2007 fashion line brought to you by Steve Spurrier, Under Armour, and some enterprising persons in the state of South Carolina:

THE SPUR LID!!

Who knew that Steve Spurrier was also a fashion genius?

We had our hunches. The Spur Lid is hand-crafted by the finest artisans in the US, designed by the Head Ball Coach himself, and comes at a bargain price. Did I mention that it has all the latest sun protection technology?

Don't be left out on Saturdays this season as Greater Gator Nation fans all around the countries don this latest fad inspired by ballplays. Look at Ballplays contributors modeling:

Reflections on Coming Season

2007-08-19T10:28:00.000-04:00

A few reflections on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, as a new class of knee-jerk Meyer lovers descend upon the UF campus:

1. Despite winning SEC & National Championships (one and the same for 1990s record-keeping purposes), Urban Meyer is still not considered one of the best coaches in the country -- and is barely considered one in his own conference. Since he is certainly the second best coach in the conference, this speaks to the strength of the SEC. But it should come as no surprise that the #1 in the 1990s is the #1 of the 2000s as well: Steve Spurrier. Do you honestly think switching Meyer and Spurrier would result in 17-16 scrapes in the Swamp? 30-22 victories for the Gamecocks in Columbia? Of course not. The bottom line is that the market does understand Meyer's game. He's a heck of a coach, but he's not brilliant. He doesn't understand the game at the instinctual level that SOS does, although I can say he is learning as SOS has taught him many things.

2. The switch by true freshman Mark Barnes to Wide Receiver is going to flummox defenses across the country. If you want my take on it, SOS always intended on having Barnes at WR and switched him officially last minute so that other teams couldn't prepare for his athleticism in time. Barnes makes Percy Harvin look like Barney Fife. SOS has a long record of turning two and one star prospects into heroes (Sidney Rice, the 1990s Gators offense). With talent like Mark Barnes running loose in the best system of football ever devised, the sky is the limit.

3. Steve Spurrier is talking a big game. He think he can win the SEC: beware the SEC teams who get in his way.

Update: SOS named top QB coach

2007-08-11T13:42:00.001-04:00

Bruce Feldman of ESPN has named SOS as the top QB coach in football. Remember, despite the Anti-Spurrier conspiracy, every single one of SOS's starting QB's have lasted multiple years in the NFL. He truly is the best at what he does, and is an inspiration to all.

The Ballcoach named Top SEC coach...again

2007-08-11T13:31:00.000-04:00

SOS was just named the top SEC coach again, this time by the Tennessean newspaper. Steve has been named the #1 coach in the SEC by the Sporting News, Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun, and Paul Finebaum (the dean of the SEC media). SEC rivals can't agree on much, but they are unanimous in one matter- The Ballcoach is by far the best coach the SEC has ever had.

The latest rankings:

1. Steve Spurrier.

2. Tommy Tuberville.

3. Nick Saban.

4. Urban Meyer.

5. Mark Richt.

6. Phillip Fulmer.

7. Les Miles.

8. Houston Nutt.

9. Bobby Johnson.

10. Rich Brooks.

11. Sylvester Croom.

12. Ed Orgeron.

See the full colum here

Ballplays Patron Saint Peter Kerasotis

2007-08-09T02:26:00.000-04:00

Ballplays has a Patron Saint and his name is Peter Kerasotis, affectionately known as 'PK' to authors of this blog. An award-winning journalist, PK has done more to spread the gospel truth of Steve Spurrier's Second Coming than any other. He has not released pandering, pro-Meyer columns like faux Gator Nation fans demand. It was PK who wrote before the first clash between Meyer's Gators and Spurrier's Gamecocks that Meyer had some serious challenges to overcome: namely that the last time USC and UF met when Spurrier was coach of UF, USC had more talent and UF still walloped them 54-17.

So to be fair, if Meyer was even near SOS's league, he'd surely get close to that kind of slaughter against the woefully overmatched, rebuilding South Carolina team. Right?

WRONG. It is one of the most damning pieces of evidence against Meyer's coaching prowess. It's hard to avoid making effective half-time adjustments, but Herb does it with aplomb.

In any case, PK also asked the key question: do you think if SOS was coaching at UF and Meyer was coaching at USC that the outcome would have been different?

Exactly. Case closed, Spurrier haters.

Peter Kerasotis takes a lot of crap from a lot of really vocal sports fans, including the normally lucid and interesting Deadspin authors, who for some reason become completely deranged whenever Steve Spurrier appears. They can't even get scores right where he's involved, trying to make it seem like there was some other reason for Tennessee winning than a QB who was under the weather. Just more unwitting participants in the conspiracy. But you won't find the same criticism here. In our view, PK takes a lot of heat for being honest and unyielding in his views. A journalist's perspective will likely be off in time to time, but that's because of human perception, not because of any lack on PK's part.

His defense and advocacy of Steve Spurrier has been stirring. For that, he is our Patron Saint.

The Gator Nation

2007-08-07T21:15:00.000-04:00

To quote Woodrow "Woody" Paige: "Why do I always have to straighten you guys out?"

In the fractured Gator Nation that we live in today, I inhabit the middle ground between the kids who didn't live through the Spurrier days and don't know that he built the Florida football program (and the university) brick by brick from his Heisman Trophy through the Orange Bowl in 2001, and the die-hard Head Ball Coach fans whose passion is so deep that it has caused them to lash out against innocent victims like Coach Urban Meyer.

I like to consider myself an independent in the great tradition of a Verne Lundquist or Gary Danielson.

You will hear a lot of talk on Ballplays about the vast anti-Spurrier, anti-SEC, anti-Gator Nation bias that exists in the college football world today. The good news is that people like the aforementioned Gary Danielson are out there fighting the good fight with us. Here is a section of the Wikipedia entry on Mr. Danielson:

Gary Danielson was an analyst for the SEC Championship game on December 2, 2006. Danielson’s remarks in the fourth quarter of Florida’s 38-28 victory over Arkansas in the SEC title game sparked some controversy. He was accused of lobbying for Florida to play in the national title game against Ohio State and against Michigan getting a shot at a rematch against Ohio State.
In a December 5th, 2006 interview on WXYT 1270AM, a Detroit based station, Danielson acknowledged he campaigned for Florida in the SEC title game. "I figure I have two more months to go to catch up with ABC and ESPN. They've been (campaigning for) the Big Ten since September."
Danielson's controversial comments turned out to be accurate, as Florida went on to win the BCS National Championship by crushing Ohio State 41-14. It was Florida's second national championship.

As I watched this game at home it was a great relief to finally see some sane analysis of the BCS situation, after hearing Bart Frankfurter (aka Brent Musburger) avoid even mentioning the Gators all year as he spoke out about the dominance of Ohio State over such great opponents as Indiana and Bowling Green.

Now, as the resident independent on Ballplays, you will find that while I will proclaim Steve Spurrier to be the best coach in college football, I will also defend Urban Meyer. Coach Meyer has spoken highly of the Head Ball Coach at every opportunity, and has been the kind of winner we thought we may never have again after Spurrier left and we were in the dark ages of 2002-2004. Fear not Gator Nation fans, supporting Urban Meyer does not make you any less of a Spurrier fan, and enjoying the accomplishments of the Meyer-era does not in any way overshadow the accomplishments of the Spurrier-era.

Stay tuned for my preseason predictions for both Gator Nation teams, and also the release of the preseason OP College Football poll.

Beginning of History (Again)

2007-08-07T19:38:00.000-04:00

To get Ballplays off to the right start this season, I thought it might be worth remembering a classic post from the classic blog, Overzealous Prosecutors. Posted during the jubilation of the Greater Gator Nation, at the surprise slaying of two tyrants, who have risen again but are nevertheless doomed, this post reveled in the glory of the Gamecocks crushing the Gators:

Steve Spurrier sent a message-- there will be JUSTICE. There will be PEACE. There will be good in this world, free of tyranny. Now football fans are freed, more free than they have been since 2001 under Spurrier's assault. Inspired by players who courageously faced Gators 3x their speed, their size, their ability, inspired by the coach who could, the coach who lived, fans will see a new game.

Indeed, we have reached the end of history. This is a new era and I am both excited and frightened. Anything is possible. ...

Bernie Machen, Jeremy Foley... you've been served. Urban failed his exam, and so your time running the Gator Nation is almost over.

Haven't you always wanted a chance to help make history -- to CHANGE history? Thanks to Steve Spurrier, we can make a difference AGAIN.

Spurrier discriminated against!

2007-08-06T10:50:00.001-04:00

This comes from a very reliable source.

"I have a good friend in the admissions office who said things were lightened up significantly when Zook took over to help him recruit.

they always held SOS to the highest standard."

Yes, ladies and gentlemen- the University of Florida held Stephen Orr Spurrier to a higher standard than they did Zonk, or currently hold Herb to. This double standard is just further proof of the vast anti-Spurrier conspiracy. Jack Farley is trying to manipulate whatever he can in order to make Herb look good. SOS he is not!!!

Of Admissions and Sports Beauty

2007-08-06T01:28:00.001-04:00

Coach Spurrier, who is your coach if you have any sense of goodness or aesthetic appreciation, expressed his thinly veiled disgust with the obstructionism of USC administration today in preventing NCAA-qualifying athletes admission to the university. One might speculate that members of the vast anti-Spurrier conspiracy have infiltrated USC's ranks. I hope this is not the case. Rather, it seems that like the administration may have become misguided and too self-important like the Coaches poll personnel. SOS took the opportunity to address the injustice:

"Again, I've got to apologize to two young men that we recruited and they qualified, they signed with us in February, and they were denied admission to our school. Personally, I don't think that's the way you do business. I'm embarrassed that I, and our coaches, basically misled these young men into believing they were coming here. Now, I'm not blasting the president or the provost. The president has already told me how we're going to change how we do admissions here, but I think we need to get it out to the high school coaches and the players out there that this is not going to happen again. As a head coach, one of the big things I've always tried to follow, in a player-coach relationship, honesty has to be the centerpiece of everything you have to do with your players. And it starts when you recruit them. I don't always tell recruits what they want to hear. I try to be honest with them and all I ever guarantee is an opportunity. And when you tell a young man that if he qualifies he's coming to your school and it doesn't happen, somebody is misleading, and it's me. I'm the guy. The head coach is the face of every college football program. It's my fault. It's nobody else's fault but mine. ... As long as I'm the coach here, we're going to take guys that qualify. If not, then I'm going to have to go somewhere else because I can't tell a young man you come to school here, he qualifies, and not do that. And we did that this year."

For those of you who don't know, some of USC's most highly-touted recruits have not been allowed to enroll in classes, despite committing to Coach Spurrier earlier this year and last year to play football for the Gamecocks -- and Greater Gator Nation. This is terribly unfair to the students and to Coach Spurrier. The athletes need to meet a minimum threshold of NCAA requirements and Coach Spurrier is empowered with some flexibility in the recruits he goes for. But losses such as the talented Akeem Auguste are heavy. I suppose they will make his pending SEC Championship season all the more special, against even more odds than normal.

And for those of you who support USC's denial of athletes because they are jealous that athletes who might have test scores below the school's average, or below their own, get scholarships to attend fine universities while they had to work, let me say this: grow up. Physical discipline is an important part of making a well-rounded, adjusted individual. Many of these athletes have extraordinary physical discipline, and/or have attained it so that they might live better lives, something you can surely identify with.

Consider, too, how athletics ties in with the mission of this blog. Athletics can often be a beautiful thing. In the case of Coach Spurrier's brand of football, it approaches the sublime. Plato, not an inconsiderable thinker one might say, believed athletics could show something akin to transcendent beauty, relating to the sacrifice on the part of the athlete for the performance, in itself a sacrifice for our benefit.

Let the athletes into USC, and all of us shall be enriched by it -- give Coach Spurrier the tools he need to paint his magnum opus: a National Championship at USC.

Sublime ballplays #1
Sublime ballplays #2
Sublime ballplays #3

2008 Predictions: Admiral

2007-08-04T23:45:00.000-04:00

Date	Opponent	Location	Result
09/01/07	Louisiana-Lafayette	HOME	W: 60-10
09/08/07	Georgia	Athens	W: 41-17
09/15/07	South Carolina State	HOME	W: 63-7
09/22/07	LSU	Baton Rouge	L: 24-21
09/29/07	Mississippi State	HOME	W: 42-15
10/04/07	Kentucky	HOME	W: 50-35
10/13/07	UNC	Chapel Hill	W: 70-10
10/20/07	Vanderbilt	HOME	W: 28-24
11/03/07	Tennessee	Knoxville	W: 24-14
11/10/07	Florida	HOME	W: 52-17
11/24/07	Clemson	HOME	W: 17-10
SEC CHAMPIONSHIP	LSU	Atlanta	W: 42-21
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP	The other USC		L: 35-34

Total Points Regular Season	471
Total Points Scored	548

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2008 SEC CHAMPIONS SOUTH CAROLINA!!!!

Year of the Gators

2007-08-03T21:47:00.000-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the grand opening of BALLPLAYS, returning for its second year of insightful commentary on the football season. Enduring countless NL Central highlights on Sportscenter has cast a gloom across the sports land, but we are back to bring you the Light of Spurrier, and so much more.

It is only fitting to begin with the release of the Coaches poll for NCAA football, which came out today. As is well known amongst fans, Steve Spurrier casts a vote every year for Duke in the Coaches poll for the first poll. This year was no different. Even as coaches across the country denied South Carolina its obvious place in the top 25 teams in the country (although it's not hard to name one team better than UF last year, it's even less hard to name THE team that was the best in the country by the end: South Carolina), the Head Ball Coach cast a vote as usual for Duke. Most people have found it charming.

Today, the AJC reports, things suddenly changed.

It's clear that what once might have seemed quaint has begun to lose its charm," Welch said in a USA Today story that accompanied the poll. "We're hopeful that before next season the coaches association can prevail upon Coach Spurrier to find another way to salute his former team — or that Duke gets better in a hurry."

And who the hell are you, Welch? I'll tell you who you're not: Steve Spurrier. Spurrier is a Heisman Trophy winner, a National Championship winner, has coached another Heisman Trophy winner, won 7 SEC Championships, and basically is better than you at everything.

Sorry he's not kow-towing to the self-important administrators of the Coaches poll. Spurrier is loyal to a fault, without impugning the integrity of the poll in any way, and you are just another cog in the vast anti-Spurrier conspiracy that has long engulfed this country. Let's listen in to Steve's explanation:

"It's a vote for a school that has been special to me and my family," said Spurrier, who won an ACC championship at Duke in 1989. "They hired me when I didn't have job. I've been doing it for about 15 years and all of a sudden they want to make a big deal out of it."

In years past Spurrier has quit voting for the Blue Devils once they lose a game.

"I doubt if they'll get my next vote but I always feel like I owe that to Duke University," said Spurrier, whose son, Steve Jr., played at Duke.

Know this: as long as Spurrier coaches, there will be a place for honor and loyalty in this game. There will be a place for a little bit of levity. And most of all, there will be a type of football that soars -- football characterized by a brilliant, effortless grace that lifts all those who stand to gain by appreciating its beauty.

SEC Championship: It was Fate

2006-12-02T22:37:00.000-05:00

Some thoughts on the 2006 SEC Champion FLORIDA GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!

First, all members of the Gator Nation rejoice in the fact that we ARE Champions. There is a vast anti-Gator conspiracy, long unloosed upon the Nation -- first because Florida wasn't "part of the South" and then far more notoriously because of Steve Spurrier. The conspiracy continues because people just love to hate the Gators, as though we don't deserve to be a part of royalty in the world. Even Sports Guy, an otherwise intelligent commentator and judge in sports, refuses to give credit to people who owe their greatness to their Gator heritage.

Reasons for Concern

But having said, we must not rejoice in full: although the Gators managed to stay on top in victory, the coaching could not have been worse. It simply could not have been worse. After learning lesson after lesson of thrusting Lynch into the misconceived Option play, Herb did it again and saw an interception. The next opportunity, like a stubborn child who refuses to learn, he oversaw Don Muppins do it again as Lynch FUMBLED the ball.

To top if off, the Gators burned two timeouts completely unnecessarily. Herb seems almost insouciant as he watches the play clock tick off before he calls timeouts every single time there's a 3rd-and-1 or a 4th-and-1 or 2 and he is confused as to whether to play Lynch or Turbow. All season long, it has led to burned timeouts and delays of game. These are the coach's fault, not Lynch's or Turbow's. Herb has a lot of learning to do. He just doesn't have a good grasp of the game.

Further, as Steve demonstrated in his methodical destruction of Arkansas' defense, the way to burn man-on-man coverage is to throw at it: exploit its weaknesses and its athletes as much as humanly possible. For the Florida Gators to avoid doing this, in spite of its need to show the world it is a GREAT football team so as to be considered contenders, and despite Leak's proficiency in throwing long to taller, faster receivers, Herb and Muppins conspired to undermine the Gator Nation with weakness once again.

Fate Intervenes

The last time the Florida Gators won the SEC Championship was the year 2000. The Gators didn't make it in 2001 because of Osama bin Laden, Jack Farley, and Darnell Dockett so we will eliminate from consideration that year in the subsequent analysis.

In the five years since, the Gators have not even won the SEC East til now, if it is "winnable." Now, there are six teams in the SEC East, but until now, there have only been three with actual football programs. By the odds alone, Florida had a 1/3 chance of going to the SEC Championship for the past five years. If we carry this thought experiment further, let's say they'd have a 1/6 chance every year to win the SEC Championship because they'd have a 1/2 chance of winning once they make it to the championship. Therefore, in five years, the probability of Florida winning a SEC Championship is 5/6 (1/6 x 5). That's an 83% chance of winning!!!!!! Of COURSE we are SEC Champions!

Since we know the Herb Cryer didn't coach the Florida Gators to a championship, that he actively hindered our ability to do so, it can only be logically reasoned that Florida won the SEC Championship by sheer luck--

Fate, as it were, intervened. Maybe we can win another next year and put the probabilities to rest as a factor in our victory.

Perhaps God still is a Gator. If so, it will be proved by Steve Spurrier's resurgence.

SEC Championship

2006-12-02T00:13:00.000-05:00

This is not the first time that the University of Florida Gators have met the Arkansas Razorbacks in the SEC Championship. In the 1995 game Steve Spurrier's Gators beat the 'Backs 34-3.

This is the measuring stick for this edition of the game. The Gators must win by 31 points if they are indeed "back." We have laid down the gauntlet, Herb Cryer...beat Arkansas by 31 or more points and you will go up a notch in our eyes. Anything less than this is failure.

Spurrier Recruiting

2006-12-01T23:45:00.000-05:00

Recruiting Update:

Although many ignorant folks often criticize SOS for his recruiting, intelligent recruits across the nation are flocking to Columbia, South Carolina securing a future with many SEC championship rings. The latest commitment was WR Jason Barnes of Independence HS in North Carolina (the same HS as Craig Lynch). When asked why he chose USC he simply replied, "“I chose USC because where else would a receiver go? Steve Spurrier has the perfect offense for a receiver and a quarterback."

Is Steve Spurrier some slick coach who makes promises he cannot keep to the recruits and their families?? No, says Barnes father. “I just felt that they were being sincere when they spoke with us. They didn’t promise us the world, that he was going to come in and play right away. They made sure they let us know that he was going to have to work and do the right things, but that they would give him the opportunity to play. They just made me feel comfortable being straightforward with me, instead of trying to promise him the world.

Steve Spurrier is simply a straight shooter who puts his players in the NFL. In fact, at the time he was stabbed in the back by Jack Farley (a second time) and had to take the USC job, the University of Florida had more active NFL players than any other college. EVERY SINGLE LAST ONE OF THESE PLAYERS WAS RECRUITED BY STEPHEN ORR SPURRIER. Although most of these players were not 5 star players, we must add in the Spurrier factor of +2 stars to each one of their rankings. That is to say, Steve Spurrier has always maximized his players' talents- he wont have a pocket passer try to run a silly option play, or expose his WR's by running them on ridiculous reverses every other play. He will do one thing-WIN.

The USA today states Spurrier's recruiting pitch is as simple as it is elegant. "He'll step into a recruit's living room and tell 'em what he always has during recruiting: 'You're either going to win with us, or we're going to beat you.'"

There are only a few scholarships left for the 2007 SEC Champs- recruits must decide to win with SOS, or get beat by him- and beat badly.

Believers

2006-12-01T09:17:00.000-05:00

If you read this blog, if you put it into your feed, if you dare to read the words on this blog, I promise you, it is inevitable:

You will convert.

You will see the error of your ways (supporting Herb Cryer, supporting Jack Farley, not supporting the greater Gator Nation, thinking Craig is a great QB, thinking Turbow is yet better, thinking SOS is a traitor, thinking SOS shouldn't've left for the NFL, thinking SOS isn't critical to UF even today...).

You will praise Spurrier, you will extol his virtues to all your friends. You will make time to watch him, as the cameras always do, on Saturdays. You will do Google News searches on your own to find his latest exploits.

And you will love it because finally you will have a genuine, true passion for football again -- something you have missed, but didn't know it, for at least five years.

Spurrier Recaptures Fire

2006-12-01T00:26:00.000-05:00

(( Published in The State on November 28, 2006 -- I have emphasized the good parts ))

Spurrier has recaptured same ol’ fire
By RON MORRIS
rmorris@thestate.com

JERRI SPURRIER HAD concerns about her husband throughout his final, ill-fated season with Washington in the NFL. She even wondered during his year away from coaching if he would capture the spirit and fire that characterized his coaching days at Duke and Florida.

She can rest easy. If anything was proved during South Carolina’s 7-5 regular season it is that the “Ol’ Ball Coach” is back. Steve Spurrier is back to his old self, back to garnering the fierce loyalty of fans on his side while at the same time getting those on the other side to intensely dislike him.

He is back to believing he will take his 11 players and beat any 11 you put up against him. He is back to believing his teams can win championships instead of shooting for winning seasons, as USC has done the past two.

Unlike the 2005 season, USC faced much adversity in 2006, and the only breaks the Gamecocks seemed to get were bad ones.

Under previous coaches, this season had 5-7 or 4-8 written all over it. Instead, Spurrier and his staff did one of its better coaching jobs. The youthful defense, under coordinator Tyrone Nix and with one returning starter, proved capable of keeping USC in games against superior teams.

The offense, of course, was Spurrier’s pet project, and he proved capable of changing his ways. Realizing his offensive line was incapable of protecting the quarterback, Spurrier scaled back his passing attack and inserted Syvelle Newton behind center.

Newton proved adept at directing a limited passing game, and USC went 4-3 with him as a starter. With the offensive line more seasoned at blocking, Spurrier switched back to Blake Mitchell down the stretch, and he caught fire the final three games.

On the sideline, Spurrier exchanged an old trademark for a new one this season. Although it waned in his latter years, he was known for tossing his visor at Florida. This season he took to flinging his play-calling sheets, including a toss on Saturday at Clemson that should have counted for another of the game’s numerous 50-plus-yard plays.

Off the field, it became apparent that adversity was the trigger to bringing out his personality. He called his team and coaches “stupid” following one game and “losers” following another. He criticized USC fans for cheering a losing effort. He called out assistant coach Ron Cooper during a postgame news conference. Twice, he publicly challenged Southeastern Conference officials, and drew a reprimand from the league office.

Spurrier rarely does or says anything that is not calculated, so we can safely assume all of his on-field and off-field actions contributed to USC’s success.

Back-to-back seven-win seasons and bowl games at USC mean Spurrier has not lost his touch. Knowing that, he naturally jumps to the top of any list of candidates for every top coaching vacancy in the country.

USC fans need to get used to it. Miami fires its coach, Spurrier becomes the leading candidate. Alabama fires its coach, Spurrier becomes the leading candidate. The same scenarios will hold true following the 2007 season, and 2008 and 2009 and ...

Spurrier is going nowhere. He hand-picked USC. This is where he wants to be. This is where he wants to build a championship program. This is where he wants to coach his final games during the next five to 10 seasons.

This is where Spurrier re-gained his old spirit and old fire for coaching.

When Spurrier arrived in Columbia two Novembers ago, he said he preferred to be referred to as the “Head Ball Coach” instead of the “Ol’ Ball Coach.” Despite his youthful appearance and his tip-top physical condition, Spurrier thought the “Ol’ Ball Coach” label made him sound older than his 61 years.

So, through his first season at USC, nearly everyone adhered to his request, and he was known around Columbia as the “Head Ball Coach.” This season, though, his on-field and off-field antics showed that Spurrier has returned to being the “Ol’ Ball Coach,” and it has nothing to do with age.

It has everything to do with him being the Spurrier of old, like him or not.

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The lesson from this article, for you new students of Spurrier, is that the Revolution is upon us. All the signs are there. The offense, the offensive line, the new recruits coming in -- over the next few months you will see, hear, and read much much more about this theme. Mark our words, South Carolina is going to be the 1990s Florida of this decade. Jack Farley and Beanie MacFarlane may never recognize the extent of their own humiliation and disgrace for passing on the number one Gator, but we will know.

Pac-10 and Big-10 fans beware

2006-11-30T17:32:00.000-05:00

It's hard being a fan of SEC football these days. Even though the SEC is universally regarded as the toughest conference in college football, it seems to be impossible for an SEC team to make it to the BCS title game. The biggest reason is that the SEC teams pound each other all season making it difficult to go undefeated, but Auburn proved that even going undefeated isn't enough. The tough defenses also make it difficult to earn "style points", allowing teams like Southern Cal to be ranked number 2 after losing to an unranked team.

Here is the good news for SEC fans, and the bad news for fans of those conferences that have 1 or 2 good teams and no conference championship game. Stephen Orr Spurrier is back in the SEC, and quickly building a national powerhouse in South Carolina. When Pete Carroll (we need a new name for him by the way) puts up 60 points against the great defenses of Stanford or Washington we never stop hearing about the great Southern Cal offense. When the Head Ball Coach puts up 60 points against Tennessee, Georgia, and LSU, the term "style points" will be redefined.

So what's my point? My point is that Coach Spurrier is great for college football. When South Carolina starts to win SEC championships while putting up offensive numbers that will match any of the southern cals or louisvilles out there, there will be no question about which team is the best in the country. Ironically Spurrier may end up saving the BCS (I am told Spurrier is in favor of a playoff system in college football).

Here's to Coach Spurrier and the Gator Nation.

Name Changes

2006-11-30T13:19:00.000-05:00

First things first, however:

Some people don't deserve their given names. For these special people, we have different terms of address. They can earn them back, and at least two of them are under serious review for doing so. Without further ado:

1. Urban Meyer = Herb Cryer
2. Dan Mullins = Don Muppins
3. Chris Leak = Craig Lynch
4. Tim Tebow = Tom Turbow
5. Jeremy Foley = Jack Farley
6. Bernie Machen = Beanie MacFarlane

Welcome!

2006-11-30T13:14:00.000-05:00

So you always heard a lot about Steve Spurrier, you always see the camera on him during games, and you wonder: who is this man? What is everyone's preoccupation with him? Why is he always the first name athletic departments look to in order to save their program?

In this blog, we'll explain the answers to all those questions and much, much more. To start with, and this is the most important thing to know for now: Steve is a Gator, through and through. As Robert Gillespie pointed out, South Carolina is paying the bills now, but Steve still occupies the #1 spot in the Gator Nation. The authors are loyal Gators who seek a renaissance in football a la 1990.

Enjoy.