Steve Spurrier Game Quotations

It was an unusual game, but the Gamecocks won, and that's what we came here to find out. I'm not going to feel too bad, because a few plays here and there, they beat us.

We're probably going to give him a game ball come Wednesday when the team gets together. Bernard made tackles all over the place and was hustling around, playing his assignments probably as well as anybody on the team.

He's still on my team. Because I might would've done the same thing as a college kid when somebody took the bowl game away. ... You get mad and you get over it. Those guys, I don't really have a problem with it.

Since the Gators didn't have to worry about that game last night, we decided we'd root for Auburn instead.

We're trying to make it a positive, ... We're trying to tell them . . . it's a big game for us. This is not just another game. This is a big game because we're in the national spotlight. We appreciate this opportunity, and let's take advantage of it. Let's try to show some high school kids out there what Carolina football is all about.

It was a tough night, but we're 1-0 and we're not going to sit around here and cry about it because we could have lost the game with all the dadgum things that happened,

It will be a completely different game plan. We'll have some new ball plays for these guys.

We had a makeshift offensive line most of the game it seemed like.

In Knoxville, they're still doing cartwheels because they went 7-6 and won a bowl game.

I don't know. I always sort of liked playing [Georgia] that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended.

You keep playing, you get a lead and build on it. People get mad when you keep playing, but that's part of the game, too.

Number four, we're going to play like winners, play the game the way it's meant to be played. Don't get full of yourself if something good happens. Don't get too depressed when something bad happens.

Number two, we're going to play with a lot of effort. Our guys are going to be in such good shape that fatigue is not going to be a problem. We're going to play with full effort from snap to whistle on every play the entire game.

Everybody at South Carolina sends our hearts and prayers to the victims there in the Gulf Coast states. Our football game is not really all that important compared to the devastation that these people have suffered.

To finish second in the SEC East is a wonderful season for our team. Obviously, we were not picked that high. To qualify for a bowl game, that was our big goal for our team. We felt it was achievable and realistic and our guys went out and won seven games to go to the bowl game.

The atmosphere was wonderful. These fans were alive before the game and through the game.

He dropped those in the early games and hasn't had many opportunities since. But he's played well. He's had to make a lot of tackles back there.

After being with a team that didn't score many points, I sort of realized why teams didn't like us (at Florida), ... We kept trying to score the whole game and for some reason, in football, you're not supposed to do that. If we lose by a big number, that's fine with me.

In games at Florida, we'd have 14, 16 possessions at least,

That's fine with me. We played the last five games without him. If he feels like he can contribute over there, that'll be fine. We'll see how it goes. He can always come back to offense if it's not working.

What I've been telling everyone that loves Carolina football is that we are going to put a team out there that, number one, is in good shape. We're going to be fit, we are going to be able to play the whole game and we're not going to poop out.

I don't know if he's going to be suspended a whole bunch of games or whether he's gone. We're going to get all the details before we make a final decision on him.

We're to the point, ... where if it's a close game late, something good is going to happen for our side.

Being a bowl team is a wonderful achievement for so many teams, and if you look at the history of the University of South Carolina, a bowl game is pretty good.

I remember every game I ever played. I can go back to junior high if you want.

Obviously, it didn't start off pretty at 2-3 and tied against Kentucky at halftime. The ball started bouncing our way, defense started getting some fumbles, making things happen and obviously the Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida games were fun for the entire team.

It was there tonight. It was there to be had if we were real sharp and maybe played a little better offensively. It was a game where we had a chance, but we couldn't get it done.