COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) There's one thing on Florida's mind this week and it's not old Gators coach Steve Spurrier.<br>
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Florida defensive end Jeremy Mincey says beating Spurrier's new team at South Carolina on Saturday is the only way the Gators can reach the Southeastern Conference title game. ``I'm thinking of winning, of getting to where we need to be,'' he said. ``That's all I'm thinking about. I don't care about the hype.''<br>
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Apparently others do. Spurrier, facing the school where he won a Heisman Trophy as quarterback and six SEC titles and a national championship as coach, has been a major topic on national sports shows. South Carolina's pressbox at Williams-Brice Stadium for Saturday's game should be as full as the stands.<br>
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Plus, it hasn't hurt that Spurrier has discovered some of that former Gator magic with the Gamecocks this season. After a horrendous 0-3 conference start, South Carolina (6-3, 4-3 SEC) has rebounded to win four straight in the league, including its first victory against Tennessee in Knoxville.<br>
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But if the Gators (7-2, 5-2) want a shot at the SEC Eastern Division, they have to beat South Carolina and hope Georgia loses one of its two remaining games with Auburn and Kentucky. That Florida must roll past a figure who's meant so much to its program is a minor concern.<br>
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``It's going to be exciting to get a chance to play against'' Spurrier, said linebacker Todd McCullough, one of six remaining from the head ball coach's Florida days. ``All that aside, coach Spurrier is going to do everything he can to win, and me and all the guys that have been here are going to do everything we can to get the Gators a win. That's really all it comes down to.''<br>
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The Gators have never had much trouble with South Carolina, winning 14 straight dating to a 7-0 loss in 1939. Spurrier was a big reason why, going 10-0 against the Gamecocks while with the Gators.<br>
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The last time these teams met here with this much anticipation was 2001, Spurrier's final season at Florida. South Carolina came in ranked No. 14 and needed a victory to win the SEC East. Gamecock fans put on a ``Black Out Florida'' move where they all dressed in dark colors for the nationally televised contest.<br>
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Instead, the only thing that got wiped out was South Carolina's chances in a 54-17 win by the fourth-ranked Gators. Spurrier even tweaked the crowd that now hangs on his ever move that a Florida receiver told him it was nice of supporters to wear black so they could easily pick the ball out of the sky.<br>
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Now, in a different visor, Spurrier says the Gamecocks always gave Florida trouble.<br>
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``It's not like we were clearly dominating South Carolina,'' Spurrier says. It ``just worked out.''<br>
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For Florida coach Urban Meyer, the game is also a chance to show those Gator fans who pulled for Spurrier's return last fall that the university made the right choice.<br>
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``Obviously, it's a big week, a huge week,'' Meyer said. ``We're playing a game that has championship implications in November. That's why you get up. That's why you shave. That's why you eat breakfast in the morning.''<br>
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Spurrier does those things, too.<br>
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And while some question his fire to beat a school that's meant so much to him, Spurrier swears he's a Gamecock through and through. ``Been almost a complete year with these guys,'' Spurrier said. ``Only have one team at a time and this is my team.''<br>
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Florida doesn't need Spurrier to spice up this matchup, Gator linebacker Brandon Siler said. ``Playing to go to the SEC championship is enough to spark any team,'' he said. ``For fans and that kind of thing, it will be (about facing Spurrier). But for us, it's just Xs and Os.''<br>
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(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
