COLLEGE FOOTBALL : Wuerffel Picks Up Right Where He Left Off : SEC: After sitting out a game, Florida quarterback throws five touchdown passes in 63-7 rout of South Carolina.

Danny Wuerffel, back in his familiar spot as Florida’s starting quarterback, wasn’t going to let a little cold slow him.

Florida Coach Steve Spurrier said windy, 35-degree conditions at Williams-Brice Stadium had the staff thinking about changing from the Gators’ high-flying and highly effective attack.

No way, said Wuerffel, who was rested by Spurrier last week and hadn’t played since Oct. 28.

“I’m from Colorado, I’m used to the cold,” he said.

Wuerffel threw five touchdown passes and No. 3 Florida got back to the Southeastern Conference title game with a 63-7 victory at South Carolina on Saturday night.

“You only have so many chances to play in your college career and you don’t like to miss any,” Wuerffel said. “I just want to make myself play my best every time.”

He certainly did that in the first half with 304 yards as Florida quickly wrapped up its fourth SEC Eastern Division title in a row with a 7-0 mark. The Gators are 9-0 for the first time and likely scored enough points to hold their poll position another week.

“We’ve got to keep this in perspective,” Spurrier said. “We’re going to Atlanta and that’s all. We’ve got a league game next week and then three really big ones in a row.”

Florida closes the conference regular season against Vanderbilt next weekend, then faces in-state rival Florida State. The Gators face Western Division winner Arkansas in the SEC Championship game at the Georgia Dome on Dec. 2. Then comes a major bowl game.

South Carolina will go home.

The Gamecocks (4-5-1, 2-5-1) held out hope for a second consecutive bowl and winning season with a victory here and next week against archrival Clemson. But the Gamecocks came up with only 83 yards on offense as Florida led, 42-7, by halftime.

Wuerffel came out anxious to get back in the Heisman Trophy race after watching backup Eric Kresser throw for six touchdowns a week ago against Northern Illinois. Wuerffel was 10 for 13 on the Gators’ first two scoring drives, which ended on Elijah Williams’ three-yard run and a two-yard pass to Ike Hilliard.

“Danny was definitely a little antsy going into the game, he hadn’t been out there in a while and felt good tonight,” receiver Chris Doering said.

Then it got easy. After Jacquez Green blocked a South Carolina punt--his third of the season--Wuerffel and Hilliard hooked up on an 18-yard touchdown pass.

Williams caught a 27-yard touchdown pass, Hilliard got a third scoring catch and, with Spurrier calling two timeouts, Chris Doering caught a 25-yard touchdown pass seven seconds before halftime.

Plus, there were all the schematics that make Florida football fun. To set up Wuerffel’s third touchdown pass to Hilliard, the quarterback pitched to tailback Terry Jackson who reversed direction for a 25-yard run. Spurrier called the same formation, but this time, Jackson flipped it back to Wuerffel who found Hilliard by himself in the end zone.

“It surprises you how quick they are,” South Carolina nose tackle Eric Sullivan said. “You know what kind of talent they have, but when you see it up close, it’s different.”

Kresser entered in the second half and directed two more Florida touchdowns. Even third-stringer Brian Schottenheimer, son of Kansas City Chief Coach Marty Schottenheimer, led two scoring drives.

The Gators scored on eight of their first 10 possessions and, in Spurrier style, kept pushing even when the outcome was decided. The Gators, up by 56 points, ran a reverse in the fourth quarter and threw into the end zone twice.