Mixed Bag in Coach’s Debut

Steve Spurrier returned to college Thursday night and wasted little time in providing South Carolina football the two things it needed most: hope and the forward pass.

After that, it got more complicated -- and more mixed-bagged realistic.

South Carolina’s 24-15 win over Central Florida at Williams-Brice Stadium in front of 82,753 amounted to a final score and a fresh start for a coach on the rebound and a program battling a 112-year pigskin slump.

It also started well and ended very poorly, as South Carolina did its worst to squander a 24-3 and make the ending more exciting than seemed conceivable -- with an incomplete Central Florida pass, as time expired, on the South Carolina goal line.

“I’m not going to feel too bad,” Spurrier, the Gamecocks’ first-year coach, said, “because a few plays here or there and they beat us. So I’m not going to do much moping.”

Spurrier might mope a little today after he reviews the tape.

The game revealed in two acts that Spurrier may yet be the answer here and also why South Carolina has won only one conference title in its history.

“It was tough out there,” Spurrier admitted. “It looked easy early, and all of a sudden it got tough.”

For now, fans at the success-starved school will have to latch on to the good that came from a debut so eagerly awaited the game was billed in the local newspaper as “Spurrier vs. Central Florida.”

There were players involved, of course, but Spurrier will get credit for pulling the levers.

The night seemed headed for “magical” status as Spurrier entered the arena to the Gamecock traditional intro of “2001: A Space Odyssey” -- the same song Elvis once used as a stage entrance.

Spurrier’s two lost years as coach of the Washington Redskins washed into the backdrop, at least temporarily, and it was as if the light on his remarkable 12-year run at Florida had been suddenly switched back on.

An hour before kickoff, Spurrier stood in the tunnel at Williams-Brice, Gamecock-sure, calm as could be, chatting amiably.

As the crowd funneled in and the excitement grew, Spurrier stuck his hands in his pocket.

“I hope we give them something to holler about,” he said.

He did.

The first play Spurrier called was a run -- what? -- but it turns out he was only bluffing.

The Gamecocks scored touchdowns on their first two possessions, both on Blake Mitchell touchdown passes that announced the cloud-of-dust days of Lou Holtz were over.

At Florida, where Spurrier led the Gators to six Southeastern Conference titles and a national title in 12 years, they called his offense the “Fun ‘N Gun.”

In Columbia, the offense has been dubbed “Cock ‘N Fire.”

The first touchdown was typical Spurrier exploitation -- a 49-yard bomb from Mitchell to a streaking Noah Whiteside, who beat cornerback Ron Ellis in single coverage.

The drive covered 76 yards, in five plays, with an elapsed time of 2:14.

South Carolina drove 79 yards in six plays on its next possession and scored on a 12-yard pass from Mitchell to tight end Andy Boyd.

On the drives, Mitchell completed all seven of his pass attempts for 158 yards. He had 207 yards at the end of the first quarter, more than South Carolina amassed in 10 of its 11 games last year.

“He zipped some good balls in there,” Spurrier would say of his sophomore quarterback

Mitchell completed 18 of 23 passes for 330 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.

“You have to take what Coach Spurrier tells you to do and just go out there and do it,” Mitchell said. “It’s a lot of fun playing for him.... It feels good to get that first win for the team. It feels good for all of us.”

Mitchell’s third touchdown, a 25-yard pass to Syvelle Newton, gave South Carolina a 24-3 lead with 6:35 left in the second quarter.

Those were the kind of leads Florida used to turn into 54-3.

Spurrier, though, got a debut dose of why the Gamecocks have exasperated fans for more than a century.

The Golden Knights cut the lead to 24-13 and then recovered a fumble with 5:57 left at the South Carolina 20.

The outcome was in doubt until defensive end Matt Raysor stopped tailback Kevin Smith for no gain on fourth and goal at the South Carolina one with 2:09 left.

“We started off a little big-eyed, but I think we settled in and competed,” Central Florida Coach George O’Leary said.

Bottom line?

The Gamecocks faded as fast as they started against a Central Florida team that suffered its 16th loss in a row.

South Carolina passed for 330 yards but averaged only 1.1 yards a rushing carry.

Spurrier says South Carolina, which finished 6-5 last year, will be a work in progress for at least two years in the rugged SEC East.

Now comes the hard part, with the Gamecocks having to play Georgia, Auburn and Alabama before Oct. 1.

“We’ve got to get better on defense,” Spurrier said, “We’ve got to get better on offense. We’ve got to get better everywhere, it’s simple as that.”