Friday, Nov. 12, 2010

Morris: Spurrier steady in his approach

DO NOT EXPECT to hear about Steve Spurrier going into Knute Rockne mode before South Carolina’s game with Florida for the SEC East Division championship. There is not likely to be a “Win One for The Gipper” speech from Spurrier, or even a “Win One to Kill the Chicken Curse.”

That is not Spurrier’s style.

Spurrier usually addresses his team on Friday nights before Saturday games. But the topic is rarely motivational. The same holds true before games and during halftime.

Instead, Spurrier has a history of putting his time and effort into making certain his team is fully prepared for a challenge like Saturday’s. His work generally is done in game planning, not in game promoting.

“We treat them all pretty much the same,” Spurrier said this week. “We emphasize (being) the very best you can. Hopefully, our guys will put a little extra into preparation for this game because of its importance.

“But we, as coaches, try to emphasize every one of them as the most important game of your life because it’s the one at hand. The next one is always the most important. And when this one is over, Troy will become the most important game, because that’s the one you have some control over.”

Jacquez Green was a standout wide receiver at Florida under Spurrier from 1995 to ’97. Green played in two SEC championship games and two national championship games. He played five seasons in the NFL and now is an assistant coach at Lincoln High School in Tallahassee, Fla.

Green verified that Spurrier took nearly the same approach to every game at Florida.

“Coach Spurrier is a pretty even-keel guy. He doesn’t get either too high or too low,” Green said. “He preached that to our team all the time: never get too high, never get too low because of the outcome of the game. The team pretty much knew if it was a big game because of what the coaches would say during the week.”

You do not have to look far to find the best example of Spurrier’s preparation for a big game. He preached to his team throughout the week leading up to USC’s game against No. 1-ranked Alabama to give “fate” a chance.

Then Spurrier went about devising a winning game plan. First, USC forced a power-attack Alabama offense into being a passing team. Alabama rushed for 36 yards and attempted more passes (35) than it did running plays (29).

USC also was intent on getting running back Marcus Lattimore free in open spaces, either by having him run the ball or catch passes. He carried the ball 23 times for 93 yards and two touchdowns, and caught two passes for 16 yards and one touchdown.

After USC’s 35-31 win, Spurrier talked about how his team gave “fate” a chance, but the real reason the Gamecocks won had nothing to do with fate and everything to do with brilliant game planning.

Perhaps the best instance of Spurrier’s game-planning genius led to a national championship at Florida. The Gators lost their regular-season finale to Florida State in 1996, mostly because of Florida’s inability to pass protect and complete passes. Florida State recorded six sacks in its 24-21 win.

The teams met again in the Sugar Bowl for the national title. Spurrier complained to officials about repeated late hits on his quarterback, Danny Wuerffel. In addition, Spurrier made a major switch in Florida’s passing attack.

“That’s when we went to the shotgun, which coach Spurrier was not very comfortable with at that time,” Green said. “With coach Spurrier, he’s going to do whatever it takes to win the football game, so we went to the shotgun formation and scored 52 points.”

At Florida, Spurrier was involved in nine (SEC and national) championship games, winning six of them. Saturday’s game, while not labeled as such, is another for Spurrier that will determine a champion.

You would never know the importance of the game from listening to Spurrier talk this week. He even admonished quarterback Stephen Garcia for referring to the game as “the biggest” in USC program history. To Spurrier, the game against Florida is simply the most important one on the schedule this week.

Nevertheless, Spurrier’s theme to his team appears to be about accountability. He shortened practice Monday so his team could watch videotape — and critique its performance in the loss to Arkansas.

Then Spurrier likely went about doing what he does best for a big game — planning. He might not call all the plays like he once did. He is not likely to deliver a hyped-up speech to his team. But there is little doubting that Spurrier will have a solid game plan for USC to win on Saturday.

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