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Spurrier hopes South Carolina can upset No. 24 Clemson

Nov 22, 2006 - 12:17 AM South Carolina (6-5) at No. 24 Clemson (8-3) 12:00 pm EST

CLEMSON, South Carolina (Ticker) - At the moment, Steve Spurrier has bigger issues than where he'll be coaching next season.

Spurrier would love to see his South Carolina squad upset No. 24 Clemson when the intrastate rivals square off Saturday afternoon in the regular-season finale for both schools.

One of the most successful coaches of his generation, Spurrier has been rumored to be Miami's choice to replace Larry Coker, who is expected to be fired at season's end.

Spurrier, who made his name and won the 1996 national championship as coach at Florida, has denied the speculation. He insists his primary concern is trying to help South Carolina (6-5) end its struggles against Clemson.

The Tigers (8-3) have won four straight meetings in the series and eight of the last nine. Clemson captured last year's encounter, 13-9, in Columbia.

Clemson snapped its brief two-game losing streak in its last game, a 20-14 win against North Carolina State on November 11. C.J. Spiller ran for a career-high 154 yards and a touchdown and Jad Dean kicked the go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter for the Tigers, who accumulated 241 of their 387 yards of offense on the ground.

The Gamecocks halted their three-game slide last weekend with a 52-7 rout of Middle Tennessee. Blake Mitchell threw for 388 yards and four touchdowns and Sidney Rice caught a pair of TDs for South Carolina, which held a 500-245 advantage in total offense.