South Carolina, Florida playing for SEC East crown

South Carolina, Florida playing for SEC East crown

Published Nov. 12, 2010 11:29 a.m. ET

Florida has played for division titles, conference championships, even for the ultimate trophies.

South Carolina? Well, this could be the biggest game in school history. At the very least, the Gamecocks haven't had this much at stake in a decade.

No. 22 South Carolina and 24th-ranked Florida will decide the Southeastern Conference's Eastern Division in the Swamp on Saturday night, a winner-take-all game between teams that stumbled during the season but still managed a meaningful game in November.

The winner earns a spot in Atlanta for the league title game next month and gets a chance to make the Bowl Championship Series. The loser falls to a less-than-desirable bowl and has to wait another year - maybe longer - for another shot.

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''We're looking forward to it,'' said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier, whose latest return to his alma mater and his former coaching stop is merely a subplot. ''Like I told our guys, 'We're going on the big stage, fellas. If you're a little nervous about it and scared, then we're all in trouble.'''

The Gators (6-3, 4-3 SEC) have been here before. They pretty much own East. They have a 16-game winning streak against division opponents and have won the East three times in the last four years.

Does all that experience mean anything?

''It's irrelevant,'' defensive tackle Omar Hunter said. ''It's the SEC. Every week's a big game.''

The Gamecocks (6-3, 4-3) are taking a similar approach even though they haven't had been in this position - a one-game showdown for the division title - since 2000.

They realize they haven't played well since knocking off then-No. 1 Alabama in early October. They lost at Kentucky, sputtered at Vanderbilt, overcame several defensive lapses to beat Tennessee and then got blown out by Arkansas.

Now, South Carolina is too busying trying to get back on track to be overconfident or looking ahead.

''This is for the SEC East championship,'' defensive tackle Travian Robertson said. ''We've never been here before. This will be a big opportunity for us. It's big, but we can't make it bigger than what it is. It's a game, it's a conference game, it's an SEC championship East game.

''We want to approach this game and just play football. It's another football game. It's going to be a tough game, but we need to just play football.''

Better football.

Stephen Garcia has six touchdown passes and six interceptions the last four games, mediocre numbers than have Spurrier preferring the ground game over the air attack. But Marcus Lattimore, who ranks second in the conference in rushing, has health concerns after bruising his left knee against the Razorbacks. He finished with a season-low 30 yards on 11 carries.

South Carolina hasn't been able to rely on defense, either. The unit has been burned repeatedly for big passing plays and has struggled to get off the field on third down.

''We have not done that very well the last three or four games,'' Spurrier said. ''We've got to play sound football. That's just where we are right now.''

Florida feels like it has figured some things out, especially on offense.

Following the program's first three-game losing streak since 1999, coach Urban Meyer and his assistants decided to switch to a no-huddle scheme and rotate three quarterbacks. With John Brantley passing, Trey Burton running and Jordan Reed doing both, the Gators have found the big plays and big yards that eluded them most of the season - albeit against Georgia and Vanderbilt.

Those wins put Florida within reach of its primary goal: Atlanta.

''This is a make-it-or-break-it game for us,'' defensive tackle Terron Sanders said. ''As seniors, we want to make it to the SEC championship game. It'll hurt knowing we had right there in the grasp of our fingertips and we let it go if we don't come out and do what we need to do. So it has a lot of value to us.''

The Gators are 20-1 in November under Meyer, closing out seasons strong and getting to the SEC title game just about every time it's been a late-season possibility.

The Gamecocks, meanwhile, are 7-11 under Spurrier in the crucial final month. They are 4-8 in SEC games and have lost four in a row. Since joining the league in 1992, South Carolina is 5-27 in November against conference opponents and have just won road win.

If the Gamecocks reverse the trend Saturday, they will leave Gainesville with arguably their biggest victory in school history.

''When we recruited all these players, we talked about getting to this game, getting to the SEC game,'' Spurrier said. ''Now, we'll find out how we perform.''

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