Adams: Spurrier is dangerous as underdog

Ask him about his victory in 1988 as Duke's head coach, and he reminds you that wasn't his first win at Neyland Stadium. He was an assistant coach at Duke in 1982 when the Blue Devils knocked off the Vols in the season opener.

Spurrier still remembers the score, 25-24.

"They had Reggie White at defensive tackle; Willie Gault was a wide receiver," Spurrier said. "They had a lot of players."

Those two games with Duke weren't the only times Spurrier overcame UT's talent advantage. Some of his Florida teams won with less talent, too.

The upsets at Duke and his dominance at Florida provided compelling evidence that a Spurrier-coached team would always have a chance against UT. Seven games at South Carolina have just about overturned the evidence.

Spurrier is an excellent coach. He isn't a magician.

Lou Holtz is a magician, and he lost 10 games in his first season as South Carolina's head coach.

These Gamecocks aren't that bad, although you couldn't prove it by a 48-7 loss to Auburn three weeks ago. They have managed to win four games but won't be favored in any of their last four against UT, Arkansas, Florida and Clemson.

Their shortcomings are glaring. They rank 111th in the country in rushing and 87th in rushing defense.

If you can't run or stop the run, where does that leave you in the SEC? Barely ahead of Vanderbilt.

You can imagine how that must rankle a coach who hates to lose. He might suffer in silence, but his frustration didn't show at Tuesday's press conference. He balanced optimism with realism.

"The offense has struggled at times," he said. "The defense has struggled at times. I still believe we can play much better."

The Gamecocks will have to improve in the offensive line if they hope to make a game of it against the Vols on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium.

South Carolina has yet to start the same offensive line in back-to-back games. Starting right guard Thomas Coleman is a walk-on. So is starting tight end Carson Askins.

"Does Tennessee start any walk-ons?" Spurrier asked, making the obvious point that there's a world of difference between these two three-loss teams. But he didn't want to dwell on the disparity between the lines.

Asked how UT's strong defensive front ranked with those Spurrier faced at Florida, he said, "I don't like to brag too much about an opponent. ... It might intimidate our players a little bit."

I don't think he was kidding.

A team that just squeaked past Vanderbilt, that just lost arguably its most valuable player -- running back/wide receiver/quarterback Syvelle Newton to a season-ending injury -- isn't exactly brimming with confidence.

Spurrier talked about "pumping up the confidence" of quarterback Blake Mitchell. Wonder how often he did that with Danny Wuerffel and Rex Grossman?

For all of South Carolina's limitations, it's still apparent Spurrier hasn't lost his offensive touch. He has taken a first-year starting quarterback and a redshirt freshman wide receiver Sidney Rice and turned them into one of the league's most effective passing combinations.

The 6-foot-4 Rice leads the SEC in receiving yards per game (92.5) and is tied with Florida's DeShawn Wynn in touchdowns (nine). Mitchell ranks second in the SEC and 20th nationally in pass efficiency.

But Mitchell has struggled at times, as in the first half against Vanderbilt when he seemed confused, according to Spurrier.

UT's defensive front is a cause, not a cure, for confusion. Keep that to yourself, though.

The quarterback might get intimidated.