HOOVER, Ala. -- He's putting fans in the seats. He's putting dollars in the facilities fund-raising campaign.

More important, though, is what Steve Spurrier is putting in the hearts and minds of South Carolina's tradition-deprived football players.

"He got us believing and knowing we could compete with the big dogs in the SEC,'' defensive back Fred Bennett said Thursday at SEC Media Days.

Year One of the Spurrier experiment at South Carolina was a rousing success.

The Gamecocks went 7-5, beat Tennessee in Knoxville for the first time and whipped Florida for the first time in 66 years.

Almost overlooked (outside the Palmetto State) South Carolina finished second in the SEC East. And it was second by an eyelash.

A failed two-point conversion (that would have forced overtime) allowed Georgia to escape with a 17-15 win in Sanford Stadium in September. That turned out to be the margin of putting the Bulldogs in and keeping the Gamecocks out of the SEC championship game in Spurrier's first year.

"It's exciting to do some things that have never been done before,'' Spurrier said Thursday. "That's what makes it a really fun job.''

During his 12 years at Florida, fun was running up scores, winning SEC championships -- seven of them -- and needling his rivals, such as Tennessee.

Fun at South Carolina is turning the Gamecocks' underwhelming history on its head.

"Our trophy case has got an Outback Bowl championship in it, and that's the biggest one,'' Spurrier said.

"Hopefully, some day I can come to this meeting and tell you we've got a team that's ready to challenge, which I probably did all 12 years at Florida.

"We're not there yet.''

Only the truly cynical would doubt that Spurrier could eventually get there at South Carolina. After all, the man won an Atlantic Coast Conference title at Duke.

But the clock is ticking. Spurrier turned 61 in April and isn't likely to extend his career to Paternoesque dimensions.

Reminded that he had thrown out the possibility of going another 10 years, Spurrier grinned.

"I guess I felt pretty good that day,'' he said. "That age is a funny thing. I told them when I start acting like an old dude and talking like one, get rid of me.

"But I think I've got a lot of years, unless something happens to me unforeseen.''

At South Carolina, running with the SEC's big dogs is no longer unforeseen.