QBs face Swamp shuffle

South Carolina apparently will take its musical-quarterback strategy to the Swamp on Saturday.

Coach Steve Spurrier indicated during his Tuesday news conference that Chris Smelley and Stephen Garcia again will alternate plays against Florida after the strategy produced a 34-21 victory against Arkansas on Saturday.

“There’s a chance we may do that,” Spurrier said. “We’re going to try and play them both, some way or another. There may be a spot where they stay in there two or three plays in a row, just have to look and see.”

Smelley played three snaps in a row in the second quarter and two in a row after a timeout in the second quarter. Garcia twice played two plays in a row. Otherwise, Spurrier switched on every play.

There is precedent for Spurrier rotating quarterbacks in Gainesville. He did it several times in the late 1990s while coaching Florida, including the 1997 home victory against Florida State.

“He likes to be able to give the quarterback the play and the plan before each snap and run ’em out there,” said Noah Brindise, who shared time with Doug Johnson in that ’97 game against the Seminoles.

Spurrier hopes to eventually settle on one quarterback. This situation is a result of having two who “deserve to play, and really neither have separated themselves.”

“We don’t want to do that forever,” Spurrier said. “It’s just a little temporary thing we’re doing. We’ll see if that’s the best way to go this week.”

The quarterback shuffle could help Saturday when it comes to the 90,000-plus crowd, which can make it hard for the opponent to hear play-calls.

Spurrier thought the shuffle helped the offense go the entire Arkansas game without committing a penalty. The unit had been plagued by false starts.

Garrett Anderson, the Gamecocks’ center, had a simpler outlook.

“It worked,” he said. “I’m not a quarterbacks coach, so I don’t know what the positives and negatives to that is. But it worked. We got a win under our belts.”

Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.