Spurrier clarifies his remarks on 'that Upstate team' | The State

Three days after causing another ripple in the Carolina-Clemson rivalry pool, Steve Spurrier addressed his remarks about the Tigers on Tuesday.

“Somebody told me (some Clemson fans were upset),” South Carolina’s 10th-year coach said. “I didn’t mean to (offend anyone), put it that way. They’re interpreting too much.”

During his postgame remarks following Saturday’s win against Florida, Spurrier referenced “the Upstate team” losing to Georgia Tech that same day. Upon learning that Tigers freshman quarterback Deshaun Watson was injured in the game, Spurrier said, “That game, looks like we are in better shape than we were two weeks ago, right? But anything can happen, as we all know.”

On Tuesday, Spurrier said he meant no disrespect toward Watson or Clemson.

“I have tremendous respect for Clemson and Dabo (Swinney). I like him. I like all those guys, (defensive coordinator Brent) Venables. They’ve done an excellent job,” Spurrier said. “They’ve done a better job than we have this year, that’s for sure. They’ve got the bragging rights as far as the record on us, that’s for sure. But they played at the same time that we did. And I was just asking if they in fact had lost. I knew they were behind. I didn’t know the final score. I just asked. I’ll try not to say anything to upset them, through the next couple of weeks anyway. OK? All right.”

The Gamecocks, who are riding a five-game winning streak against the Tigers, play at Clemson on Nov. 29. Watson is questionable for that game because of a knee sprain suffered against Georgia Tech.