Spurrier makes history, wins 200th game
Steve Spurrier joined “a bunch of dudes” in the history books on Saturday night.
South Carolina gave Spurrier his 200th collegiate win with a 49-6 win over UAB, but it did not come easily or without a price. Quarterback Connor Shaw returned to the starting lineup but was lost before halftime after reinjuring what he said was a slightly fractured right shoulder blade, and the Gamecocks never looked fully in sync to their coach despite the lopsided score.
“This was one of the closest 49-6 games I have ever been around,” Spurrier said.
Either way, it was history.
Spurrier became the 22nd coach to reach 200 wins at college football’s highest level but remained as unimpressed with the accomplishment after the game as he was before it.
“There are a bunch of dudes who have won 200 games,” he said Tuesday. “I don’t know how you brag about that too much.”
He still wasn’t in the mood to brag Saturday night.
“I am hoping for 201 next week,” Spurrier said. “That’s what I told our guys. They gave me a game ball, and I said, ‘Hopefully, we’ll get No. 201 next week.’ ”
There are questions to be answered before then, though, such as, “Will Shaw be healthy enough to play against Missouri on Sept. 22?” And, if he is, “Is he still the Gamecocks’ starter?”
Shaw was 8-for-14 for 107 yards before his injury and was “a little timid,” Spurrier said. Backup Dylan Thompson came in to complete 5-of-10 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns, including a 94-yard strike to Damiere Byrd.
“We’ll see how healthy he is and then go from there, but if we need to use two quarterbacks at times, Dylan can make some throws, he’s proven that,” Spurrier said. “We will have to wait and see how he comes back. He didn’t practice much last week. Maybe we just had some bad plays on. We will watch the tape and see what we need to do.”
The No. 8 Gamecocks moved to 3-0 on the season in front of 77,963 fans at Williams-Brice Stadium. First-year UAB coach Garrick McGee, who fell to 0-2 in his career, said Spurrier’s record seems like a long way away from where he is standing.
“Right now I am looking for No. 1 so I don’t have much to say except to congratulate him,” McGee said. “He’s one of my favorite coaches. He’s always been one of my favorite coaches.”
Spurrier became the 71st collegiate coach to win 200 games, including all levels of the sport. He is 46-0 all-time against teams from outside the sport’s BCS conferences, and he won his 58th game at South Carolina, leaving him six shy of the school’s all-time record of 64 set by Rex Enright.
This story was originally published September 16, 2012 at 12:10 AM.