By CJ Singletary
With Saturday's disappointing loss to Tennessee behind them, Coach Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks are getting ready to face their SEC West rival Arkansas. The Gamecocks are 2-2 against the Razorbacks since the Ole Ball Coach arrived in Columbia.
He says the two teams have a lot in common, but that the Gamecocks haven't played as well recently.
"There are a lot of similarities between us and Arkansas except they've probably been a little bit better," Spurrier explained.
Arkansas has played in the SEC Championship Game three times in school history, while the Gamecocks have never quite reached that level. Spurrier says to beat the Razorbacks the Gamecocks have to improve on limiting the offensive mistakes that have cost the teams points in recent games.
"If we want to beat them we've got to play a little bit better offensively. Hopefully we can play a lot better with fewer mistakes. Take care of the ball a lot better and give ourselves a chance to win," Spurrier said.
The Gamecocks fumbled the ball three times in their own territory against Tennessee resulting in 21 Volunteer points. They also had a Stephon Gilmore punt return for a touchdown called back because of a penalty.
However Spurrier feels that despite last week's struggles the team will bounce back and be ready to go this Saturday.
"We didn't play smart and it came back to haunt us. We're six and three and for this team that's pretty good. I think our guys will rebound and give a good account of themselves when we play Arkansas this weekend," Spurrier said.
To win Saturday the Gamecocks will have to stop Ryan Mallet and the Razorback offense. The Razorbacks currently have one of the best passing offenses in the SEC.
"He may be the best passer. Certainly I think he's probably leading the conference in most of the passing statistics so he could be the best passer we've faced," Spurrier said.
Spurrier also talked about how many critics see the Gamecocks as underdogs in the last three games of the year. But he pointed out that the team's only losses this season were to SEC heavyweights in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennesse.
The Gamecocks will look to improve on the teams 6-3 record on Saturday. Kickoff for Saturday's game in Fayetteville is set for 12:30.
