Maybe it has crept up on us or maybe we have just not been paying attention but, quietly, Spurrier has reached his initial goal set during his opening press conference almost eight years ago. With a win over Wofford on Saturday, Spurrier will tie former head coach Rex Enright with 64 career victories while leading the Gamecocks. Spurrier, of course, will have done it in eight seasons while it took Enright 15 years to accomplish the feat but that is neither here nor there given the differences between today’s game and that of the 1940s and 50s.
There were probably not many people that thought Spurrier would not reach the goal when he mentioned it in his opening press conference on November 23, 2005. After the first four seasons though, fans and analysts alike may have been questioning whether or not Spurrier would make it to the magical number of 65. One SEC Eastern Division Championship, a double-digit win season and another one in his grasp, the Head Ball Coach has the Gamecocks program running as many envisioned on that November day in 2005.
The question in this case is whether this is a bigger deal for the Spurrier or the University of South Carolina. Spurrier is a legend and to have a name such as his on the Williams-Brice Stadium façade will always mean something special to Gamecock fans. For Spurrier, it is a great personal achievement to be the all-time wins leader as a head coach at two different SEC schools. There are few coaches that make that type of declaration but Spurrier will have done it in the SEC at a time when it was at its most dominant.
What could become even more special would be the venue where Spurrier could break the record. Provided there is not slip up against the Terriers on Saturday, Spurrier will head to Clemson with a chance to not only put his stamp on the rivalry but to do it while putting one of the final finishing touches on his legacy in Columbia.
The Tigers watched in fear eight years ago as Spurrier took the Gamecock head coaching job. After opening with a 3-1 record the fear all but had evaporated from the upstate but now they have witnessed Spurrier win three straight in the rivalry and turn the Gamecock program not just into contenders in the SEC but nationally as well. For him to claim the wins record on Clemson’s home field in one of their program’s greatest seasons would be hard to swallow.
There were probably not many people that thought Spurrier would not reach the goal when he mentioned it in his opening press conference on November 23, 2005. After the first four seasons though, fans and analysts alike may have been questioning whether or not Spurrier would make it to the magical number of 65. One SEC Eastern Division Championship, a double-digit win season and another one in his grasp, the Head Ball Coach has the Gamecocks program running as many envisioned on that November day in 2005.
The question in this case is whether this is a bigger deal for the Spurrier or the University of South Carolina. Spurrier is a legend and to have a name such as his on the Williams-Brice Stadium façade will always mean something special to Gamecock fans. For Spurrier, it is a great personal achievement to be the all-time wins leader as a head coach at two different SEC schools. There are few coaches that make that type of declaration but Spurrier will have done it in the SEC at a time when it was at its most dominant.
What could become even more special would be the venue where Spurrier could break the record. Provided there is not slip up against the Terriers on Saturday, Spurrier will head to Clemson with a chance to not only put his stamp on the rivalry but to do it while putting one of the final finishing touches on his legacy in Columbia.
The Tigers watched in fear eight years ago as Spurrier took the Gamecock head coaching job. After opening with a 3-1 record the fear all but had evaporated from the upstate but now they have witnessed Spurrier win three straight in the rivalry and turn the Gamecock program not just into contenders in the SEC but nationally as well. For him to claim the wins record on Clemson’s home field in one of their program’s greatest seasons would be hard to swallow.