Oct. 24, 2007

The 15th-ranked South Carolina Gamecock football team (6-2, 3-2 SEC) had to take their practice indoors due to the rain on Wednesday as they continued preparations for Saturday’s SEC showdown with Eastern Division rival Tennessee (4-3, 2-2 SEC). Saturday’s game is set for a 7:45 p.m. kick at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville. The game will be televised on ESPN with Mike Patrick handling the play-by-play, Todd Blackledge providing the color commentary and Holly Rowe working the sidelines.

“We practiced in the indoor facility today and had a pretty good workout,” said Head Coach Steve Spurrier following the session. “Sometimes it’s good to get a change of routine and go inside and avoid the inclimate weather, so I think we had a decent workout. You can still get all your inside blocking, blitz pick-ups, those kinds of things. You just don’t throw the deep balls, but we don’t throw many deep ones anyway so it was perfect for us.

“I think we’ll play with a lot better smarts than we did last week,” continued Coach Spurrier. “Our offensive guys weren’t into the game. We have no excuse whatsoever. Hopefully, we’ll give Tennessee a good game. It’s just another big Eastern Division conference game that both teams need to win.”

Coach Spurrier did not reveal any update on the quarterback situation, saying a decision on the starter would be made later in the week. He did indicate that changes could be on the horizon on the offensive line. “We’ve got Heath Batchelor in there now,” said Coach Spurrier. “There’s a new name. He’s been a backup tackle for eight weeks and has probably played six plays all year. Maybe he’ll be our right guard.”

The Gamecocks will return to the practice fields on Thursday.