Dec. 7, 2008

Press Conference | Buy Tickets | Travel Information

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina football team has been invited to participate in the 23rd annual Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 1, 2009, it was announced Sunday.

The Gamecocks (7-5, 4-4 SEC) will take on the Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten) at Raymond James Stadium. Game time is set for 11 a.m. ET and the contest will be televised nationally on ESPN. It will be the first meeting ever on the gridiron between these two flagship state institutions.

The 2009 Outback Bowl will mark Carolina’s 14th bowl appearance overall. The Gamecocks are 4-9 in their previous 13 bowl games. After losing each of their first eight bowl contests, the Gamecocks have won four of their last five bowl games, including a 44-36 win over Houston in the 2006 Liberty Bowl in their most recent bowl appearance.

At 7-5, the Gamecocks are bowl-eligible for the fifth straight year. It’s the first time Carolina has posted a .500 or better record in five straight seasons since they had a school-record seven straight years of .500 or better records from 1928-1934. It also marks the third time they will go bowling under head coach Steve Spurrier in four seasons. The Gamecocks were bowl-eligible at 6-6 in 2007 but did not receive a bowl invitation.

The January 1st game will mark the third time the Gamecocks have appeared in the Outback Bowl. They are 2-0 in their previous Outback Bowl appearances, defeating Ohio State in back-to-back matchups following the 2000 and 2001 seasons under head coach Lou Holtz. The Gamecocks were 24-7 winners over the Buckeyes in the 2001 Outback Bowl to finish the season with an 8-4 record, then kicked a game-winning field goal as time expired to capture the 2002 Outback Bowl by a 31-28 score to finish that season with a 9-3 record.

Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier has directed his teams to a 7-7 bowl record during his career. He was 0-1 in bowl games while coaching at Duke, was 6-5 in bowl games as the head coach at Florida, including a 52-20 win over Florida State in the 1997 Sugar Bowl to capture the national championship, and is 1-1 in two bowl games while guiding the Gamecocks. He becomes the just the third coach in Carolina history, joining Jim Carlen and Joe Morrison, to take the Gamecocks to three bowl games in his career.

This is the 115th season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina, dating back to 1892. It is the 102nd-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 528-528-44.

Gamecock fans are encouraged to travel to Tampa with Gamecock Sports Travel. Packages including accommodations at the Gamecock Headquarters hotel, the Marriott Waterside, are available now.

To book on-line, log on to totalsportstravel.com/southcarolina or call 888-367-8781.

South Carolina Head Football Coach Steve Spurrier
Press Conference Quotes
December 7, 2008

Opening Statement
“We have been officially invited to participate in the Outback Bowl. JimMcVay, the (president) down there, invited us and we are extremely pleased and happy to go to Tampa, Fla. and play Iowa in the Outback Bowl this year. This is one of the best bowls in the country, a New Year’s Day bowl, our school has not played in a lot of these.”

“We are going to try our best to regroup with our team. We are going to try and be encouraging and positive and try to get our confidence back here between now and game time. Our players are in finals this week, we will have a practice this coming Saturday afternoon and then approximately eight or nine days to practice before Christmas and I think we round up in Tampa on the 26th. That will pretty much be our schedule. Again, we certainly feel very fortunate and are very pleased that we are going to participate in a New Year’s Day bowl game at the Outback Bowl down in Tampa, Fla. Beautiful stadium down there, Raymond James (Stadium), I’ve never coached a game down there and I’ve never coached an Outback Bowl. I’ve been lucky to coach all those others in Florida so this will be a first for me. I’m looking forward to it and I know our team will certainly look forward to it also.”

On the team’s record and playing in the Outback Bowl
“We didn’t finish real strong and 7-5, most years, does not get you this good of a bowl but it worked out this year. It worked out that 7-5 was pretty good, in relation to the other SEC teams. We thank the Outback Bowl for picking us. There was another 7-5 (team) they could have gone for but they chose South Carolina. Historically, our fans have really followed the team down there and we are certainly hoping they will do it again.”

On the importance of playing in a bowl game
“I think it is very important every year to play in a bowl game. The bigger the bowl, a January 1st bowl, it adds just a little bit more to it. I know our players are looking forward to it and hopefully we can show those recruits out there (that) if you come to South Carolina, you play in a New Year’s Day bowl game. So it helps, it certainly helps.”

On the bowl selection process
“They pick you for the bowls depending on what your record is. They don’t pick on who one the last game or not. We’re 7-5 and that’s what we are and I’ve learned a new term, `That’s our body of work this year.’ That’s what it is. I’ve learned that term lately when the BCS starts talking about these other teams. That’s what we are. We are a 7-5 team, beat some pretty good teams, 4-4 in the conference and it turned out to be good enough to get invited to the Outback Bowl.”

On the Gamecock fans and the Outback Bowl selection
“I think what really helped was when South Carolina played (in Tampa) in the past and all the fans that came. That certainly is what the bowl people want to see, they want to see fans follow their team. Our fans have been super down there.”

On Iowa
“We’ll swap tape with them. They will get all our games and we will get all of theirs. Kirk Ferentz, I know is the head coach, and he has had some excellent years. They had an excellent 8-4 season, lost a couple close they could have one and beat Penn State, as you all know. Very good defensive team and (have) an outstanding running back so we’ll have to gear up to stop the run.”

On the Big Ten
“They have good teams, very good teams and certainly Iowa beat Penn State, a team that is going to the Rose Bowl, (Iowa has) an outstanding team and hopefully we can get back to playing like we did around the middle of the season.”

On the team’s goal
“We have to go down there and play our best game and try to show the country that we are a good football team.”

On the coaching staff
“Our coaching staff talked about (our negative criticism of players) a little bit the last few days. We are going to try to be a little bit more positive. Maybe, I’ve been a little negative at times. Sometimes there are some players that interpret criticism a little too harshly; some of them just let it bounce off. I’ve always felt like you criticize if they are loafing or if they are making mental errors, something like that. Physically (if) they are trying their best, then there is not much you can do, just say, `Hey, try to do a little better next time,’ something like that. We are going to try to be a little more encouraging, try to teach a little bit better and go down there with the proper frame of mind.”