Aug. 29, 2009

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The University of South Carolina football team returned to the Bluff Road practice fields Saturday night as they began their final week of preparations for the season opener at NC State on Thursday. That 7 p.m. contest will be televised nationally on ESPN.

“We put in a little bit of a gameplan (tonight), but not a whole lot of new plays or anything like that,” said head coach Steve Spurrier following the practice. “We had some miscommunications, so our guys need to keep learning. We have to coach all the way through the ball game. Our guys are not quite ready yet.”

Coach Spurrier knows the Gamecocks will have their hands full with NC State on Thursday. “They’re a dang good team. They won five of their last seven. They have a good defensive line, as good as any in the ACC from what I hear. The quarterback is very good. They’ve got two good running backs. They’ve got a good team. We’re underdogs, you know that. We’ve got to play hard and play very well.”

The Gamecocks will practice again on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m.