After skipping out on his scheduled Tuesday morning spot on The Dan Patrick Show, Steve Spurrier apologized Wednesday during a telling interview with the national radio host and reflected on what’s been a challenging season at South Carolina:
How tough has it been this fall?
“We’ve had some tough losses this year, never quite had this many in one season. We’ve basically had three games where we’ve had (13, 14, 14-point) leads and couldn’t hold it. It’s been difficult. Life’s going to go on. We’ve got to shake it off.”
Your postgame reaction after the Tennessee loss wasn’t like you. Explain.
“I wanted to show up and say a few words. I was hoping (the media) could understand that I wasn’t in a very talkative mood. We had a 14-point lead, couldn’t hold it and couldn’t make a first down. I blame myself for a few calls. I was halfway devastated. I wanted to apologize to our fans.
“That wasn’t much fun. That’s not the way you want to go to the press conference, I understand that. The way we’ve lost has added up. You don’t sleep well for two or three nights, then you try to forget about it.”
How often have you thought about leaving?
“About the last 5-7 years (laughs). The plan is to be back and whatever we need to do to fix the team, we’ll worry about that after the season.”
Preseason predictions … what happened?
“They were inaccurate, but it’s okay with us. We think we’re pretty good. You really have to believe you’re good enough to go compete. We’re not a great team, that’s for sure. But we’ve been in the games, just can’t quite win them.
“When I coached at Duke, I used to tell our guys we were just as good as the other team and I believe you have to think you’re as good to go compete.”
Who is the best team you’ve played this season?
“It’s hard to say who has been the best. We haven’t played the Mississippis, fortunately, or Alabama. We had a good schedule with seven home games and five road games. We’re just not as good as advertised.”
What has the Playoff done for college football?
“I think it’s going to really (generate) tremendous excitement over the country. It’s a neat deal on Tuesday nights releasing the poll. We know it’s going to change every week.”
