OTHER PICKS
N.C. State 26, Wake Forest 21Pittsburgh 28, Syracuse 24Clemson 31, Miami 20Louisville 20, Boston Coll. 19Duke 24, Virginia Tech 21UNC 23, Virginia 10Memphis 35, Tulsa 28Houston 48, UCF 15Baylor 59, Iowa State 12Toledo 34, UMass 13La. Tech 37, MTSU 28Michigan St. 35, Indiana 17Oklahoma 38, Texas Tech 31Okla. State 56, Kansas 9Utah 29, Southern Cal 24Ohio State 27, Rutgers 10Stanford 28, Washington 19
Steve Spurrier is alive and well and still apparently interested in South Carolina football.
The legendary coach did not perform the smoothest exit in college football history early last week, resigning midway through his 11th season with the Gamecocks. Spurrier's bolting was followed by his guest appearance this past Saturday on ESPN for the Michigan State-Michigan game in Ann Arbor.
While Spurrier was in Big Ten country, the Gamecocks were defeating Vanderbilt 19-10 at Williams Brice Stadium under interim coach Shawn Elliott.
"He rolled right back in on Sunday morning and popped his head in and said, 'Great win, guys,'" Elliott said Wednesday on the Southeastern Conference's weekly teleconference. "We talked about the game a little bit. I've seen Coach Spurrier probably every day."
South Carolina improved to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in league play after topping the Commodores. The Gamecocks are off this week before a three-game stretch with trips to Texas A&M and Tennessee before a home game against Florida.
That could result in three straight setbacks and the program's first losing season since 2003, but Elliott is ready to take things week by week after one of the wackiest weeks of his life.
"We knew how important last week was with everything going on," he said. "We were all running around here trying to make the best decisions for our team. Once that clock hit zero, we reflected on the win, moved on to Sunday and came in as a staff.
"We said then that there's no better week to have an open date after everything we had just been through."
Following Spurrier's departure, South Carolina's practices last week featured piped-in music. The Gamecocks came out Saturday wearing all-black uniforms, and now there is talk of receivers shifting to the backfield for triple-option sets in certain situations.
"We're just looking at all avenues in trying to improve our football team and put us in the best position possible moving forward," Elliott said. "We've got to utilize the talents that we have and keep an open mind on what we do and how we do it."
Pasquali's Pix:
Auburn at Arkansas: There is a 100 percent chance of rain for Saturday in Fayetteville, and Bret Bielema's Hogs have a way of playing better in the slop. Razorbacks 30, Tigers 20.
UTC at Wofford: We probably have enough of a sample size to label the Russ Huesman era superior to the Donnie Kirkpatrick and Rodney Allison eras. Mocs 28, Terriers 17.
Tennessee at Alabama: The Volunteers have experienced a presidential slide, going 6-1-1 against the Crimson Tide under Bill Clinton, 4-4 under George W. Bush and 0-6 so far under Barack Obama. Crimson Tide 31, Vols 24.
Missouri at Vanderbilt: Gary Pinkel's Tigers are 1-1 this season in 9-6 games. Here's saying they're headed for 2-1. Tigers 9, Commodores 6.
Texas A&M at Ole Miss: A win by the Aggies frees up Alabama controlling its destiny again in the SEC West, provided the Tide beat the Vols. Aggies 30, Rebels 23.
Western Kentucky at LSU: Tom Cruise attended LSU's win over Florida last Saturday, which caused Tigers coach Les Miles to declare he would be "a good bad guy in a Jack Reacher movie." Tigers 35, Hilltoppers 24.
Kentucky at Mississippi State: This doesn't always hold true, but Mississippi State won at Auburn, and Auburn won at Kentucky. Bullies 27, Wildcats 19.
Florida State at Georgia Tech: If the 2-5 Yellow Jackets lose this one, they'll have to win out to earn a 19th consecutive bowl invitation. Seminoles 30, Jackets 27.
Last week:
Winners..20
Low snaps....5
Pasquali is now 133-42 overall (76.0 percent) this season.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.