Spurrier's Fun 'N' Gun offense has been renamed the "Cock 'N' Fire" offense after the Gamecock nickname, but it's still the same thing that Spurrier won with in Florida. It's a collection of timing routes, zone passing plays and passes to running backs, run mostly out of a one-back spread but also occasionally out of the I-formation. When it works, it's maddeningly difficult to defend, but South Carolina hasn't shown the capability to run the football effectively in 2005, and that's a major component in making this offense go. Alabama counters with its pro set attack, which seems to be more balanced than in previous seasons under head coach Mike Shula.

Give it to Steve Spurrier -- he can make Gamecock salad out of Gamecock refuse. Quarterback Blake Mitchell wasn't on anyone's watch list headed into the season, but in two games, he's completed 40 of 57 passes (70.2%) for 566 yards, 4 touchdowns and just 2 interceptions. Those are good numbers for any quarterback, but they're outstanding given that Mitchell nearly lost the starting job to a walk-on in the preseason.

Alabama counters with Brodie Croyle, who is having a solid senior season so far but needs to cut down on the mental mistakes. Croyle has put up almost identical numbers to Mitchell (32-for-61, 60.7%, 540 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT), but has far better physical tools. Croyle's arm strength allows him to make tougher throws than Mitchell, and the experience Croyle has under center can't be approximated for Mitchell even by Spurrier's time in and around the SEC.

Depth is about the same for both teams. Redshirt freshman Antonio Heffner has yet to throw a pass for South Carolina, while true freshman John Parker Wilson played sparingly for Alabama in its opener against MTSU. Neither figures to be a game changer if called upon Saturday.
Advantage: Alabama

South Carolina's rushing offense is ranked 111^th out of 117 Division-IA teams, so you can probably guess who wins this category before we even talk about it. Spurrier's attention to disciplinary issues in the preseason cost South Carolina Demetris Summers and Cory Boyd, and their losses were significant. Running back is now the property of true freshman Mike Davis, who Alabama recruited last winter. But he is averaging just 2.7 yards per carry at the moment and has only 52 yards rushing on the season. Another true freshman, Bobby Wallace, is the backup. He's carried 5 times for 5 yards so far.

Things get better at fullback, where Daccus Turman resides. Turman has lots of experience and will occasionally slip back to tailback when South Carolina goes to the one-back look. He carried 5 times for 22 yards against Georgia last week.

Alabama counters with the trio of running back Kenneth Darby, fullback Le'Ron McClain and combo back Tim Castille. Between the three of them, Alabama has one of the more solid running back corps in the conference. Depth for Alabama, though, is an issue at the moment. Reserve running backs Glen Coffee and Jimmy Johns will both be limited at best for this game, meaning the Crimson Tide will either have to go to walk-ons Theo Townsend and Rashad Johnson, or use Castille more at running back.

If Alabama chooses the latter option, Vic Horn could get some action at fullback. While neither team has an optimal situation at the moment, Alabama has had much better production.
Advantage: Alabama

Another hallmark of a Spurrier-coached team is good wide receivers, and South Carolina's 2005 crew seems to be living up to that. Syvelle Newton, the quarterback of this team for much of 2004, has moved to wide receiver and is enjoying a solid season. Kris Clark, Noah Whiteside and Sidney Rice make a good supporting cast, along with Travis Lee and Carlos Thomas. But South Carolina will be without starting tight end Andy Boyd for this game, forcing Jonathan Hannah and Robert Pavlovic to split time there.

Alabama counters with a handful of playmakers of its own. Tyrone Prothro won every highlight reel award imaginable last week for his behind-the-defender's-back grab of a Brodie Croyle bomb, but it was fellow wideout D.J. Hall who may have had the bigger impact on the night. By contrast, Matt Caddell and Keith Brown were the stars of the opener, and Alabama also has Ezekial Knight ready to go. Nick Walker may see more passes his way at tight end as the season progresses, but depth is shaky there, with freshmen Travis McCall and Charles Hoke the only healthy backups. South Carolina's group is getting better, but Alabama is deeper at the moment and more dangerous as a unit.
Advantage: Alabama

Both teams have major issues. South Carolina's tackles, Jabari Levey and Na'Shan Goddard, are as good as they come in the SEC, but the middle of the USC line is one of the major culprits in the Gamecocks' anemic rushing offense. Center Chris White has been inconsistent, and reserve Fran Person will likely play. William Brown will start at one guard position, but the other is up in the air between Freddy Saint-Preux, James Thompson and Kyle Bishop.

Alabama also has two solid players -- left guard Antoine Caldwell, and right tackle Kyle Tatum, who has been a pleasant surprise in the first two weeks. But center J.B. Closner has not made as much progress as hoped, and the left tackle and right guard positions have been disaster areas.

Chris Capps started the first two games at left tackle, but may lose the position to Cody Davis and doesn't figure to play more than half the snaps in any circumstance. B.J. Stabler and Taylor Britt may combine at right guard this week, as week one starter Mark Sanders and week two starter Marlon Davis both may be out with leg injuries. Look for plenty of mistakes by both groups.
Advantage: South Carolina

South Carolina has given up the gimmick defenses of the past in favor of a more familiar 4-3 base, but the Gamecocks will run plenty of nickel sets and one starting linebacker, Mike West, will resemble a rover in many situations. Alabama counters with its own 4-3 multiple base, but look for more 3-3-5 and 4-2-5 looks this week to counter the Gamecocks' passing attack.

South Carolina had to replace all four starters from 2004, and the Gamecocks are doing it in an unusual way in 2005. USC frequently runs a stand-up set, where no lineman is down in a three-point stance prior to the snap. The look is used when a pass is expected, or to confuse the offensive line, but it leaves South Carolina open to big running plays inside.

Currently, South Carolina is ranked 73^rd against the run and 54^th in total defense, largely because of failures in the front seven. The defensive ends aren't part of the problem; De'Adrian Coley, Josh Johnson and Charles Silas can get to the passer consistently and have good athletic ability. Jordin Lindsey provides depth. But the middle, with Marque Hall and Chris Tucker ahead of Stanley Doughty and Seth Edwards, has been disappointing.

Alabama counters with a group that is currently ranked 2^nd nationally against the run, yielding only 21.5 yards per game on the ground. In addition, Alabama's interior line is getting a better pass rush than in 2004. Mark Anderson and Wallace Gilberry help collapse the pocket from the outside, while Jeremy Clark, Rudy Griffin, Justin Britt and J.P. Adams work the inside. Britt is hurt, however, and may not play, and fellow reserve Dominic Lee is also hobbled.

Chris Harris, Keith Saunders and Bobby Greenwood will give help from the outside. If Lee and Britt are both sidelined Saturday, look for walk-on Justin Johnson to perhaps get some time. While Alabama is battling health concerns, South Carolina is battling quality concerns. The Crimson Tide, although not 100 percent, easily takes this category.
Advantage: Alabama

Again, South Carolina had to replace almost an entire unit, but results have been more favorable here. Lance Laury is becoming a good middle backer, with Ricardo Hurley a solid player outside. But it has been transfer Mike West who has made the most noise so far, leading the team with 18 tackles. West is good in run support and can also drop back into coverage. Depth is good, with Ryan Brown, Dustin Lindsey, Cody Wells and Orus Lambert coming off the bench.

Alabama counters with Freddie Roach in the middle flanked by DeMeco Ryans and Juwan Simpson. Roach showed few effects of a week one elbow injury against Southern Miss, but key reserve Terrence Jones missed the USM game and will likely miss this one as well. Depth, therefore, falls mostly to Matt Collins in the middle and Demarcus Waldrop outside. Collins is limited on passing downs, though, so look for more 3-3-5 formations and extra safeties. If Alabama needs extra linebackers, Juke King and Marcel Stamps are possibilities. South Carolina is solid, but only West has looked like a true playmaker so far. Alabama is just as deep, and has more playmaking ability.
Advantage: Alabama

This is perhaps the closest category between the two teams, as both will field quality units. In the preseason, it was safety Ko Simpson and cornerback Fred Bennett who were getting the most attention for South Carolina. Both players still turn heads, but cornerback Jonathan Joseph is quickly making his presence felt. He is third on the team in tackles, has one tackle behind the line of scrimmage and one interception so far. Chris Hampton rounds out the starting group, while corners Tremaine Tyler and Stoney Woodson and safeties Brandon Isaac and Ty Erving round out this group.

Alabama will field the familiar foursome of Roman Harper and Charlie Peprah at safety and Anthony Madison and Ramzee Robinson at cornerback. Simeon Castille will also play a lot at corner, while Jeffery Dukes figures to see copious playing time at safety. Lionel Mitchell and Marcus Carter round out the depth. Statistically, Alabama is better at pass defense, but South Carolina has better pass efficiency defense numbers. Both groups are good, but Alabama has a slim edge in depth. Advantage: Alabama

Simply put, Alabama is having a terrible time. Take away return man Tyrone Prothro, and Alabama would have the worst unit in the conference hands down. Net punting numbers rank the Crimson Tide 102^nd in the country, the fault of both the coverage units and the punters. As a result, senior Jeremy Schatz will probably take over for junior Jeff Aul this week. Placekicker is also up for grabs. Jamie Christensen figures to hold onto at least the kickoff job, but Ryan Saxby may take over on placement kicks, at least those from short distances.

For South Carolina, it's all about one man, Josh Brown. Brown is averaging 40.7 yards per punt and has hit both his short field goal attempts. Freshman Ryan Succop will handle kickoffs, and as a result, Prothro may not get a chance to return anything. Succop's leg strength is impressive. He'll also handle long field goals for South Carolina, but he is 0-for-2 so far in 2005. Kick and punt returns are both well below the national average for USC. While the Gamecocks are not the greatest in the world at special teams, Alabama is having big problems at the moment.
Advantage: South Carolina

Alabama leads in six categories, South Carolina in two. But unlike the last two weeks, the talent level is much closer. For all Lou Holtz's failings at South Carolina, he managed to recruit a decent amount of talent to Columbia. Spurrier's problem is that the talent is spread thin at the top and is not equal position to position.

Therefore, South Carolina has more holes than Alabama, and some of them -- particularly at interior defensive line -- are glaring. Alabama has to be worried about how close South Carolina played a much better Georgia team last week, but at the same time, the Gamecocks have to be worried about how easily Alabama seemed to come back from an 11-point deficit to a quality Southern Miss team. The devil is in the details here, and those details will be the old standards of keeping turnovers to a minimum, stopping the big play and winning the kicking game.

Neither team looks like a sure-fire pick to do those things. In South Carolina's corner is home field advantage, hunger for Spurrier's first SEC win and a passing style no one in the conference has seen for a few years.

In Alabama's favor is slightly superior talent, better overall team speed and an experienced quarterback, not to mention three straight years in the same offensive system. Look for a close game, but look for Alabama to pull away very late in the contest by making fewer mistakes than the Gamecocks, who are still learning Spurrier's ropes.

Alabama        24
USC              13

ALABAMA DEPTH CHART