Spurrier, Richt to meet for 2nd time

ATHENS - The only time Mark Richt faced Steve Spurrier as a head coach, Florida quarterback Rex Grossman passed for 407 yards and two touchdowns in a 24-7 win over Georgia.

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Grossman ended that season as runner-up to Nebraska's Eric Crouch for the 2001 Heisman Trophy.

Now, Spurrier is in his first season at South Carolina (1-0), and Richt has built Georgia (1-0) into a force to be reckoned with in the SEC East.

Their teams will meet Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) in Athens under a bit different circumstances.

"It's interesting that the last time I played Georgia we had the Heisman Trophy candidate," Spurrier said Sunday. "And they've got a Heisman Trophy candidate. It turns around the other way I guess."

Such talk may be premature, but Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley will stay in the conversation if he keeps performing like he did in Georgia's 48-13 win over Boise State on Saturday.

The senior had a memorable first collegiate start, completing 16 of 24 passes for 289 yards and tied a school-record with five touchdown passes. He also ran for 85 yards on five carries.

"The style in which he plays is exciting to watch so if you have those kind of numbers and you just play an exciting brand of football you're going to get a lot of attention," Richt said. "It's just one game. If it was game seven or eight and he was continuing to produce somewhere near that range, maybe. We're just trying to win our first Southeastern Conference game right now."

Despite the final score, Richt saw as many as eight touchdown chances squandered when he watched the game film.

"They'll see the film and see what could have been and just be shaking their heads how we could have done even better," Richt said.

- Junior guard Fernando Velasco of Jefferson County did not play Saturday and could be headed for a redshirt season.

"We're a little bit top heavy again on offensive linemen," Richt said, "and if we're capable of redshirting him, we could allow him to be a two-year starter instead of sitting behind Max (Jean-Gilles) this year."