Gamecocks are rolled by Tide

COLUMBIA - Alabama knew it could run all over South Carolina when the quarterback now dubbed "Vanilla Vick" by his teammates lumbered for a 15-yard touchdown on a slow developing draw play early in the first quarter.

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Crimson Tide signal caller Brodie Croyle said he'd rather stay in the pocket and pass it. But with his offensive line opening gaping holes, even the senior knew the ground game was going to get it done in Alabama's 37-14 win Saturday.

"They're calling me 'Vanilla Vick' and all this," said Croyle, smiling over his new nickname based on the running exploits of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

"Don't get used to that. I want to stay back there and throw it if I can," Croyle said.

Alabama (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) ran for 338 yards and had 489 yards of total offense - the biggest totals under third-year coach Mike Shula. Kenneth Darby led the Tide with 145 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.

The loss means South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has started 0-2 in the SEC for the first time. In Spurrier's 12 years at Florida, he only lost more than two SEC games once (6-3 in 1992).

"I'm frustrated, but not shocked," Spurrier said. "All you got to do is look at the stats. They could have beat us 50-to-nothing."

The Crimson Tide came into the game believing they'd use their new passing attack that averaged 271 yards in their first two games. But they quickly shifted gears once it became apparent the Gamecocks (1-2, 0-2) couldn't stop the run.

In the third quarter, thousands of Gamecock fans left early for the parking lots in a scene all too familiar to South Carolina football.

Just three games into his career at South Carolina, Spurrier apologized to the fans. "Offensively, we were terrible," he said, hinting all positions might be up for grabs during next week's preparations for Troy.

A lack of a running game continued to put pressure on Spurrier's young quarterbacks. South Carolina ran for just 71 yards, while starting quarterback Blake Mitchell went 20-for-38 for 173 yards with an interception and a touchdown.

The defense wasn't much better. It was the worst home loss in 15 years of college coaching for Spurrier; his previous biggest loss was a 35-16 defeat at Duke against Wake Forest in 1988.

"Obviously we didn't tackle," co-defensive coordinator John Thompson said. "We were not physical and we stopped them only a few times ... long runs, big plays, we didn't get the job done. We got whipped."