Spurrier changing lineup for Troy game

COLUMBIA, S.C. - After an embarrassing loss at home this past weekend, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is shaking up his lineup for Saturday's game against Troy.

Spurrier says he wants people that are excited to be on the field.

"Hopefully, we're going to have guys who really love playing the game and act like it," Spurrier said. "So we're looking to have some fire and some emotion Saturday night, something different than we had the last go-round."

The Gamecocks (1-2, 0-2 Southeastern Conference) lost 37-14 to Alabama (3-0, 1-0 SEC), which racked up 489 yards in total offense, controlling the game from the kickoff.

While South Carolina answered the Crimson Tide's opening scoring drive. The Gamecocks offered little resistance to Alabama's running game, allowing the Tide to rush for 338 yards.

To be successful this season, Spurrier said the Gamecocks have to be able to stop the run and gain yards on the ground themselves.

To that end, freshman running back Mike Davis will be getting the ball more, and freshman guard James Thompson will see more playing time, Spurrier said. Also on offense, redshirt freshman Sidney Rice will start at wide receiver.

On defense, freshman receiver Carlos Thomas is moving to cornerback, where he is a possible starter and will see more playing time. "We felt like we could let him play maybe the whole the game over there," Spurrier said.

The defense likely will drop its scheme where the lineman try to disguise their coverage by standing before the snap instead of getting set.

"It seems like every time we start standing around, they audible to just a basic play, sort of a power play and they just gash us and wipe us out and the running back goes running up and down the field," Spurrier said.

Three freshmen defenders who Spurrier had considered red-shirting this year - Marvin Sapp, Dakota Walker and Nathan Pepper - will see playing time.

"If we're going to play them, we're going to play them a lot," Spurrier said. "We're not going to let them sweep up some games and chase kickoffs and things like that. We're going to let them get out there and play."

And that's just fine with Walker.

"I had a knee infection in my left leg and coach didn't know if I was going to be able to be back in time," Walker said. "Now he wants to throw me in the mix, so I'm going to see what happens with that."

Spurrier shared the blame for Saturday's poor showing and he thinks fans will notice a change against Troy.

"I think the fans will be able to see if our effort and our intensity and our passion and our love to compete is different this week," Spurrier said. "It needs to really show up that we're putting 11 guys out there who really love playing the game and playing for South Carolina. Obviously, that wasn't the case last week."

Of course, the biggest difference this Saturday will be the opponent.

Troy (1-2) went to its first bowl game last year, losing the Silicon Valley Classic to Northern Illinois 34-21 and finishing 7-5. The Trojans, in just their fourth season as a Division I-A team, lost to South Carolina last year 17-7 in Columbia. But 27 seniors are missing from that team.

"We lost so many players off of that team that played over there last year, I'm not sure if any of them will remember," Troy coach Larry Blakeney said.

He said his team is showing the signs of being young. "We got some older players on defense who may be trying to do too much and we've talked to them about that," Blakeney said.

While not downplaying Troy, Spurrier said he was glad to have a break in the SEC schedule to try out the changes before going on the road to Auburn on Oct. 1.