Spurrier: Don't clap for loss

COLUMBIA - Along with teaching South Carolina how to successfully finish close games against teams like No. 2 Auburn, coach Steve Spurrier has a message for Gamecocks fans: "Please don't clap when we come close."

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Spurrier watched tape of his team's 24-17 nail biting loss to the Tigers and was as bothered by his players lack of execution at critical moments as he was with the positive reaction he heard from many of the 74,374 fans at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Spurrier says he wants fans to keep being as loud as they were during the game. But "I don't know if any coach has told our fans, 'Please don't clap if we get beat,'" he said Friday.

Spurrier saw plenty of opportunities for the Gamecocks to succeed - and fail.

There was the whole third quarter, when Auburn ran 28 offensive plays to Spurrier's none; there was the perfectly thrown pass with less than three minutes left that glanced off Jared Cook's hands that would've been the tying touchdown; and there were three lob throws to star receiver Sidney Rice in the end zone, none of which he grabbed for a score.

"Last night was a game where we had numerous chances to walk off the field a winner," Spurrier said. "I mean numerous chances."

Spurrier is accustomed to winning such games. South Carolina fans aren't - the Gamecocks have lost 20 in a row to foes ranked in the top five.

Spurrier understands South Carolina lost to Auburn 48-7 a year ago and how a close loss when a big defeat was expected is enough to encourage applause.

He noticed it a season ago after South Carolina lost to Clemson 13-9 at Williams-Brice and fans cheered for the effort. "They thought we were going to get clobbered. We didn't get clobbered so that's OK," Spurrier said. "That's not OK."

Spurrier says if the Gamecocks are ever going to rise to a championship level, they should expect more from themselves and so should the fans.