THE SCOOP
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said he won’t know Connor Shaw’s status until later in the week.
Shaw, the starting quarterback from Flowery Branch High, might suit up and be able to go a few snaps in a pinch despite a knee sprain sustained against Tennessee on Saturday, Spurrier said.
“The doctors, the trainers feel like a couple of weeks, two to three weeks, (Shaw) may be close to a hundred percent,” Spurrier said.
Dylan Thompson will start, and Spurrier said “this is his time of year.”
BYE WORK
For senior right guard Jon Halapio, it’s make-or-break time for the line at Florida as the Gators begin preparation for Georgia on Nov. 2 in Jacksonville.
“We’re going to have to find out the best five blockers that we can get together up front, that’s the first and foremost thing,” he said. “Without dependable and accountable guys up front, there is no production in the offense. So we’re going to first and foremost find who can we depend on up front to block for Tyler Murphy, block for anybody back there and block for this team.
“But we’ve got to get better. We can’t just take this whole week off and make the excuse that everybody is injured. Everybody else is still playing; everybody else is still practicing. We can’t just take this week off laying around and resting and getting caught up on sleep. We’ve just got to get better.”
BUSY KICKER
Tennessee’s Michael Palardy is one of the nation’s busiest — and most successful — special-teams performers.
Palardy is part of a small group of players working triple duty as the main field-goal kicker, kickoff specialist and punter for their schools. Palardy has welcomed the heavy workload while emerging as one of Tennessee’s more valuable players.
His 19-yard field goal Saturday as time expired lifted Tennessee to a 23-21 victory against South Carolina.
“I’m definitely a lot more confident kicker and punter than I (had) been these last few years,” Palardy said.
Palardy said he received more than 50 congratulatory texts after the game. It’s a much different reaction than Palardy received early in his career, when he struggled to live up to forecasts that rated him as one of the nation’s top kicking prospects in his recruiting class. Early last season, he temporarily lost the kicking job to walk-on Derrick Brodus.
“I’ve appreciated every ounce of criticism I’ve received over the past couple of years because that’s kind of fueled me to be successful this year,” Palardy said.
BY THE NUMBERS
570-547-44 South Carolina's overall record in 120 seasons. The Gamecocks were nine games under .500 until Steve Spurrier became coach, but he is 32 games over .500 as coach in Columbia.
HE SAID IT
“He’s the real deal. I haven’t seen very many guys like him. He’s special. He’s got that air about him. He’s tough. He’s one of the better players that I have ever seen.” — Auburn coach Gus Malzahn about Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel
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