[Tuck4Bama]

STARKVILLE — Told Tuesday that South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was the source of Mississippi State's vote in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll this week, Sylvester Croom burst into laughter.

"I'll have a little conversation with him in the pregame on Saturday," the Mississippi State coach said, smiling.

OK, so maybe the vote to put State at No. 25 had a little bit to do with the Gamecocks and the Bulldogs playing each other this week. But Spurrier backed up his vote to reporters in Columbia, S.C., Monday night.

"They deserve to be in probably as much as anybody," Spurrier said, according to the Greenville (S.C.) News. "They've got a good defense, run the ball well. The way we've been trying to stop the run, we could be in trouble if they start rolling up and down the field."

THOUSAND-YARDER

Notebook: Bulldogs get Spurrier's vote