[Tuck4Bama]

There will be more special teams work this week, as USC coach Steve Spurrier remains annoyed with the unit’s performance.

Kick return specialist Captain Munnerlyn averaged 18.7 yards on three kickoff returns, and his lone punt return was for a yard. Spurrier pinned much of the blame on the blocking.

“We haven’t held anybody up in three years since I’ve been here,” Spurrier said, then quipped: “We’re going to try a new way of holding up: Instead of opening up and letting them run right past us, we’re gonna try to play the way the other guys play.”

Spurrier also explained what happened when only 10 players took the field for a field goal attempt, resulting in a rushed kick that Ryan Succop missed. Defensive tackle Nate Pepper was the missing player, and took awhile to get on the field because he was in a defensive meeting.

“I guess his defensive meeting was more important than getting on the field,” Spurrier said. “But he finally got out there.”

Thanks for the hate. Spurrier was informed he was the winner of an online poll by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The most hated coach in the SEC by Georgia fans.

“Appreciate it,” Spurrier quipped. “I thought they’d forgotten about me.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, Spurrier had received 45.2 percent of the voteSpurrier figures the hate dates to his days at Florida, when he beat Georgia 11 of 12 years. He is 0-2 against the Bulldogs at USC.

“I hope they have reason to have those feelings after Saturday night,” Spurrier said. “There haven’t been any of those feelings lately.”


GoGamecocks.com | Coach blames blocking for special teams woes