The South Carolina Gamecock football team is 0-4 all-time against No. 1s with the last chance coming nearly a year ago against Florida. USC trailed by just three heading into the fourth quarter of that game but couldn’t get anything going offensively in the second half in a 24-14 loss. Spurrier beat USC with a No. 1 team when he was with the Gators in 1996, so he knows it’s hard to do. — Anderson Independent Mail

Steve Spurrier said after Saturday’s 35-27 loss at Auburn that freshman quarterback Connor Shaw would get a serious look before South Carolina’s next game on Oct. 9 against No. 1 Alabama. On Sunday, he made it clear that didn’t mean opening the job up in practice this bye week. “I don’t know what we’re going to do. We’ve got too far to go (the next game), but we’re not going to have competition,” Spurrier said. “We know what they both can do. We’ve watched them for quite awhile.” Garcia fumbled twice Saturday that led to a pair of late Tiger touchdowns. Garcia threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns but was replaced with Shaw, who nearly gave USC a chance to tie but tossed back-to-back interceptions. “Stephen played pretty well for three quarters and then he ducked his head in there and sort of got hung up,” Spurrier said. “This is not the first time he’s fumbled and probably won’t be the last.” Garcia wasn’t surprised to hear that Spurrier was going to evaluate the position this week. “I expect it. I’ve expected it since (Shaw) came in during the spring,” he said. “That’s just what’s going to happen.” — Independent Mail

I’m not sure if George Rogers even saw the field in his first collegiate football game. He didn’t become a starter until halfway through his freshman season. So you could say, then, that Marcus Lattimore is well ahead of a Heisman Trophy winner’s pace. Thursday afternoon before South Carolina opened its football season, famous alum Rogers sat at a table just outside Williams-Brice stadium to sign autographs and pose for pictures with the Heisman he won 20 years ago as a senior when Lattimore was two years from being born. Thursday night, when South Carolina smashed Southern Mississippi, 41-13, Lattimore showed that he might be the next great. Living every bit up to the hype surrounding what some called the No. 1 running back recruit in the country last year out of Byrnes High School, he rushed for two touchdowns and team highs of 54 yards and 14 attempts. He also caught two passes for 21 yards and he immediately became a focus of the offense. — Spartanburgh Journal

The ties between South Carolina football players and the Whitney Hotel date to at least 2009, multiple sources close to the program said Thursday. Tight end Weslye Saunders, who is at the center of the NCAA’s investigation of USC, is among the players who lived at the Shandon-area hotel last year. Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier asked at least 10 current players to move out of the hotel last week and pay their bills. Saunders, a senior from Durham, N.C., is one of several players who owe the hotel thousands of dollars after receiving a discounted monthly rate of $450. Players have been told to re-pay the difference between what they paid and a rate that officials determined to be fair market value. Another source said Saunders must re-pay more than $5,000 to the hotel, where he still had a room as of Wednesday night. At least two players had not made any payments to the hotel for several months, according to a source. USC is working cooperatively with the NCAA on the investigation. Spurrier said this week players could miss games as a result of the Whitney investigation, based on the NCAA’s history with players who received extra benefits. — The State

Some South Carolina football players owed the Whitney Hotel several thousand dollars after receiving reduced room rates during extended stays at the hotel that have come under NCAA scrutiny, a source close to the situation told The State on Wednesday. Multiple sources said some players had been living at the Whitney since the spring while paying a rate of $450 per month. But officials determined players should have been paying about $1,200 a month, and players were told by school officials to pay the difference to the hotel. For at least two players who had not made any payments, the resolution meant they owed the hotel close to $5,000, according to one of the sources. USC coach Steve Spurrier would not comment Wednesday when asked about players owing thousands to the hotel, located in the Devine Street shopping district. Jamie Blevins, general manager of the Whitney, has referred all questions to the NCAA. — The State

Two days after Steve Spurrier watched his offensive line give up nine sacks during South Carolina’s second scrimmage of the fall, the Head Ball Coach still believes there will be great improvement up front off a line that allowed the second-most sacks in the SEC last year. “They’re bigger and stronger. I really think our line is going to play better this year,” Spurrier said after Monday’s practice. “We’ve got to wait and see. We’re looking forward to seeing what happens in a couple of weeks. We’re still 17 days away. We’ve still got some time to practice around here.” — Independent Mail