Spurrier gets in dig at Heels

CHAPEL HILL -- Steve Spurrier didn't stop to pose for a team picture after South Carolina's 21-15 win at North Carolina, but the football coach couldn't resist taking a parting shot.

"I didn't want to lose up here," Spurrier said. "I'm happy for the Dukies and the South Carolina people. I felt like I was coaching for both of them today."

Spurrier went 3-0 as Duke's coach from 1987 to 1989 against UNC, the last win a 41-0 rout in 1989 that inspired a team picture underneath the Kenan Stadium scoreboard.

Spurrier's first trip to UNC with South Carolina didn't end in a blowout like his last trip with Duke.

The Gamecocks led 21-3 at halftime, but two fourth-quarter touchdowns pulled UNC to six points down. The Heels even had a chance to win the game on the last play when a T.J. Yates prayer was almost pulled in by receiver Brooks Foster.

Spurrier hasn't lost in three trips to Kenan Stadium.

"A lot of people would love to be 3-0 in this stadium," Spurrier said. "I'm the happiest of 'em."

BIG GAME FROM LITTLE: UNC freshman Greg Little accounted for 12 yards of the season's offense before Saturday. The Durham Hillside graduate almost doubled that output on one play.

The Heels used Little at quarterback, lining him up in the shotgun like Arkansas does with star running back Darren McFadden. Little busted a 23-yard run on his first snap.

With Brandon Tate sidelined in the second half with a head injury and Hakeem Nicks hobbled by an ankle sprain, Little also contributed from his conventional receiver spot. He caught an 18-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter to cut USC's lead to 21-9.

"That catch that he scored on, he is just really some kind of excellent football player," UNC coach Butch Davis said. "He runs as determined and as physical as any receiver I think I have ever seen."

For the game, Little had 79 total yards. He went into the game with one catch for three yards and one rush for nine yards.

NOTES: UNC threw for 285 yards, 221 in the second half, which was the most South Carolina has given up the season. USC entered the game leading the nation in pass defense, allowing only 126.5 yards per game. ... South Carolina has won eight straight non-conference games under Spurrier.