GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen turned his head, stared at the photograph of the Gators posing with the 1996 national championship trophy in the Superdome and then summed up Steve Spurrier’s legacy with one sentence.

“He’s always looking over your shoulder around here,” Mullen said.

Maybe so, but the shadow cast by the ol’ ball coach doesn’t loom nearly as large as it did two years ago and doesn’t even compare to the one left behind when he jumped to the NFL after the 2001 season. When Spurrier returns to Florida Field for the second time today to face his alma mater, the biggest story line of this series in recent years will be a mere subplot.

“I don’t think it’ll be a big deal,” Spurrier said.

The game will be, though. The BCS No. 4 Gators (8-1, 6-1 ), having already clinched a spot in the SEC title game, will try to extend their winning streak to six games and stay in the hunt for the national championship against No. 25 South Carolina (7-3, 4-3 ).

The Gamecocks hope to knock the Gators out of title contention and avenge last year’s embarrassing home loss to Tim Tebow and Co.

The Heisman Trophy winner set a school record with five rushing touchdowns in Columbia last season. He finished with 120 yards rushing, 304 yards passing and was involved in seven touchdowns in the 51-31 victory.

“You want to come and make a statement after what happened last year,” said South Carolina linebacker Jasper Brinkley, who missed last year’s game with an injury. “I had the opportunity to stand on the sideline and watch [Tebow ] just rip us to pieces. You want to go back out this year and prove a point that we are capable of playing with these guys.

“ It would be great to make that statement on their home field.”

The Gamecocks might have a defense capable of it, too. They lead the SEC in total defense, allowing just 256. 5 yards a game, and rank third in scoring defense (15. 6 points a game ) and second against the run (101. 4 yards a game ).

South Carolina hasn’t allowed more than 24 points in any game, and all three of the team’s losses were by seven points.

But the Gators have hit their stride, outscoring opponents 243-57 in their five-game winning streak while averaging nearly 450 yards of offense. Florida ranks fourth in the nation in turnover margin (plus-13 ) and is tied for first in red zone offense, having scored on 37 of 39 trips inside the 20. Oddsmakers have the Gators favored by more than three

1 touchdowns. Spurrier a 22 / 2-point underdog in Gainesville ? Spurrier is 81-8 all-time at The Swamp — 13-2 as a player (1964-1966 ), 68-5 as Florida’s coach (1990-2001 ) and 0-1 with the Gamecocks (2006 ). His only loss by 10 or more points at Florida Field came in 1993, when rival and eventual national champion Florida State beat the Gators 33-21.