Columbia, S.C. ? No one handles college football’s center stage like No. 1 Alabama — and few understand that as well as South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier.

In this Oct. 17, 2009 photo, Alabama coach Nick Saban, left, is greeted by South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier after Alabama won in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Two will meet today in Columbia, S.C.

For many of his 12 seasons at Florida, the sharp-tongued Spurrier and his dynamic “Fun-n-Gun” offense were the face of college football. There wasn’t a pass pattern he wouldn’t try or a school he wouldn’t needle as the Gators kept winning their way to the 1996 national championship and six Southeastern Conference crowns.

Now, the spotlight’s moved on to defending national champion Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC) and Spurrier sees a similar ability to thrive amid the 24/7 attention that will descend on South Carolina (3-1, 1-1) today.

“They really do have the ability to go one game at a time and not get full of themselves after wins,” Spurrier said.

Alabama beat Arkansas, 24-20, on the road two weeks ago, and followed that up last week by blasting Florida, 31-6, the Tide’s second straight decisive defeat of the Gators.

Now, they head for a third straight SEC showdown in a hyped-up, sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium with ESPN’s “GameDay” on campus.

“Each week you have a new challenge and you learn more about your team. Like how are we going to respond this week,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “We play another very good team on the road in a difficult place to play. Are we going to be able to challenge ourselves to continue to do the things we need to do to play at a high standard?”