Oct. 14--Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald took time during his weekly turn on the Big Ten football coaches teleconference Tuesday to salute retiring South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier.
Spurrier, 70, surprised his players and coaches Monday night by announcing he will retire immediately.
"He's a legend. He is one of the best to coach the game, and I wanted to congratulate him on his retirement and thank him for all he has done for our game," Fitzgerald said.
"I wanted to thank him for a great friendship. He has been great to me."
Spurrier is South Carolina's all-time winningest coach (86-49). Previously, he coached Florida to a national championship in 1996. This season, the Gamecocks are 2-4 overall and 0-4 in the SEC. His overall college record at Duke, Florida and South Carolina is 228-89-2.
Upon further review: When No. 17 Iowa (6-0, 2-0) visits Northwestern (5-1, 1-1) on Saturday the Wildcats will be trying to come back from last Saturday's 38-0 shellacking at Michigan.
"You have to flush it and move on regardless of the outcome," Fitzgerald said. "Every game is a one-game season and you just move on. The guys have handled success and obviously what happened last week, I think they have handled it well. Just move on and get back to work. You have to learn a new opponent, but you have to look at yourself and hopefully improve."
Northwestern fell from No. 13 to No. 20 in the AP rankings after the loss.
"We've beaten some very, very good football teams along the way. We've played a very competitive schedule," Fitzgerald said. "We need to play the way we are capable of. Iowa is very challenging. You always have to tip your hat to coach (Kirk Ferentz) and his staff. They play the Iowa way. They play the game the right way. It is always a dog fight for us."
And in this corner: With starting cornerback Matthew Harris out indefinitely with facial fractures, the Wildcats will turn to sophomore Keith Watkins from Cincinnati as his replacement.
"Keith has played very well for us over the last couple of years," Fitzgerald said. "Not only in the secondary but also in the kicking game."
fmitchell@tribpub.com
