South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier will return to Florida with a lot on the line. (US Presswire)

No. 9 South Carolina (6-1, 4-1 SEC) at No. 3 Florida (6-0, 5-0 SEC)

Kickoff: Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS)

Spread: Florida by 3

Watchability: On a weekend with multiple great SEC games, this could be the best. Florida has passed every test thus far, but the Gamecocks are very capable of traveling to Gainesville and pulling out the win. The winner of this one will have the inside track in the SEC East and could find itself needing to win only the SEC Championship Game to make it to the BCS National Championship Game. And if you need another reason, it’s always fun to watch South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier return to Florida, where he was a star player (1963-66) and coach (1990-2001).

Shining stars: South Carolina: DE Jadeveon Clowney is one of the top players at any position at any school in the nation. Florida will have to know where he is on every snap, or he could quickly add to his season total of 6.5 sacks. The matchup between Clowney and Florida LT Xavier Nixon will be one to watch. Florida: RB Mike Gillislee has emerged as one of the most consistent backs in the league. He leads all SEC RBs with 615 yards on 120 yards to go along with seven touchdowns. He’ll face a stiff test against a South Carolina defense that gives up an average of only 108.7 yards per game.

Who could steal the show: South Carolina: His numbers were down against LSU, but RB Marcus Lattimore is always a big-play threat. He has at least one touchdown in every game this season on his way to 10 total. He had only 13 carries at LSU, so expect him to be fresh enough to carry the load this Saturday. Florida: QB Jeff Driskel is coming off a 177-yard rushing performance at Vanderbilt last week, a total that broke the school record (held by Tim Tebow) for rushing yards by a QB in a game. He doesn’t always put up huge numbers, but he always seems to make a play when the Gators need one.

You going? Ranking the road trip: A top-10 matchup in The Swamp is about as good as it gets in college football. A mid-afternoon kickoff gives you time to enjoy the atmosphere before, during and after the game. If you can get your hands on a ticket, there’s not much of a reason to miss this one if you’re a fan of either team or of SEC football in general.

Magic number for South Carolina: 1. This is the first-ever matchup between these two programs in which both teams have been in the top 10.

Magic number for Florida: 85. That’s Florida’s winning percentage in this series since the Gamecocks joined the SEC in 1992. The Gators hold the 17-3 edge.

The game comes down to: The talent levels are similar here, so the team that limits mistakes and can make a few big plays will pull this one out. The Gamecocks are slightly better equipped to do that. It might be a defensive play from Clowney, a long run from Lattimore, or perhaps a punt return from Ace Sanders, but somehow Spurrier will figure out a way to knock off his former school.

Eye on College Football's take: For the Gamecocks, the goal for Saturday is simple, really: just play freaking better on the road than they have before now. Since Shaw took over as the starting quarterback in mid-2011, the Gamecocks are a perfect 8-0 at Williams-Brice Stadium (and an even more impressive 7-0 against-the-spread vs. FBS teams), but just 4-2 on the road with a couple of sleepwalks past the likes of Mississippi State and Kentucky and, of course, last Saturday's not-as-close-as-the-final-score loss to LSU. The Gamecocks have been three full yards better per-play this year at home than on the road. It's not about doing one thing better in Gainseville than they did in Nashville, Lexington, or Baton Rouge; it's about doing pretty much everything better. As for the Gators, LSU showed that it is, in fact, possible to run on the Gamecock front--if Gillislee and Driskel do just that, it's hard to see the Gators falling in the friendly confines of the Swamp. -- Jerry Hinnen

Prediction: South Carolina 21, Florida 17

For more up-to-the minute news and analysis from SEC bloggers Larry Hartstein and Daniel Lewis, follow @CBSSportsSEC.