COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Steve Spurrier said during the week that he planned on playing two quarterbacks against Arkansas.

The South Carolina coach even went as far as to say he would determine a starter during the pregame warmups. On Saturday, Spurrier stuck to his word, and he went even farther than that — rotating quarterbacks Stephen Garcia and Chris Smelley after each play.

“We said we was going to play both of them,” Spurrier said. “Why not just send them in with the play? Stephen can’t get the signals anyway.”

Smelley, a sophomore who had started six South Carolina games before Saturday, got the start against Arkansas. He lasted one play, throwing an incompletion before the redshirt freshman Garcia entered to a loud cheer from the Gamecocks’ fan in Williams-Brice Stadium.

Garcia quickly hit Kenny McKinley for a 30-yard completion — only to head to the sidelines. After another Smelley incompletion, Garcia returned to run 14 yards for a touchdown and an early South Carolina 7-0 lead.

“We got the plays in quick, and we got a mental picture of where everybody was going,” Garcia said. “I think that’s why (Spurrier) did it.”

The quarterbacks rotated after each play with the exception of twice in the second quarter when Smelley, who finished 9 of 19 passing for 148 yards, stayed in for back-to-back plays. After each play, the quarterback on the field would run off while the other got the play from Spurrier on the sideline before running in.

“It was interesting doing it that way, not being in the whole time,” Smelley said. “I thought it was kind of fun.

“We need to calculate if we logged a few miles running on and off the field.”

Spurrier, who did the same rotation while at Florida, said the quarterbacks started practicing for the rotation during the week.

“It was weird,” said Garcia, who finished 4 of 11 for 71 yards. “I’ve never had to do that in my life except for during this week in practice and in the game. I wouldn’t feel bad about doing that again. It wouldn’t bother me.”

South Carolina has played three quarterbacks this season, with Tommy Beecher the third in addition to Smelley and Garcia. The three had combined to throw 16 interceptions before Saturday, and Spurrier said the inconsistent play played a part in his decision to rotate.

“Really, when one of them has not separated themselves (from the other), it’s not a bad way to do it,” Spurrier said. “It eliminates crowd noise, it eliminates signals.”

Spurrier dismissed any thought of the rotation hurting either quarterbacks’ performance or rhythm.

“We don’t have enough rhythm to worry about right now,” Spurrier joked.

Smelley agreed, saying that talking to Spurrier between plays helped him understand better what Arkansas was trying to do on defense.

“(Spurrier) was giving us an idea of what coverage to expect and maybe a play to change to if we didn’t get what we were wanting,” Smelley said. “So, I think it worked out pretty good a lot of times.”