When South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier glances across the sideline Saturday night at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, it could be like looking into a mirror.

Or at least into the past.

The Gamecocks’ opponent, LSU, will be coached by Les Miles, a man that isn’t too different than the Head Ball Coach.

First, look at their first three seasons in the league. Spurrier took over the Florida program in 1990 and, despite being ineligible for a league title, finished first in the SEC (6-1 in the conference and 9-2 overall). Spurrier and the Gators won their first SEC title in 1991 after going a perfect 7-0 in the league and after his third year had a 19-3 record in the conference.

While Spurrier — who eventually won a national title in 1996 — began his reign at Florida under a scandal, Miles walked into a prime position at LSU in 2005. Former championship-winning coach Nick Saban left the former Oklahoma State head man Miles a bevy of talent, which led to an SEC title game trip after a 7-1 league record in his first season. In 2006, the Bayou Bengals finished second in the West at 6-2 and still made the BCS as an at-large team, pummeling No. 10 Notre Dame, 41-14. Last year was Miles’ best as LSU claimed both the SEC championship and national title as a two-loss team.

After 2007, that left Miles 19-3 in the league.

But numbers aren’t the only parallels. Miles earned the nickname “Riverboat Gambler” after last year’s game against Florida in which he went for it on fourth down five times in a 28-24 victory.

Although Miles said last week that he isn’t a fan of the label, nicknames aren’t always bad. Spurrier has so many it’s hard to keep up with: The Ol’ Ball Coach, Steve Superior, Darth Visor and The Evil Genius.

Like it or not, it’s added to the mystique and lore that is Spurrier.

Both coaches also own the gift of gab. Spurrier has been known for years at taking shots at his good friends at Tennessee (“You can’t spell ‘Citrus’ without UT”) and Florida State (“Free Shoes University”).

On the other side, Miles put down national power Southern Cal last year after being asked about the Trojans’ extra easy road to the BCS title game compared to an SEC team’s path.

Tide Nation was in an uproar over the summer after Miles told LSU fans not to be so happy about last year’s 41-34 win over Alabama because “it seems like a lot of teams in Louisiana beat that team,” alluding to the Tide’s 2007 loss to lowly Louisiana-Monroe in Tuscaloosa.

Heads-up the edge has gone to Miles. LSU used a fake field goal in last year’s meeting in Baton Rouge to take the lead on the Gamecocks and eventually win the game, 28-16.

While there are plenty of style differences in how the two coach, come Saturday, they’ll add to their mirror-like legacies.