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Temple CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 after the game, is confident, howev er, that his bruising back can re bound. “Andrew will handle this like a mature adult,” Holtz said. “It’s a part of life. He did some good things dur ing the game.” Because of their recent struggles, the Gamecocks are looking at giving younger players more playing time, including iresnman tailback Kenny Irons, who sparked Carolina against Georgia with a couple of big runs. “Kenny has talent and some explosive ness; he just needs some experience,” of fensive coordinator Irons Skip Holtz said. When asked if senior running back Andrew P innock may have a reduced role this week, Skip Holtz said: “We have to stop the turnover binge. It’s the main reason we are 1-2. We’re go ing to play the people who aren’t go ing to turn the ball over. Andrew will play, don’t get me wrong, but we are also going to look at some other peo ple, as well. The turnovers can’t be tolerated.” Until their offense can settle into a comfort zone, the Gamecocks might have to lean on their defense, which was impressive in the Georgia game. After shaky outings in its first two games, the defense responded against the Bulldogs, only giving up two field goals. Georgia’s touchdown came on an interception. “The defense played absolutely outstanding,” Lou Holtz said. The Gamecock defense will have to keep its eye on Temple star wide receiver Sean Dillard, who led the Big East last season in receptions per game, and tailback Tanardo Sharps, a breakaway threat who averaged 5.1 yards a carry last season. Mike McGann, a 6-6 sophomore, is the start ing quarterback. Saturday’s game, the third home game this season for USC, is sched uled for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Last season, Carolina went 6-1 at home. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com Who has the edge? Temple (1-2, 0-1 Big East) at USC (1-2,0-1 SEC) V USC’s pass against the Temple defense: Temple’s secondary isn’t imposing, but the Gamecocks haven’t proved they can be consistent throwing the ball. USC offensive coordinator Skip Holtz said that freshmen WRs Kris Clark, Troy Williamson and Andre Hemphill will see playing time. That could be good or bad, depending on how you look at it.. USC’s rush against the Temple defense: With DT Dan Klecko leading the way, the Temple run defense is a formidable unit. And with a banged-up offensive line and questions about who’s going to get most of the handoffs, USC won’t dominate on the ground. But the Gamecocks still get the slight edge with QB Corey Jenkins, who is fifth in the SEC in rushing. Temple’s pass against the USC defense: Temple QB Mike McGann is only a sophomore, and he hasn’t exactly shown that he can scare any defense. CB Dunta Robinson is emerging as a star for the USC defense. Did you see Terrence Edwards last week? Neither did we. This could be a good building block for an improving Carolina secondary. Temple’s rush against the USC defense: NT Langston Moore has been a force in the middle for the USC defense, and along with LBs Lance Laury and Jermaine Lemon, he should stuff the Temple ground game. Temple TB Tanardo Sharps is fast, but he’ll have trouble finding holes to run through. Intangibles: Confidence is a question mark for Carolina following its last two defeats, but the Gamecocks should triumph considering the difference in talent level. Temple has been a Big East doormat for years, and it should be no match for USC. With the game at Williams-Brice Stadium, the scales tip further in USC's favor. — COMPILED BY KYLE ALMOND AND MATT ROTHENBERG ____ ' _ 5__ ADVANTAGE: ’ Rothenberg CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 of mine at Rutgers have known it for a long time, and I genuinely feel sorry for them. With my scheme in place, they will once again see the light and the optimism of a winning season, just like Carolina fans have. There is hope for all bad college foot ball programs in the United States, es pecially those in Division I-A. However, I can’t bear seeing these poor teams getting their brains beaten out every week while they occasionally steal a win or two. If these teams want the prestige of being Division I-A pro grams, they must prove it. On a lower level, they can rebuild their programs and attempt to inject some hope and pride in otherwise moribund recent histories. When suf ficient progress is made, then the school can request a promotion. Temple and Rutgers have that promise. Maybe they can win more by playing Division I-AA schools, ones on their own skill level. Then I hope the next time we play either school, it will be more to play a com petitive football team than just scheduling another likely win. Rothenberg is a fourth-year sport management student. His column appears every Friday in Gamecock Sports. SEC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8 and the team is a four-point fa vorite in the SEC opener be tween these rivals. “Outside of the team, I don’t think anybody thinks we’re go ing to do well (against Tennessee),” Gators offensive lineman Shannon Snell said. Led by quarterback Rex Grossman, the Gators will have to solve one of the nation’s top defenses. The Vols have yet to allow a point in the first three quarters of a game, lead the na tion in points allowed (5 per game) and are second in yards allowed (198 per game). The Vols, with Casey Clausen at the controls, also get a boost with the return of wide receiv er Kelley Washington, who had more than 1,000 yards last sea son but missed the first two games with a sprained knee. Southern Mississippi at Alabama: Alabama plays its second of six home games this Saturday when it plays host to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. Alabama is 2-1 following last week's 33-7 win over North Texas. Southern Miss is 3-0 after a 33-14 win over Memphis. Northwestern State at No. 8 Georgia: The No. 8 Bulldogs (2-0) meet Division I-AA Northwestern State on Saturday at Sanford Stadium. Georgia was initially scheduled to face Tulane this week, but Die Green Wave backed out of the contract. The move prompted Georgia to file a federal lawsuit against Tulane. Florida quarterback Rex Grossman will try to rebound Saturday from a poor game against Miami two weeks ago. The Gators, ranked No. 10 by the Associated Press, head to Knoxville this weekend to take on the fourth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK Middle Tennessee State at Kentucky: Tailback Artose Pinner will go for his third con secutive 100-yard game Saturday as the resurgent Wildcats (3-0) take on Middle Tennessee State. Vanderbilt at Ole Miss: The Ole Miss Rebels (2-1) are looking to snap a string of nine straight losses in SEC openers when they play host to the Vanderbilt Commodores (1-2) at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. BRIEFLY Carolina dominates rescheduled game Midfielder Jessica Julin had a goal and an assist, and the Carolina defense did not allow a shot until the last 10 seconds as the USC women’s soccer team earned a 5-0 victory at Charleston Southern on Thursday afternoon. The match was supposed to take place in Columbia on Wednesday, but it was postponed and moved because of inclement weather. Carolina (5-2) scored three times in the first half, with Ashley Gosnell putting in the first tally for USC at the 16:03 mark. The Gamecocks increased the lead five minutes later as freshman Camille Toney scored to give USC a 2-0 lead. Freshman Lindsay Haney fin ished the first-half scoring in the 32nd minute. Julin and sophomore Ashley Williams added goals in the sec ond half for the Gamecocks, who outshot Charleston Southern 19-1. Carolina’s next game will be Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. i against N.C. State. Track team invited to White House The USC women’s track and field team will be honored by President Bush on Tuesday at a reception in the White House. The NCAA champion Gamecocks will be joined by nine other NCAA champions from the spring. It is the first time a USC team has visited the White House. USC’s women won the school’s first NCAA title in June, crown ing.20 All-Americans and three individual NCAA champions. Men’s soccer to play in another Classic The USC men’s soccer team, now ranked No. 3 by the NSCAA, heads to Evansville, Ind., this weekend for the Pro-rehab-Aces Classic looking for their third straight tournament title. Carolina takes on Louisville on Friday before closing out the tournament against host Evansville on Sunday. Earlier this month, USC (6-0) won the Duke/Adidas Classic and the Gamecock Soccer Classic. SPORTS CHALLENGE THE CHALLENGE: Kyle Matt Chris Mary Candi Brandon The Gamecock’s readers and Almond Rothenberg Foy Hartney Hauglum Simmons staff test their sports knowledge Sports Asst. Sports Defending Editor in Photo Reader of with predictions of the Editor Editor Champion Chief Editor the Week weekend’s games. (Rankings (18-12) (21-9) (17-13) (18-12) (11-19) (18-12) are from the Associated Press.) 10 Florida at 4 Tennessee_Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Southern Miss at Alabama_Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama Alabama_Alabama Vanderbilt at Ole Miss Ole Miss Ole Miss Ole Miss Ole Miss Ole Miss Ole Miss • 7 Va. Tech at 19 Texas A&M Texas A&M Va. Tech Va. Tech Va. Tech Texas A&M Va. Tech 11 So. Cal at 25 Kansas St._So. Cal_So. Cal So. Cal So. Cal So. Cal So. Cal Boston College at 1 Miami Miami Miami Miami Miami Miami Miami Bowling Green at Kansas B. Green B. Green B. Green Kansas Kansas Kansas Hawaii at UTEP Hawaii Hawaii_Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii _Hawaii Ball St. at Clemson Clemson Clemson Clemson Ball St. Clemson Clemson Temple atUSC USC USC USC USC USC USC 31-10 34-14 35-14 26-10 27-10 45-14 LAST WEEK’S WINNER: Matt Rothenberg (9-1) - Rothenberg’s dominating week gives him a three-game lead over Almond, Hartney and the readers. Rothenberg’s only miss was the Michigan/Notre Dame game. Hartney lost her top spot by going only 5-5. Almond, Foy and reader of the week Edward Barnes went 6-4. Justin Bajan, co-editor of The Mix, didn’t do much to help The Gamecock’s staff catch up to the rest of the pack. He went 5-5. WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-mailyourselectionsnextweektogamecocksports@hotmail.com. If you have the best record, you’ll win a free Gamecock T-shirt and be able to talk all the trash you want. ^ ;. *0 1 Any Purchase of cu ■ $25 or More rjV ■ /"V IV 17 Coupons May Be Combined with I VeX* JL Any OTher Offer with ValPak Coupon . 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