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Arkansas CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 face him is a full-time job. It will be a challenge for our defense.” If USC has to go to the air, this is the team to try it against. The Razorbacks are giving up a league high 251 passing yards a game, though they do lead the country in takeaways, averaging 1.88 turnovers a game. “We are going to have to throw the ball, because obviously with their rush defense, it’s going to be very difficult to run,” Holtz said. Last year, the Razorbacks blocked a late field goal to knock off the Gamecocks 10-7, and Holtz feels it will be another daunting task against Arkansas. “They are just a good solid foot ball team, and we are going to have to play very well,” he said. Kickoff for the game is sched uled for 12:30 p.m., and the game will be televised by Jefferson-Pilot Sports. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com AROUND THE SEC Vols try to salvage season vs. Miami LJ T No. 2 Miami at Tennessee 3:30 p.m. Saturday Neyland Stadium TV: CBS KNOXVILLE, TENN. (AP) - The Tennessee Volunteers aren’t play ing as well as coach Phillip Fulmer thinks they can. But he’s seen some improvement. That’s a good thing for the Vols, who play No. 2 Miami on Saturday. It s not all that we wanted but much better offensively,” Fulmer said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “We’re really going to have to do it again — close ranks as a team as we prepare for Miami.” Tennessee (5-3) lost to Georgia and Alabama last month and has looked so bad that not even an 18 10 victory over South Carolina 18 10 in Columbia last weekend could keep them in the Top 25. But the offense played better even without injured receiver Kelley Washington. Tennessee’s disappointing sea son has dampened some of the ex citement for the teams’ first match-up since the Vols’ 35-7 vic tory in the 1986 Sugar Bowl. The Hurricanes (8-0) have won 30 straight games, tne nation : longest winning streak. Many hoped Tennessee alsc would be undefeated going intc this game to give the winner a bij boost for the national title, bu now only Miami has the most t( lose. “I think this team is very ex cited about the opportunity thej have in front of them,” Fulmei said. “Obviously like all of us w« don’t feel like we’ve reached oui potential this year for whatevei reason.” Injuries continue to plague th< Vols entering Saturday’s home coming game. Washington is listed as out foi the third straight game, while of fensive tackle Michael Munoz has been hospitalized with an infec non m ms aniue. Munoz, wno al ready has a hurt shoulder and broken hand, is listed as ques tionable. The good news was the return of tailback Cedric Houston, who helped the running game with 30 carries for 108 yards despite a cast protecting the left thumb he need ed surgery for to repair tom lig aments. Tailback Jabari Davis, who started against South Carolina, is questionable against Miami with a sternum injury. Fulmer gave most of the credit to Houston for one of the Vols’ better rushing games and to an offensive line that improved its blocking. “I think it was a step in the right direction from the stand point of the line doing a better job and him making them look good at times when things weren’t blocked perfectly,” Fulmer said. “Can we be better than we were Saturday? Yes. Him and them.” Without Washington in the line up, some of the lesser-known re ceivers got a chance as they made fewer mistakes and helped ease pressure on tight end Jason Witten. Sophomore Montrell Jones had four catches for 69 yards, and freshman C. J. Fayton caught his first career touchdown pass. “I think the receivers have been really slow to develop this season overall. They’re coming right now the best they have all season,” Fulmer said. "I’m anx ious to see them get to the point where every play that we’re out there, we’re a threat.” Quarterback Casey Clausen is coming off one of his best games while enduring soreness in his shoulder, foot and ankle. He rolled his foot and ankle during the game but was still able to run for a 5 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game away. ♦ FOR MORE PREVIEWS FROM GAMES AROUND THE SEC, VISIT WWW.DAILYGAMECOCK.COM. SPORTS CHALLENGE THE CHALLENGE: Kyle Matt Chris Mary David Michael The Gamecock’s readers and Almond Rothenberg Foy Hartney Stagg Marozas staff test their sports knowledge Sports Asst. Sports Defending Editor in Page Reader of with predictions of the Editor Editor Champion Chief designer the Week weekend's games. (Rankings (59-41) (63-37) (57-43) (60-40) (58-42) (58-42) are from the Associated Press.) 2 Miami at Tennessee Miami Miami Miami Miami Miami Miami Ole Miss at 7 GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia Georgia Georgia Georgia 16 LSU at KentuckyKentucky LSU LSU LSU LSUKentucky 21 Iowa St. at 12 Kansas St. Iowa St. Kansas St. Kansas St. Kansas St. Kansas St. Kansas St. 15 Oregon at 5 Washington St. Oregon Wash. St. Oregon Oregon_Wash. St. Wash. St. 14 N.C. State at Maryland_Maryland N.C. State Maryland Maryland N.C. State Maryland 20 Bowling Green at N. Illinois B. Green B. Green B. Green B. Green B. Green N. Illinois Louisiana Tech at San Jose St. La. Tech La. Tech La. Tech San Jose San Jose San Jose Clemson at North CarolinaClemson Clemson Clemson Clemson Clemson UNC Arkansas at USC USC Arkansas USC USC USC USC 21-20 23-21 20-17 21-14 24-21 14-12 LAST wttK S wiNNtK: Kyle Aimona (Z-Z) - uon t count out tne sports eaitor just yet. Kignt as it looxea iiKe ne was out of the competition, he responded with a solid week aided by wins from Florida and Central Michigan. Almond gained two games on his assistant, Rothenberg, who still leads overall after going 6-4. Hartney, Foy and staffer of the week Karen Vaught also went 6-4. Coming in second place this week with an exceptional effort was reader Jordy 'The Turtle” McKever, who went 7-3. McKever also chose Florida to upset Georgia. WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-mail your selections nextweektogamecocksports@hotmail.com. If you’re picked and have the best record, you’ll win a free Gamecock T-shirt and be able to talk all the trash you want _ |\ If you are ready for a RFAL Tailgate Party, then come on by! / jj the final Great Gamecock: pMlK 1*2002^1 November 9 (USC vs. ARKANSAS) 10:00 am-12:00 pm K l 1 featuring live music by: The Blue Dogs |UI I // Seawell's Parking Lot - 1125 Rosewood Drive ypHj // across the street from "the ROCKET" at the State Fairgrounds. T I I // The best part is that it is all FREE: Music, Lots of Great Food, Drinks k Door Prizes. / /^-^ST7 Souvenirs for the first 200 ISC students in attendance at each Tailgate Party. / // THESE TAILGATE PARTIES ARE AN ALCOHOL & OTHER DRUG-FREE ENVIRONMENT sponsored by the Russell House Alcohol & Drug Programs. \\ III J J Major funding provided by a grant received faro the U5. Department of Education Safe & Drug-Free School* Program.- The Prevention of High-Risk Drinking & Violent Behavior Among College Students Project. i i i Actual dates or times may change due to funding or programmatic decisions. For additional information, please call 777-7130. / lL If M M _ Department of Student Life Division of Student & Alumni Servic es / / / \ \ BRIEFLY USC only 1 win away from 2 milestones The 18th-ranked USC volley ball team (19-4,12-1 SEC) takes to the road for the remainder of the regular season, first traveling to Knoxville to face the Tennessee Lady Volunteers on Friday. USC head coach Kim Christo pher is just one win away from claiming her 200th victory at Carolina. In her _ lutn season, wiui a 199-97 record at Carolina, the Amarillo, Texas, native would be come the first coach to reach in Carolina volley- Christopher ball history. The Gamecocks are also push ing for their best SEC record in school history. The most wins Carolina has in SEC play is 12, a mark set in 2000. USC has that many wins right now and still has three more matches left in the reg ular season. Tennessee (17-8,6-6 SEC) fell to the Gamecocks in five games earlier this season. The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. Women’s basketball to play exhibition The USC women’s basketball team gets their first action of the new season Friday at 7 p.m. with an exhibition contest against Athletes in Action. The Gamecocks will host two exhibition games in the Carolina Coliseum before opening up the regular season in the new Carolina Center on Nov. 22. With three starters and four other letterwinners from last year’s Elite Eight team return ing, the Gamecocks enter the season seeking a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. Men’s soccer to visit defending champs The USC men’s soccer team heads to Chapel Hill, N.C., on Friday to face No. 20 North Carolina (12-5-1) — the defend ing national champions. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. Following USC’s match in Chapel Hill, the Gamecocks (10 6-1) will wrap up their regular season at home against Florida International on Nov. 17 at 2 p.m. Clemson swim team to test Gamecocks Carolina’s swimming and div ing teams are 2-0 at home this sea son (2-1 overall), and after defeat ing Kentucky this past week, they hope to continue that suc cess Friday against rival Clemson. The annual rivalry meet is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. in the Carolina Natatorium. Free Gamecock T-shirts will be given out at the meet, and fans will also have a chance to meet and take pictures with Cocky, who will make an aquat ic appearance. Admission is free. Season almost over * for tennis players Six USC women’s tennis play ers will head Friday to the 2002 SEC Coaches Tournament in Atlanta. The tournament will feature Gamecocks Ayako Suzuki, Danielle Wiggins, Jodi Kenoyer, Catherine Brown, Audrey George and Magda Wojdylo. The conclusion of this tourna ment will wrap up fall play for Carolina. The Gamecocks will re sume play Jan. 29 at home against the College of Charleston. Rothenberg CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 Tennessee, Arkansas, and Ole Miss are fighting it out for the right to not be watching bowl games from their living rooms in December. The Volunteers, with a soft schedule left, are almost guaran teed a spot, barring a total col lapse. Ole Miss and the Razorbacks need at least two more SEC wins themselves. But USC probably has to win out — in other words, beat Arkansas, Florida and Clemson or at least win two out of three to assure itself a bowl game. The sad thing is, it wouldn’t have had to come to this if the Gamecocks had taken care of business earlier this season. Either Corey Jenkins or Dondrial Pinkins has to step up and rediscover his passing abili ty. Receivers need to get to the ball better and make sure they have a handle on the pass. The rush de fense has to make the stops on a consistent basis, especially in third-down situations. Carolina is staring at a bowl less offseason and must come up big in these last three weeks. Even if USC can’t beat Florida, it should at least come away with victories against the Hogs and the Tigers. In a competitive conference, such as the SEC, finishing with a 6-6 record might not be enough. That said, there is always the op portunity to be an at-large recipi ent of a bowl bid elsewhere. Playing on a blue field in Boise, Idaho, might not appeal to everyone, but it is better than no bowl at all. Time hasn’t run out on the Gamecocks. The team just con trols its own destiny, that’s all. SEC Football Standings EASTERN CONF. OVERALL Georgia_5-1 8-1 Florida4-26-3 use 3-3 5-4 Kentucky* 2-36-3 Tennessee2-35-3 Vanderbilt 0-5 2-7 WESTERN CONF. OVERALL Alabama* 4-1_7-2 LSU3-1 _6-2 Auburn4-26-3 Arkansas 2-35-3 Ole Miss 2-3 5-4 Mississippi St. 0-4 3-5 * - not eligible for postseason Does that suggest we could be playing in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport? Yes, it does. But it also means USC could find itself in a more preferable position, like the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The last couple of seasons, the team has run off to quick starts. This time, it has stumbled early and often. To play in the postseason, you’ve got to earn it. And there’s no better time to start than now. Rothenberg is a fourth-year sport management student. His column appears every Friday in Gamecock Sports. Basketball CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 game as well for the Gamecocks, scoring 10 points and bringing down 11 rebounds. He also blocked two shots, showing that, in spite of his weight troubles in the pre season, he is in top form and ready for the long haul. Team Nike, despite 18 points from Florida State graduate Terrell Baker and 10 points each from David Graves and Darrell Kelly, played sloppily on offense and defense. The team, a hodge podge of former Division I-A play ers, was limited to a 34.6 percent shooting percentage in the second half. USC forced them into 14 turnovers as well, which resulted in 34 points. The guard situation for the Gamecock is taking shape, too. Michael Boynton received the start at point guard, while Eidson switched between the two guard positions all night. Freshmen Jarod Gerald and Tarence Kinsey also played significant minutes in the Carolina backcourt. Odom still thinks that this is just the beginning of his team’s progress, noting that it is not the team it needs to be, especially on the defensive side of the ball. “It was a good night for us and we still have a lot to improve upon,” Odom said. “Defensively, we’re not where we need to be, but I think we can get there once we get Ro (Howell) back to fortify our inside game. “But, overall, I thought we did well.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com