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-- TH#feAMECOCK I 'k I 1 T I 1 SPURRIER SAID IT | W U ■ 1 J ' I “Well, I’ve finally got a new line. God is smiling on i I I ■ I ^ I i the Gamecocks.’’ Page 10 -/ -JL vy _1_ _JL rV_y Monday, Oct. 31,2005 Rice, Rice Baby Turning Points Former Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning has his jersey retired I I I I I Receiver Sidney Rice catches the first touchdown of the game Rice leaps over the Vol defense for his second TD I I USC kicker Josh Brown celebrates his game-winning 49-yard field goal Juan Btasl THE CIAMKCOCK Gamecock freshman receiver Sidney Rice catches his second touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter of USC’s 16-15 upset win against Tennessee. UICTORV • con WD PROITII and one to Florida. “This is definitely the best win since I’ve been here,” senior offensive lineman Na’Shan Goddard said. “This is definitely the best feeling I’ve had in a long time... . This win was for Syvelle and all the seniors last year who never beat Tennessee.” While the seniors could look at this as one of the greatest wins of their college careers, it was a freshman who again led the Gamecocks to victory. Receiver Sidney Rice continued his blazing pace through USC record books, catching a touchdown for the seventh straight game and breaking the all-time school record for touchdown catches in a season (11). His first touchdown came with 8:07 remaining in the first quarter when Rice pulled down a 19-yard pass from quarterback Blake Mitchell to give USC a 7-0 lead. The Vols answered the score with a 12-play, 72 yard drive, immediately tying the score at 7 on an Arian Foster 1-yard touchdown run. Foster, a freshman filling in for the injured Gerald Riggs Jr., ran well all at points for Tennessee, finishing with 148 yards on 25 carries. The rest of the first half was dominated by defenses as the Volunteers scored 5 additional points off a James Wilhoit 38-yard field goal and a sack of Blake Mitchell for a safety. A key point in the game came with just more than two minutes left to play in the half when Tennessee recovered a fumbled kickoff and drove the bail to the USC 1-yard line, UICTORV • 9 >1 Carolina 12 Record number of touchdowns caught by Sidney Rice, two against the Vols 49 Career long field goal for Josh Brown, a game winner 242 Passing yards by quarterback Blake Mitchell 2 Number of victories USC has over the Vols in Knoxville . *• ■ ■ Number of victories USC has over the Vols in Knoxville Number of punts Brandon Colquitt had downed inside the 20 Number of plays quarterback Rick Clausen played in before the fourth quarter Attendance of Saturday’s game www.dailygamecock.com Simpson, Carolina defense come up with crucial stops Stephen Fastenau THE GAMECOCK KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Ko Simpson dropped an interception that would have ended the game. It seemed like just another unlucky break for the Gamecocks. In any other game, Tennessee would have taken advantage of its new life and driven down the field, kicked a game-winning field goal and beaten USC as it had done so many times before. In any other game, the Gamecocks’ defense would have watched helplessly as another big game slipped through its hands. This, as it turned out, wasn’t any other game. Simpson rebounded from his missed opportunity to break up a Rick Clausen pass on fourth down to give the sophomore safety, and the Gamecocks’ defense, the much-needed stop, and win, they had wanted for years. “I knew that they had another play coming (after the drop),” Simpson said. “I just knew ‘shoot, I got to make a play, I got to make up for it’ and I did.” USC took advantage of a Tennessee quarterback controversy, holding the Volunteers to 99 passing yards. Gamecock cornerback Johnathan Joseph set the tone by intercepting starting quarterback Erik Ainge’s first pass, and the Vols weren’t able to gain any momentum through the air after that. Clausen was inserted as Tennessee’s quarterback on oerense • 9