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James P. Hersh Asst. Sports Editor Losing and motivation If winning, as Vince Lombardi once said, is the only important thing in sports, Wake Forest is going through one of the most worthless years in college football history. It has lost its first ten games of the season, and has lost games to Oklahoma by 63-0 and Penn State by 55-0. Because of its continuing excellence in losing, Wake has been ranked No. 1 in the Bottom Ten and a few weeks ago had an article written abQut it in Sports Illustrated. The Deacons have been given pep talks by President Gerald Ford and Bill Cosby; and they have continued to lose. An interesting thing about any losing team is how its players can continue to absorb loss-after-loss every Saturday. To find out how and if the Wake players react to losing, I went to its lockerroom after its game with Carolina. Normally at least three of four reporters talk to the visiting coach and players after a game, but I was the only one who bothered to go to the Wake dressing room. While standing outside the room waiting for the press to be admitted, a reporter from the Wake student paper walked up and asked if this was the Deacons' dressing room. Then instead of waiting to talk to the coach or players, he said, "I don't want to go in. I just want to be sure to be here so I don't miss the bus." Then he walked away and stood about 30 feet from the door. It's pretty dismal when the school's student reporters don't even send a reporter to talk to the players or coach after a game. In the meantime assistant coaches and managers were coming in and out of the dressing room, and inside you could see Wake's coach Chuck Mills talking loudly to his team which was gathered around him in front of the dressing room. It wasn't possible to hear what he was saying, but you could deduct that it wasn't complimentary, even though Mills was telling his players they played poorly Saturday night, it is almost unimaginable what he told them after losing 63-0 and 55-0. And it's difficult to imagine how a team could keep its motivation week after-week. After about 10 minetes, Mills came out of the lockerroom with his sport information director to talk to the press. The question was asked how does Mills try to motivate his team week-after-week? Mills, a short man, said, "Apparently we haven't been doing a good job of motivating them or we'd win once in awhile. No, they have to motivate themselves. I have to give them credit tonight, they kept going; they kept plugging away."~ While the official word is that Mills is proud of his team for not quitting, there are signs that everything is not that simple for Wake. In front of running back Clark Gaines' locker, Gaines, who had rushed for 132 yards for Wake in the game, and another player were~ in the middle of a conversation that went something like this: Gaines: "Well, I know I want to win." Other player; "So do I." Gaines: "Well, that makes two of us." Other player: "Yea but we need 50 guys who want to win." While everything that comes out of the Wake team officially is that the players are keeping their spirits up, it is only natural that they have to be frustrated after losing so much in the past three years. "When you're losing it's hard to keep your spirits up," Gaines said. "But somehow the guys on this team manage to get up for every game." But Gaines, who transferred from Lees-McRae, where his teams were nationally-ranked as a junior college, admitted that losing has been rough. "I've never played on a loser before," he said. "It's depressing." Wake piles u USC d BY STEVE PARKER Sports Editor Even though it was an unin spiring victory over perhaps the worst team in collegiate football, Carolina's Gamecocks gave Coach Paul Dietzel a victory in his last game ever at Williams-Brice Stadium. Only 27,677 fans showed up for the 34-21 win over Wake Forest, losers of 12 straight and winless in their last 20 outings. In addition to the game marking Dietzel's last game, it was also the final home appearance of 12 seniors. Although the 21 points Wake scored was the highest total they've accumulated against any single opponent this year, and compared favorably with their previous season scoring total of 37 points, the game's outcome was never really in doubt. Carolina jumped to an 18-0 first half lead, blending a strong first half rushing attack, which gained 220 yards, with some strong spot passing. But the Deacon's defense kept the Gamecocks from forging too commanding a lead, and, with a break on the second half kickoff, Wake scored and later managed two more touchdowns against Win was I in Dietzel Despite giving up 21 points to Wake Forest's woeful team, the highest total allowed the Deacons in 31 games, Carolina's players were just happy to win their last home game of the 1974 season and the final appearance of Coach Paul Dietzel in Williams-Brice Stadium. "He went out on a good note," linebacker Bill Cregar, a senior, said of Dietzel's last home ap pearance. "We just went out there to play football and win. "We never go out to run the score up on any opponent," Cregar added, explaining the narrow margin of victory over the Deacons, 34-21. Most of Carolina's players seemed to agree that winning was the important thing, no matter how unimpressive the performance seemed. Coach Paul Dietzel explained one of the reason's USC didn't appear particularly awesome. "These last two games were very difficult to prepare for. Frankly, we didn't try to force our preparation and get sky high. We just concentrated on trying to win, and were pleased that we won both games." The victories send Carolina into the Clemson game this weekend at Death Valley with a 4-6 record. Most of Carolina's players felt as if Wake Forest was a better team than its 0-10 mark would indicate, but Mike Farrell, at least, thought Carolina was capable of con trolling the game a little more. "We played conservatively," Farrell, the starting senior wide receiver, said after the game. 'They couldn't have won the game. But Wake Forest was ready points imps D4 Carolina's defensive reserves to keep the score respectable. Although USC's ground game banged for 344 yards during the game, two of Carolina's four touch downs weie scored on passes from quarterback Jeff Grantz, who was perhaps the only regular to play the entire game. Grantz appeared to shake off the lingering effects of leg injuries sustained weeks ago, completing eight of 16 passes for 134 yards and the two scores, while rushing for an additional 23 yards himself. "Grantz looked like Grantz again," Dietzel said after the game, referring to his quarterback whose year-long performance has been slightly below that of last season's sophomore showing. "He's gradually getting well and I thought he did a fine job," Dietzel continued. "Hodgin worked all week at both halfback and quar terback, but we didn't have to use him at quarterback. He did his usual superb job running the football." Hodgin, who had 89 yards in the first half and for awhile appeared to have a chance to break Steve Wadiak's season rushing mark, gained just 15 yards in the second half to finish with 104. That total gives him 814 yards on the ground this season, well .mportant finale to play tonight. They smelled a victory but it wasn't in the cards tonight." The victory was also the im portant thing to senior guard Jerry Witherspoon. "You're going to remember this game," Wither spoon said referring to the seniors who were playing in their last home game. "It being Coach's last game, it was big for everyone." "Coach considered himself as a black hat tonight. The players wanted to win for themselves and Coach Dietzel." Defensive back C.A. Wilson, also a senior, wished Carolina had limited the Deacons to a lower point total, but also concurred that a victory was all that mattered to him. The Carolina players seem to feel as if they've turned the season around, winning four of five games since dropping the first five, but any satisfaction to be gained from this season will be from the Clemson game. "It's the most Important thing in my life," Farrell said of getting a victory over the Tigers.--PARKER Ticket system4. The new distribution met outlined in the last issue of 'I accepted by the Student Sf University's official proced The proposed method is Senate and will not come bef at least next week. The proposed method, wi opposition in the Senate, c~ served system of distrit segregation of tim e by st 3,cons short of Wadiaks' 996 yards total, with just the Clemson game remaining. USC scored the first two times it had the ball, on a 27-yard field goal by Steve Young and a three-yard pass from Grantz to Steve Black PAUL DIETZEL ...last home victory. mon, to hold a 20-0 first quarter lead. USC stretched that lead to 18-0, scoring on one of three second quarter possessions. Hodgin scored on a one-yard burst after a short drive in which Kevin Long excelled. Andy LeHe%p scored on a quarterback plunge on the conversion for two points. But, while Carolina's defense shut out Wake the six times it had the ball in the first half, a mistake by Carolina's LeHeup on the second half kickoff got the Deacons on the scoreboard and ended Carolina's chances of being the sixth team to blank Wake this season. LeHeup fumbled the ball on Carolina's trick handoff play on the kickoff, and Wake required six plays to move the 19 yards for the score. Clark Gaines, who was the leading rusher with 132 yards, scored a one-yard run. After USC built a 34-8 lead, Wake scored touchdowns on two con JEFF GRANTZ ...the Grantz of old. secutive possessions for the first time this season, one on a long drive and one on a 67-yard pass. Both were against USC reserves. Still, the touchdowns enabled Wake to break the 20-point barrier for the first time since the opening game of the 1972 season, a 26-20 win over Davidson. Of course, however uninspiring USC was in Dietzel's home finale, the Gamecocks have a chance to hand their Coach one of his greatest victories by defeating arch-rival Clemson in his final game as USC mentor. still the same hod for basketball tickets he Gamecock has yet to be nate and so is not yet the ure. still in committee of the ore the body for a vote until iich has already met some Ills for a first-come, first 'ution, doing away with dent mD numbers