Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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(ISC Has Injuries , Inexpe What' What a difference a year makes. Almost a year ago to the day, theXJamecocks triumphantly returned, home from Ann Arbor, Michigan after one of th< most important victories in the school's football history, a 17 14 upset win over the Wolverines. Carolina had a 3-1 record and was on the way to an 8recoj-d and an appearance in the Gator Bowl. Today, Coacl Tim Pnnlnn'x f ? < tfiiu vai leu s aijuau is uyiug iu icvuvci li uin it in shellacking at the hands of Georgia in Athens that not onh dropped them to 2-2 on the season but showed how inefficien the offense can be. USC has been hit with injuries that have sidelined ant slowed down some of the key personnel that were supposed t< otnn in nn/4 tK,. l?(l k.. T) O * * O _U 4 1 oitjy in anvi vm i y uic mau n:il vjy nugci a, av uu, otiietiency Gettel.etal. "WE'RE PLAYING WITH people right now," Carlen said ' 'That I never thought we'd be playing with." The injury list is long enought to make up almost an entin offensive line: center Mark Austin missed the first thre< games of the year with a fractured elbow and was used out ol aire need against tne Bulldogs ("We don't have a choice, he's got to start against Pitt," Carlen said). Starting offensive lineman Joe Doyle will sit out his seconc straight game Saturday because of back trouble. Tight enc Dewayne Chivers, who will miss the Pitt game, has beer hobbled by an ankle injury since the season opener agains Wake Forest and his effectiveness for the rest of the way is ir doubt. Split end Jerry Aubin hurt his shoulder, and through ? spetiutcuiar recovery win miss oniy iwo games. THE DEPARTURE of second-team guard Tommy Smoake (who left the team) and an injury to senior tackle Chuck nl ?l-i. L? !11 I" t a _ * i? . aiuugnier wiucn win iorce mm 10 miss an 01 tnis weeK's practices have further depleted the offensive line. So much sc that defensive lineman Rusty Russell, who Carolina was hoping to readshirt, is being given a look-see at offensive tackle this week just to have some warm bodies in uniform. And Kenny Gil will back up not only Austin at center, but both guard slots as well. Coach Carlen will be the first one to tell you how much inillrips hnvp "At nno firno " Poplan cairi ' 'T Innlr/U^ ??? v v, ??V VltV V11IIV) VUI1V Aft OUIU, A 1VA/IVUU V/U1 there (Saturday) and we had two players that played las' year against Georgia. We had Horace Smith a flanker .. . and Johnnie Wright who now plays tailback. Th< rest of the players are kids that didn't play last year." Two of the inexperienced players "out there" wen quarterbacks Terry Bishop and Gordan Beckham. "I thought our quarteroacK play (against Georgia) was inconsistent anc going into the year we were worried about it," Carlen said. NEITHER QUARTERBACK has shown a clear edge ovei the other. Beckham has shown more leadership than Bishop and has been the steadiest of the two. Bishop has beer spectacular at times but has shown an inclination to rur whenever pressured, and hasn't noticed ODen receivers or pass patterns or learned when to pitch the ball on the option Beckham will start against Pitt, how long he stays dependf upon his performance^ ^ , WOMEN'S RUGBY 1 I. Bar use??. Clems.. lij^i>ork Si | Served w Sunday 11:30 l pickles o I 9 next to PF5 cameroom; ;| 1^ Opem Union 76 Gas SI I Gr0 <1 ^mr> | I 1 w^couP?n t^ru 10/4/81 | Buy a 9 Pc. I Buy an 18 Pc. j Chicken Box I Chicken Box I t-A aa I / _ ?o >VI lor 90.VV and gel and get 8 Potato Logs 12 Poisio Logs j FREE FREE rience And Mo Offense 's A Coach T u 7 ; Jim Corbett/Asst. Sports Editor f : > The offense has been inconsistent to say the least. "It just seems like a slump," Gil said. "We'll have to break out of 1 it.... When I don't know." 1 The USC defense on the other hand, has been superb 1 throughout the year." (Middle guard Emanuel) Weaver and t (defensive tackle Andrew) Provence both are playing like l All-Americans," Carlen bragged. " You can't believe what they do. " The entire unit, despite the score, played as well as i you could ask of any defense against the Bulldogs. "Our defense is playing better than we've had defense played since I've been here," Carlen commented. "I think we i have an outstanding defense." i BUT NOT MUCH offense. The kicking game has provided ? most of the USC offense in the last two games, particularly i punt returner Troy Thomas. Thomas' 32-yard punt return ; against Duke set up Carolina's first touchdown and his 52yard punt return against Georgia was the only offense the i Gamecocks had. So what's a coach to do? i College football is still a coaches game, and Carlen and his t coaches have an opportunity, no matter how unwanted, to i prove ineir ingenuity ana Drimance in tne lace 01 trying t circumstances. a t DOWN | I rln ^ BLEACHER SEAT j ? Expires I r 1 _ ^ 10-3-81 1 -B-Q I indwich | ith slaw and j.j n warm bun i ?s4 1- s and Ice Cream M ij i12:00 J| 1 IC5 J I ast Food J a Open 24 Mrs.! J j } 1 Located at ! j.-] 201 Assembly St. ? | ! 1 blocks South j H | of Carolina Coliseum i ^ h|,nlT rnni1 1Jt? , x _ J. r* n 1 l A.A. ?1 ' we ve goi a diverse onense now, icemen ims sutieu over and over again. "I can draw you up the best one you ever saw. "BUT PLAYS DON'T win games, players win games. I keep telling people that.'' # This fact cannot be disputed. But college football is an emotional game as much as anything else. If Carlen has any kind of "Win On For The Gipper" speeches or an in?:??1 : i? ? u:n tu ajju utiuiicu uiutnuu muucu up uia ?iccvc,uuw isurc umc iu show them. Many Gamecock fans were more than a little annoyed whpn Pitf sPAmincflv ran nn thp srnrp in thpir 37-Q rnmn nupr USC in last year's Gator Bowl. And Coach Carlen and head coach Jackie Shrrill of Pitt are not the best of friends, so the game may turn out to be interesting in many ways. This game may not rank on the level of Clemson or Georgia in terms of "Who I'd rather beat more thaw r.yone else," but ? then again, this isn't just another Pacific game. CAROLINA IS STARTING a string of four games Saturday that will see them travel to Kentucky and North Carolina, and host Virginia in between. USC could very well have a 3-5 record when N.C. State visits town for Homecoming on October 31. It seems like now is the time to pull out all the _a l i.i ii i : i ./f ii i ir stops auu ujRe uie u icKS uowii on me sneii. "I'm not sure we can be as wide open as we'd like to be with this many injuries and this many limited players," Carlen stated flatly. "We're scrambling on offense. It will be gradual? we won't just jump right out of this offensive problem." 0 Injuries inp*npripn<?p nnH rin nffpncp hnvo nlndnoH tho 4 ? 1 "-'v K.W6UV? ~"Gamecocks so far this year. A sell-out partisan crowd ("Young players play a lot better at home than they do on the road," according to Carlen), the excitement of being on television and a superb defense are all factors in Carolina's favor going into Saturday's game. But it seems everthing else is against Carolina. If there was ever a time to pull a game out of the hat, to-win-one-youweren't-supposed-to, this is it. Otherwise, this could turn out to be a very mediocre season. Tune in Saturday and find out. ^e/ar^ .. I 0 c//s?/suy 1 atstA& I of ()aro////iiy I I 9 t 1 (- \ ??re{/rj/7?& buffet ^fa/an/cu/, 6)c&>6es<3 Noon-2:30 p.m. @a/l777I /or- reseroutwrifr J ?77^ 1 /yo /. 1 9 of variHirtzis I T?MH I