University of South Carolina Libraries
-sports FSU runs By Johnny Boons- ] It s hard for?a team to win a football game I when it has trouble executing routine plays, j Carolina had trouble with punts, passes ? and receptions, and Florida State turned [ those mistakes into points as the 12th- . ranked Seminoles devastated USC 56-26 at . Williams-Brice Stadium Saturday after- ? r>AAn "I've never been a part of anything like that," USC Head Football Coach Richard Bell said. "I'm disappointed and embarrassed, and our players are embarrassed. We can give better effort than we did today." THE SEMINOLES' EXPLOSIVE offensive unit rolled up 536 total yards, 437 from the aerial attack. USC had 290 total yards. FSU ran 72 plays during the game, com- < pared to USC's 90, but the Seminoles ; averaged 7.4 yards per play, while the Gamecocks averaged 3.2. The Seminoles turned three interceptions into touchdowns, a fumble into a score and recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for another touchdown. "We had trouble executing," Bell said. "Dropped balls. I don't know how many were dropped today. Interceptions. Our kicking game went sour. "THAT'S ONE OF the great disappoint- I ments," he said. "We felt at this phase, the j Irinlrintf damc wc nno nf mip ofmntt nninfo MVUUI0 QMII1V f? U VJIIV VA Via OM V1?0 pVAAlUJ, j But we bobbled kickoffs, had mix-ups, got i one punt partially blocked and had a total j , breakdown in our blocking on the punt that ! was blocked. "I don' think it was (USC punter) Chris Norman's fault," he said. "Against Furman, we timed him at getting the ball off at 2.4 seconds, but today he was kicking at 1.98 i seconds. It shouldn't be getting blocked 1 when you're getting the ball off between 1.9 < and 2.1 seconds," Bell said. Trailing 21-7 early in the second quarter, the Gamecocks got back into the game when Mark Fleetwood kicked a 25-yard field goal, hio lAth in 1R ottomnto fVitc troop Uq oof o 1UUJ I.1U1 AAA AU UVWUipMI V?IIU J V4A1 AAV OVV U Florida State's Greg Allen turns upfield as US four times as the 12th-ranked Seminoles dowm FSU's reserve ri one of country's By Jeff Rogers Last Saturday, USC's fighting Gamecocks were done in by Florida State's Greg Allen in FSU's 56-26 victory at Williams-Brice Stadium. Allen, a sophomore tailback who play? behind senior Ricky Williams, accounted for 45 of FSU's 99 rushing yards. He also scored four touchdowns. This season, Allen has scored 15 touchdowns rushing and has caught one touchdown pass. His 96 total points put him amnncr the nation's ton scorers It also earned him praise from USC head coach Richard Bell and FSU's Bobby Bowden. "Both Allen and Williams are fine running backs. They're both equally capable of doing the job," Bell said. "Allen's got the stuff," Bowden said. "Power, quickness...he's got it all." Bowden said that Allen is primarily used 0* when FSU gets inside the opponents' 30-yard roughshod rr^^Ml^w ^^Bi^^WwyTiTrniTW' Wf'-:'::-y -.Vv^^^OR & MHHHT *X^H K $j?9 PHBfc>g x^MBHBMM FSU running back Greg Allen is hit by a USC i iB-26 scalping by the Seminoles. lew record for field goals in a season for a ISC kicker, breaking the old record (13 out f 18) set in 1976 by Britt Parrish. After holding FSU after the ensuing rickoff, Earl Johnson blocked a punt by irian Harlow, the ball falling out the end :one for a safety to cut the deficit to nine vith 4:18 left. .IrKLj.jhrJr rnoio oy Laura WUund C's Pat Bowen pursues. Allen scored it the Gamecocks 56*26. inning back top scorers line, because of his size and strength. Allen is 5-11 and weights 200 pounds, while Williams is 5-11 and weights 171 pounds. Allen said he is satisfied with his presen (\AciHnn nn fko Cominnla cmmrl vii na. uviuiiiviii; ov|u?u. "We're both well-rested," Allen said speaking of himself and Williams. "I think that we're more effective as a result." Allen, who has averaged 15 carries a game this season, expressed a desire to get more attempts at gaining yards instead of points. "I think any running back would like to carry the ball 25 or 30 times in a game," he said. "I'm looking forward to getting that many carries. I think I'd gain more yards." Allen also attributed his successful season to the offensive line. ... * * "We have a lot of freshmen who are playing on the offensive line this year," Allen said. "They've come together really well, and now they're playing like veterans." over USC ffcoto by Cipm Hammond lafander in Saturday aftarnoon'a HOWEVER, EMORY BACON had trouble fielding FSU's free kick, and instead of hav ing good field position, Carolina had the ball at its own 15. Three plays later, USC punted and the Seminoles drove 48 yards, the last six coming from Greg Allen for his third of four touchdowns. That gave FSU a 28-12 lead at the half, but Loss embarrasses By Johnny Boggs Fans were leaving the Williams-Brice stadium midway through the third quarter Saturday as Florida State was still rolling, nr./] kt. fU.x 1? 11 aim uy uiic cnu ui uic gdiue Uiliy a SII1U11 portion of the original 62,821 spectators remained in stadium. The game left USC players and fans at a loss for words. The Seminoles had blitzed USC 56-26, giving the Gamecocks their most humiliating defeat in years, and their second 30-point loss in two weeks. "We just went out and didn't play well and they did," USC defensive tackle Andrew Provence said. USC had four turnovers, all leading to FSU scores. "It was certainly no lack of effort on our part," Gamecock quarterback Gordon Beckham said. "I'm really speechless. I Heads up! An unidentified USC soccer pleyer heeds tht Tom Norton scored twice, end David Burr and lead Carolina to a 4-2 win. ? ameiiijiihiiiwiiiii iiiiiiii ui w mil '?i'iwiiiiimii?iebgg3baw<uii.kw I, 56-26 Bell said he went to the locker room thinking ii rv 1__ 1.1 ! ine uamecocKs coma win. "I thought we had a good chance to win," he said. "We were down 28-12, but turnovers had killed us and enabled them to get good field position and score. "We made a few defensive adjustments we thought might be of help to us, but the second half was a nightmare," he said. EARLY IN THE third period, Norman had a punt partially blocked, and a few plays later Seminole quarterback Kelly Lowrey passed to Weegie Thompson for a touchdown. The Gamecocks could do nothing on their next possession, but this time Norman's i Li l 1 l_ iir ?r. a puiu was muciuM uy warren naima ana recovered in the end zone for a Seminole touchdown. Within one minute and 39 seconds, FSU had scored two times and was ahead 41-12. FSU continued its surge, adding scores by Allen on a 12-yard run and Dennis McKinnon on an 83-yard pass from reserve quarterback Blair Williams to put FSU up 56-12 early in the fourth quarter. Carolina managed a mild comeback in the last five minutes of the game. Glenn LeGrande recovered a blocked punt in the end zone, and reserve quarterback Bill Bradshaw hit Ira Hillary for the two-point conversion. Later, Hillary caught a six-yard scoring strike to end the scoring. 4iT iruniTr*nm uin ? ~ 1 1 _ lliil ? _ A. A lnuuum TTEi atuvagtnj tt illUt: uil SI the end," Bell said. "We can't live on past mistakes, and we can't live on this ball game." The Gamecocks, who have no chance for a winning season, scored every possible way: a run and PAT, a field goal, a safety, a defensive score and two-point conversion, and a pass. USC plays Navy Saturday at WilliamsBrice Stadium for its final home game of the year. "I look forward to playing Navy, but we have a few questions that need to be answered. But I live by the statement 'success is just one step beyond failure,' " Bell said. "We just didn't take that step today." coaches, players really don't know how to put my finger on why we are playing the way we are." "This was a great disappointment, a great frustration," USC Head Football Coach Richard Bell said. "I've never been a part of a score like this one. I can't see many nncitivo thinrtc oKnuf fn/lan " pvwlVI ? V VKlll^D CAKSV/lAV VWlCXjr The loss ends any chance of Carolina having a winning season. At best, it can have a 5-6 record, but must beat Navy (a 2018 winner over Syracuse) and Clemson (a 16-13 victor over North Carolina). FSU Head Coach Bobby Bowden gave USC credit for scoring two touchdowns during the last five minutes of the game. "They're a football team that never quits," Bowden said. "I think once Richard Bell is here for a tew vpar? vnn'ii cw> o J J ? totally different team. "South Carolina is a good team when they're consistent," he said. '' ' ^^ofo 3 ball in Sunday's Georgia Tech game. I Dave Goodchild added one goal each to