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USC faces seci By Gary Byers USC's football team, which has battled Notre Qame University to the finish only to lose in two previous meetings, gets a third chance tomorrow night in a sellout contest at Williams-Brice Stadium. "They (Notre Dame) have a fine football team despite their 2-2 record," USC head football coach Joe Morrison said. "Remember, a lot of people thought they might be national champions this year." The Gamecocks nearly scored an upset over the Irish in 1979 I USC-Notre Season record: Place: Williams-Bric USC: 3-2 (72,400 capacity) 7 Notre Dame: 2-2 Expected Attendar AMIMA AMM aSX u?im i?r iiji USC quarterback Allen Mitchell gets tackled while trying to score in Sa tomorrow's sold out game against Notre Dame at Williams-Brice Stac Defeats Mercer College Soccer team ga By Jeff Rogers USC's soccer team picked up momentum for Sunday's away game against second-ranked Clemson University Wednesday after a three-week winless spell. Freshman forward Aaron Blakeney scored three goals and goane \jien i nompson recorded a snutout as use: blanked Mercer College 5-0 at the Graveyard. Carolina hadn't won since Sept. 14, when the Gamecocks beat the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. "THE WIN gives us a little momentum going into the Clemson match," USC head soccer coach Mark Berson said. "It was important for us to score some goals and get a shutout." Team captain Roger Norman put the Gamecocks on the board 3:09 into the game, scoring off an assist from freshman Ben Niles. With 24:36 remaining in the first half. Norman set ud Blakeney's first goal when he made a pass to freshman Tony McCall. McCall then assisted Blakeney for the Gamecocks' second goal. In the second half, Blakeney scored the next two goals for USC. The first came off a cross by freshman Jim Somefield 3:30 into the second half. i SOMEFIELD, WHO Berson was planning to red-shirt this ? season, is playing with the team because of numerous injuries J to USC forwards. Somefield sprained his ankle late in the contest, and is listed as possible for the Clemson game. & Blakeney's next goal came with 29:55 remaining, when ht & maneuvered down the right sideline and scored into the left ? side of the net. ?' "Aaron had a good performance," Berson said. "He also played well defensively. We had good performances all over r the field. Glen Thompson had a good game in goal, and Bill f Hency and Roger Norman also played well." I IJSC's fifth goal came with 15:06 remaining after Niles stole ) the ball in front of Mercer's goal and scored. WITH THE win, Berson said he believes the team showed improvement over their play in this past Sunday's 2-1 loss to North Carolina State. "We put together two good halves," Berson said. "We saw improvement against N.C. State, but it was like we were taking two steps forward and one step back." USC's next home match will be Oct. 16 against the UNC at Wilmington. The Tigers own a 6-0 record against the Gamecocks. Game time Sunday is 2 p.m. ! 'triritlljiilijltiiiiiiuiiiiliiA 1*1 ond consecutive at South Bend, Ind,, but Notre Dame staged a comeback in the last minute of the game with a touchdown and a two-point conversion to edge the Gamecocks 18-17. THE ONLY other meeting between the two teams was in 1976 in Columbia, with Notre Dame winning 13-6. With the offensive and defensive quickness USC showed in last week's 38-14 win over Southern Cal, Notre Dame head coach Gerry Faust said he expects another close game with the Gamecocks tomorrow. Dame facts e Stadium Series record: p.m. 2-0 (Notre Dame leads) ice: 72,400 (sellout) Mm* fey Jm JtokMN turday's 38-14 win over Southern Cal. Mitchell will start in lium. 5-0 " m uns momentum to ill all '^cocm M0 i - - *#*"*" v.jr ^^a^msgSBKSKgass^mm^ ^ i> ^T >':V F V ' '> PH "^^bsMIbIB.-;:.';:y.;- .'^H'^v'.^.*.- .' mm .-.^'v * i/: . Hp~\ ^j ? v- / m , "* V V '^MHpf:<' > - J| j -jnHH8H^H^B9SBBHBr<& sK^BBBSsBBs^UiSBa^^^mi-f' BF m 1 Ht' R|ppf - 9 fM jy national power "They've got tremendous quickness both offensively and defensively, and that scares me more than anything," Faust said. "We've got to play with intensity early, because they'll DC Oil lO ine raccs n nicy tan stuic can/ uii us. "We've just got to play as well as we're capable and hop^ ^ South Carolina can't pull it off two weeks in a row." NOTRE DAME, 2-2, comes into Columbia fresh off of a 27-3 win over Colorado. The Irish beat Purdue 52-6 in its opener, but lost two consecutive games to Michigan State (23-28) and Miami of Florida (0-20). "We turned the ball over against Miami and gave up the third down play to them," Faust said. "We didn't give up the big play against Colorado and didn't have turnovers." In four games, Notre Dame has given up an average of 98.7 yards per game on the ground, the 16th best average among National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A teams. The Irish rank 24th in total defense (293.7 yards per game)./^ Offensively, Notre Darne ranks 10th in rushing (264.5 yards*" J per game) and sixth in total offense (449.2 yards per game). USC ranks 39th in rushing with 187 yards per game, and is not ranked in the NCAA top 50 in either passing or total offense. DESPITE THE statistical rankings, the play of USC's offensive line has improved, according to the Gamecock coaching staff. Center Tom Garner was named offensive player of the game against Southern Cal, while junior guard Jim Walsh took the honor after the Georgia game. Since Faust was named head coach of the Notre Dame pro gram three years ago, the Irish have compiled a 6-7-1 road record. Playing in the South has also <*<ven the Irish trouble in recent years, coming from Mississippi (a 20-13 Ole Miss win in^ 1977), Tennessee (a 40-18 Vol win in '79), Georgia Tech (a 3-3^; i tie in '80) and Miami (two Hurricane wins in '81 and '83). ' THE GAMECOCKS head into tomorrow's game with relatively few injuries. Senior tight end Dominique Blasingame and linebacker James Seawright are both listed as questionable because of ankle injuries. USC linebacker Mike Durrah said Notre Dame will be ready for the game. "I think that Notre Dame will be more prepared to play us because they know we have a pretty good team now. Southern Cal might have taken us a little lightly," he said. The sellout crowd should prove beneficial, Durrah said. "IT'S ALWAYS more enjoyable to hear the crowd getting^ into the game. They really help us," he said. ^ r Clemson game SBKM1' Photo by Win McNemte