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Roller cos By TRACY MIXSON Staff writer MEMPHIS, Tenn. ? USC's footba felt it spent its 1988 season in an amus* than on a football field, as the Game* roller coaster ride of wins and losses postseason bowl defeat. What started out as a ride on the Tuni 6-0 start and Top 10 ranking ended up House of Horrors as USC finished 8-4 w ? i:?? xi_ . r ?i r? i uiumiia in me Lioeriy t$owi. The Gamecocks seemed to jump abo< in the second half of the season, tuu Tech before rising above North Carolir Florida State and then topping Navy arch-rival Clemson to end the regular s Meanwhile, back at the Roundhous* USC off* By JOHN MILLS III Staff writer MEMPHIS, Tenn. ? Since game five of the 1988 football season when the Gamecocks took on Appalachian State in the Homecoming contest, the offensive performance of head coach Joe Morrison's team has been sluggishly slack. The fiflmernrlrc' Incc tr> the In. diana Hoosiers in the Liberty Bowl was the result of continuing poor offensive performances and the team's inability to play a complete game at 100 percent. "We just didn't play as a whole team. We might have had nine or 10 guys out there giving 100 percent. We didn't have 11 all of the time. And you can't win when you do that," USC freshman wide receiver Robert Brooks said. That wasn't the first time Brooks spoke about a lackluster Gamecock team. He also did so after the Gamecocks hit the road for their first away game in Blacksburg, Va. to play the Virginia Tech Hokies. Because of five interceptions from USC quarterback Todd Ellis, the Fryer named Aa Mark Fryer, a junior offensive tackle on the USC football team, has been named to the first team Academic All-America squad for the second year in a row. .. ': ' lpr isatfcrefcyear starter for the Gamecocks and holds a U grade point average as an accounting major J4 Sororit M lb receive inf ?ff Coccited in t Cozver CeveCj u T 2(T Goo< I Should B in C ^Tatern^V Monday, Jan. McBryde Qu For more information, ister Gam office personnel w accusations that fc 11 team may have ed with steroids a iment park rather With problems bot :ocks ended their had one more chan with yet another Liberty Bowl wou second-best season nel of Love with a But the Game a trip through the 20-degree temperai nth a 34-10 loss to phis, allowing a d( back to the kiddie Indiana put the ird a Ferris Wheel grabbing a 14-0 lea lbling to Georgia The Hoosiers took la State; losing to yards for the ga before falling to tailback Antho eason. touchdown. i, USC's football Indiana cornerb mse unpr team relied on kicker Collin Mackie, who booted five field goals, enabling the Gamecocks to squeak by the Hoakies 26-24. In the bowl contest Dec. 28, Ellis tossed three interceptions. Most of the time, Ellis said, the defense simply overpowered the Gamecocks, causing the interceptions. "I didn't force any ball tonight. I threw one bad ball (for an interception)," ElliStSaid. His Liberty Bowl performance set asiae, tins naa lo interceptions and just nine touchdown passes in the 1988 regular "season. In terms of touchdown passes, that's his worst season ever. Therefore, it was up to the Gamecock defense and special teams to score the points when the opponents shut down the offensive team. The only Gamecock points in the 34-10 bowl defeat* were scored by defensive end Mike Tolbert, who returned a blocked Hoosier punt 34 yards for a touchdown, and Mackie, who kicked the extra point and a 43-yard field goal. After the game, the Gamecocks, identic AU-Ameri in the USC College of Business Administration. Fryer also has received the USC team Academic Award for the past two seasons and also fp recipient oftfce George Terry Attitude Award at this past year's team banquet* \ t*..: "Mark Fryer is a tremendous re you interested it y Life at nrmatinn. tjCposp. <ri - r '4 ice of Qr he Campus Sictivii >est wing of the $(1 or caCC 777-5780. C d Reasons W ecome More ampus Activil i phi alpha I BPTattauomeg/ sthetapi i chi psi 1 ?f?ia upsilon 1 A ALPHa 1 i kappa sigma j 9 - Thursday, Jan. ad. & Russell Hous< please contact the Office of Gr ecocks lost ere riding a vicious merry-go-round of 1 irmer players and coaches were involv- < nd other illegal drugs while at USC. t :h on the field and off, the Gamecocks 1 ce to grab the brass ring ? a win at the 1 Id give USC its first bowl victory and l in IlidlUl^. 1 cocks played colder than the low : ture that late December night in Mem- 1 >minating Hoosier squad to send USC ( rides. game out of reach before halftime by < id midway through the second quarter. < ; their first possession of the game 88 1 me's initial score on All-American ny Thompson's 7-yard rushing 1 ack Erick Coleman intercepted a pass * oductive including Morrison, said the Hoosiers were not a better team. They did the same when the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets embarrassed the Gamecocks, 34-0. When Morrison hinted that a better team had beaten the Gamecocks, he was speaking about the Florida State game, in which the Seminoles routed the Gamecocks 59-0. No one may ever know, or admit, the reasons the Gamecocks lost to the Hoosiers, making USC's bowl record 0-8. Perhaps the coaches didn't properly motivate the team. Or maybe the Gamecocks couldn't bear the 30-degree temperatures during the game. Whatever the circumstances, USC | had just 23 rushing yards and 130 passing yards. The Hoosiers rushed | r i or i a c ^c\n ior 10^ anu pa^scu lur jyu. When the 1989 season rolls | around, the Gamecocks must be prepared to play at 100 percent in every game. Making them believe that is the coaches' job. "He (Morrison) has given us every indication that he will be back," Ellis said. can second time representative for the University of South Carolina, both on and off the football field," said USC head football coach Joe Morrison. "He does an outstanding job of balancing his academics and athletics and keeping things in perspective. We're extremely proud of him." i i ( ? '"nl * i i ; * use? \ ( I \ nn-un in tfu> O ? 'ft, L-ies Center issett OConse, hy You Involved ties: I phi delta theta j ' * phi kappa psi ^ ( phi kappa sigma If ( pi kappa alpha ils pi kappa phi ||| < arE^ I < sigma phi epsilon 111 ' tau kappa EPSILON Hf < zeta beta tau j , 12, 8-10 pm J ; Ballrooms ( eek Life at 777-5780. j ?iT j e eighth straig Dy USC quarterback Todd Ellis to set up the Hoosiers' se:ond score, a 10-yard pass from quarterback Dave Schnell :o Cal Miller at 5:54. Another Ellis interception just before the half allowed a Hoosiers field goal to put the Big Ten Conference member ahead, 17-0. The Gamecocks came back in the third quarter, rallying vhen Mike Tolbert recovered a blocked punt and ran 34 /ards for USC's only touchdown of the game. Indiana's Pete Stoyanovich and USC's Collin Mackie traded a pair )f field goals to round out the third quarter. But faster than the Gamecocks could ask "Just what is i Hoosier, anyway?," Indiana increased its lead to 27-1C )n an 88-yard bomb from Schnell to Rob Turner. A thirc Ellis interception set up the game's final score when rhompson added his second touchdown of the night at 1:31. "We were concerned about Anthony Thompson, anc Jchnell had a great night ? he really killed us with the -rn g | ; \JT tvj 4 ? 7 . * : 4 ^ r * ^ Indiana defensive tackle Doug Schlereth sacks USC qi renn. The Hoosiers defeated the Gamecocks, 34-10. I Into each 5 rain mi if s; Time ? However, the ) " UP r 1 s BOOK; f corner of Gr 5 (since we can' t r.'mnn in fnr I 5 ^ open late for the first { two days of classes ;ht bowl game deep pass," USC head coach Joe Morrison said in a I crowded interview room after the oame "We u/ere dica. pointed in our inability to move the football. : "We thought we'd have better coverage and pressure on the quarterback, but you gotta block 'em .before you ; can move 'em," Morrison said. ! Indiana coach Bill Mallory agreed. ; "We knew the key would be at the line of scrimmage," he said. "We did a good job of controlling the line on both sides of the football, and that made the difference." It also made the Gamecocks look as if they had ridden one ride too many. USC and its fans ended the season like one who leaves a long day at the state fair: weary and a little nauseated. But just like the fair-goer, the Gamecock faithful will be eagerly awaiting all the thrills and spills of the annual event next year when it returns like an old friend. to. x ^ s . .1.:,. II; J ^ JT mi "" m g mm twm ^ w w .JjBB i 1^^ & ^ m^fhf S-- ^ f " : ! / * ?&? j " TURNER BOONE/Special to The GameQQck larterback Todd Ellis in the 1988 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, life a little ! j r 11 S usi iaii... 4 Book Again! best place to go J s... ; \c STORE eene and Main v y (f (a t stop the rain, | an umbrella.) | & 799-7188 |