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USC looks to bounce back i against old rival N.C. State By STEVE JOHNSON Staff Writer After a stunning 38-35 loss to The Citadel, which Coach Sparky Woods called "absolutely, certainly my most depressing loss as a coach," the Gamecocks (4-2) travel to Raleigh, North Carolina to take on the N.C. State Wolfpack (44). The rivalry between N.C. State and USC is the fourth oldest for State, dating back to 1900. In addition, the game will be of special interest to several key actors in the matchup. State Coach Dick Sheridan attended j tt/ i .i t ,? j _A_ 1 j 1 j i ior ooin nis grauuaie anu unuergrauuaic ucgiccs, uuui in pnyMuii education. Sheridan was the offensive coordinator at Furman University under then head coach of Furman and now executive director of the Gamecock Club, Art Baker. Sheridan also coached against Woods when Woods was j the head coach at Appalachian State and Sheridan was the head coach at i Furman. Sheridan was the top candidate for new head coach at USC after the death of Coach Joe Morrison. The Wolfjpack is 2-2 against USC since Sheridan came on as head coach at N.C. State in 1986. The Wolfpack defense is ranked seventh in the nation in total defense and 11th in passing defense, while allowing an average of only 14.1 points per game. The most imposing force in the Wolfpack defense is strong safety Jesse Campbell. At 6-feet-3-inches and 208 pounds, Campbell is referred to by Woods as a "physical, contact hitter (that) does everything well." Campbell record includes 54 tackles and one sack. He has broken up five passes and forced three fumbles this season. Campbell is currently the fourth rated safety in the nation and is sure to go early in the NFL draft following his graduation. Also featured in a stingy pass defense are senior cornerback Joe Johnson and free safety Snake Vinson. Vinson is the leading tackier for the 'Pack with 79 tacldes in '90 and has also broken up six passes and made one interception. Johnson is the best cover man for the 'Pack, having broken up a team-leading 13 passes and has also made 45 tackles and forced one fumble. Johnson is currently the 11th rated cornerback in the nation. Shoring up a solid pass rush for State are right tackle Mike Jones and outside linebacker Tyler Lawrence. The combined "sack attack" of Jones and Lawrence have accounted for 12 sacks, 66 tackles and two interceptions. Offensively, the 'Pack features two extremely versatile weapons in their arsenal, runningbacks Aubrey Shaw and freshman sensation Ledel George. Playing at tailback, Shaw is not only the leading rusher for the facie witn ?z carnes ior jiu yaras ana six toucnuowns, dui ne is aiso the leading receiver for State with 23 catches for 193 yards. George leads a return team ranked 23rd in the nation in punt returns, as well as playing running back, receiver and returning kicks. George has accounted for 809 total yards and scored one touchdown. Leading the way for the Gamecocks is quarterback Bobby Fuller, who reacted to The Citadel loss by saying, "We're really trying to put it behind us as much as possible." Seemingly unnoticed amidst the dissappointing loss to The Citadel was a career best game for Fuller (16 of 23 for 287 yards and two touchdowns), which raised his quarterback rating to 10th in the nation. Fuller has now thrown 89 passes for 1,255 yards and eight touchdowns. Despite allowing The Citadel offense to score 38 points, the USC defense is still ranked aipong the nation's best. They dropped to 10th in the nation in total defense and eighth in the nation in passing defense. Leading tackier linebacker Patrick Hinton will be called upon to carry an extra load this week due to a neck injury linebacker Joe Reaves sustained in Tuesday's practice. Reaves led the USC defense with 13 tackles in last Saturday's game and is the third leading tackier for USC this season. Freshman Mike Landry will replace Reaves at the linebacker position. Free safety Leon Harris and comerback Antonio Walker have wreaked havoc on opposing receivers all season long. Harris and Walker have combined for 88 tackles, two interceptions, broken up three passes and forced three fumbles. A sellout crowd of 47,000 is expected for Saturday's game between USC and N.C. State. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh. Nobody reads Gamecock ads! But you just did. Advertise in The Gamecock and get results! Call 777-4249 for details. Unibed Way f 1 of the Midlands | // 1 ........... 1 Cosh, if;.! j 1 I i ti > 1 spoc I "2 fl ! 11 I Bil nn ?- // \ | 53 \ I I | ?i|j J5 1 I O' |j, ! je \ I p I glj , :/ vl M J 0 /,r^^chcx)se ?? 3J ASlfe ^ 2 ? i^gjit t 2 2101 Main St. (Comer 771-7886 Open 8:3 (JSC offensive tackle Ike Harri The Gamecocks travel to Raleigh Gamecock fo< The Gamecock football team's loss to The Citadel Saturday gave USC a 4-2 record with five regular season games remaining. Losses to Georgia Tech and The Citadel have dampened much of the fan enthusiasm that existed when USC was 3-0 and ranked in the AP Top 25. What follows here is a "report card" and my fearless predictions for the remainder of this season. Quarterback: Bobby Fuller has done a great job leading the Gamecock offense. The fourth quarter comeback against Virginia Tech was his Finest hour (or should I say 15 minutes) as a Gamecock. Wright Mitchell has been impressive in a relief role. Grade: B+ Running backs: With due respect to Mike Dingle, freshman Rob DeBoer is the story here. The hard-running Omaha, Neb. native goes all out on every carry and breaks more tackles than any USC back since George Rogers. He should have played more at Georgia Tech. Dingle has been solid, but not spectacular. Albert Haynes is worth mentioning. Grade: B+ Receivers: Robert Brooks' injury and Carl Piatt's dismissal hurt the group's depth. Eddie Miller, David Pitchko, and Charles Steward have all had fine moments, though Pitchko's effort was wasted against The Citadel. Grade: B Offensive line: Inconsistant play keeps this group from reaching their potential. Pass protection ic cnr?rartir anrt run blocking onlv " ? o J slightly better. They really got whipped at Georgia Tech. DeBoer gets most of his yards on second effort, not by running through huge holes. Just a little improvement could make a big difference. Grade: C Defensive line: They had an A+ before Tne Citadel game, but the grade now drops. They are still a super-talented unit. Corey Miller and Gerald Dixon are both having great seasons. Wilson, Dye, Blacki * ween ime Rentals >k up your Halloween party with a ghoulish costume and makeup from from over 800 costumes ?TT""V of Elmwood & Main) 10-8 pm 'til Halloween , #"> : ; V * s battles an N.C. State defender in I; , N.C. Saturday for a 1 p.m. game wit otball gets midwell, Duke, Simpson, and Brown have all been solid, with flashes of brilliance. But what happened Saturday? Grade: B Linebackers: Patrick Hinton , leads the team in tackles and is enjoying a fine, if unspectacular, year. Joe Reaves comes to play every Saturday, as does Mike Tolbert. Mike Landry leads the team in intAr^pntinnc onH ic o fiitnm All. All 11UV1 vvpuv/llj UUU IJ U A UII41V A 111 American (you heard it here first). Eric Brown has contributed and so has Ernest Dixon. Grade: C+ Secondary: The loss of rover Keith McDonald to injury has hurt. Leon Harris is having a good year. Otherwise, this group's play has been average. Grade: C Special teams: An unbelievable disappointment. Individually, Daren Parker has punted well, though inconsistantly. Collin Mackie has done an about-face since his sparkling freshman year. Both coverage teams have been poor, as has the kickoff return team. The punt return team has been pitiful, at best. Grade: F Coaching: Sparky Woods and his staff looked ingenius after the 3-0 start. Since then they have been slightly outcoached by Georgia Tech and absolutely, thoroughly, and positively outcoached by The Citadel. I am a big fan of Coach Woods and truly believe he is the man to lead our team into the SEC. But I think he would be the first to admit that our entire staff dropped the ball against The Citadel. Grade: C I nnlikp. manv others I have spoken with on campus, am very optimistic about the remainder of the season. The only area that requires a total overhaul is the kicking game. Hopefully Coach Woods has the remedy for our special teams ills. If he indeed does, and our defense puts The Citadel debacle behind them and performs up to their potential, the rest of our season should go something like ?i i FITNESS is FREE I Come Workout will I GRAD TIRED OF IN JOIN OPENIN APPLICATIOI ALL VACANT S THRO* U File photo ist year's loss to the Wolfpack. h N.C. State. term grades rOl??-i Rich Taylor - Pep Talk this: USC scores late to edge the N.C. State Wolfpack 14-12 in Raleigh. Robert Brooks returns to the lineup in time to catch the winning touchdown pass from Bobby Fuller. N.C. State placekicker Damon Hartman misses a field goal as time expires to give USC the victory. A sellout crowd of over 75,000 and a national television audience watches USC kick Bobby Bowden's Florida State Seminoles in Columbia. Rob DeBoer's third touchdown, from eight yards out, clinches the 35-28 victory. USC over Southern Illinois, 56-7. Enough said. In Death Valley the Game- . cocks, led by Bobby Fuller, erupt for 21 fourth quarter points to post an incredible 31-28 victory over Clemson. Eddie Miller, David Pitchko and Robert Brooks each have over 100 yards receiving, a USC first On Thanksgiving, the Gamecocks squeak past West Virginia 24-21 to run their record to 9-2. After the game, USC accepts a bid to the Gator Bowl to play Michigan. Carolina finally wins a bowl game, as Michigan goes down 28-21. Rob DeBoer rushes for 208 yards and Mike Dingle scores all four touchdowns for the Gamecocks. The win earns USC the No. 4 ranking in the final AP poll. Obviously, all the breaks will have to go Carolina's way for this scenario to unfold. A win at N.C. State is the key to the rest of the season. If we win, anything is possible. If we lose, a 6-5 finish is probably in the making. Stay tuned. I in the Campus Rec i US!! 777-5261 for >UATE STUE : UNEQUAL REPRESE UNIVERSITY POLICIE I STUDENT SENA! GS IN THE FOLK COLLEGES: EDUCATION MEDICAL SCHOOL HEALTH CONTINUING EDUCATION VS AVAILABLE IN ROOM 112 OF Rl 1EATS ARE FILLED BY AN APPOINTS UGH THE OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRL MAKE A DIFFERENCE SO Student Government Associc USC hammers Eagles, 3-0 From Staff Reports USC's Lady Gamecock, volleyball team crushed Winthrop College 3-0 Tuesday night at the Sol Blatt P.E. Center. USC defeated the Lady Eagles 15-9, 15-2 and 15-8. USC was led by redshirt freshman Libby Ralston with eight kills and no errors in 11 attempts to give her a .727 attack percentage for the match. USC's senior co-captains Lora Myers and Tammy Correll also contributed to the victory with 12 kills and 30 assists respectively. me Laay uamecocics improvea to 14-12 on the season while the Lady Eagles dropped to 6-25. USC begins a four game road swing on Thursday with a match against Nicholls State in Thibodaux, La. 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