Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Cockj By TONY SANTORI Staff Writer The Gamecock football team goes for their fifth victory in a row on Saturday as they travel tc Gainesville, Fla., to take on the University of Florida Gators. It will be no small task if USC is to keep their bowl hopes alive because the Gators are currently ranked 11th in the nation and possess one of the country's top offenses. Florida's "Fun-and-Gun" offense is the brainchild of Head Coach Steve Spurrier (who incidentally won the Heisman trophy while he was a quarterback at U F in 1966). and is averaging close to 400 yards per game. The aerial attack is led by twotime SEC "Player of the Year' Shane Matthews. The senior quarterback is closing in on the all-time SEC yardage record and has thrown for 2,142 yards on 183 completions this year with 15 touchdowns. Matthews is attempting to become only the second in Kicfrvf\r fn n;in "D1 ni yiayui in inoivjij iu YYii. i ia;w v? the Year" three times; the firsi player was Herschel Walker. | I fH s H mm W\ ? -\'t m #** I il l < **v : *& ,# jA*j% I lt?. y r f . h *** . r,v, - >*> * *8 . ;s:|! Jf _ -->>??. .,;: :/' lllli:;:: Sophomore forward Chris F Carolina on Sunday in first r< n rk rk /\ -m -4- rv rk" OUttCl ICit By NANCY SALOMONSKY Sports Editor When the USC soccer tean began practicing in August, thej had one goal in mind: to earn ; spot in the NCAA Division ] Soccer Tournament. "It is a great thrill for our tean to be back in the NCA/ Tournament," Head Coach Marl Berson said. "I am proud for th< players and staff. The guys hav< worked real hard all season." The first opposition for th< Gamecocks in the tournament i: Coastal Carolina. "Coastal is a strong and fas team," Assistant Coach Douj Allison said. "This is their firs time in the NCAA's. We ar< going to have to be on the top o our game to beat them." USC vs. Florida Notre Dame vs. Penn Stat Georgia vs. Auburn Clemson vs. Maryland Georgia Tech vs. Wake Fo Kansas City vs. Washingtc Minnesota vs. Houston San Fransico vs. New Orle ?look The Gator ground game is m ly a one-man gang as Junior Ei j (no typo) Rhett is the only Flo; , runningback averaging more t , 25 yards per contest. The 6-fi . 211 pounder has 672 yards on season (84 yards per game) on carries and has accumulated 2,< , yards for his career. Florida's defense has been < pect at times this year and is alii ( ing almost 325 yards per gai The squad is anchored by sei inside linebacker Carlton Mi [ who has led the team in tackles , year and this season thus far. The Gamecocks are in considi tion for a minor bowl bid she ! Sparky Woods' team pull two ir upsets. "Do-or-die" time starts Saturday. Freshman quarterback St Taneyhill is still the talk of Sc . Carolina and will be nationally . well when he is featured I ESPN's "Gameday" on Satur i morning. Taneyhill did struggle last w I vs. Louisiana Tech, however, <5< pleting just 7 out of 20 attem . and will need to bounce bad uol. is to oe victorious againsi ir aklaris should help lead the C ound NCAA Tournament actior m prepares Carolina will be playing wi out the help of senior co-capt; ~ Ruben Tufino because of pre vie j yellow card violations. Tufino, a midfielder from Santa Cri L Bolivia, is the Gamecocks' seco leading scorer with six goals 1 the season and 18 career goals. v Other than the loss of Tufii VchnillH b-oorvi ? UIW VJOIAIVVV/VXVO JllUUlU uvv ivvvp . the same lineup. I "We got into the playoffs ph ing our style of soccer we ha * developed and improved, so c j lineup and style should remain I same, very intense and similar t the Clemson game," Berson saic , The Gamecocks must win I J Coastal game on Sunday in on , to progress in the tournament, f "It all comes down to a S minute season for us," Bers said. "The loser packs their ba use e Notn Geoi Mary rest Geoi in Wasl Minri sans New Spo ing to s ost- Gators. "The Thrill" is currently 48 r~ rict for 99 this year, for 736 yards and | rida 5 touchdowns passing, han Last week, the Gamecock | oot, defense stepped forward to play | the their best game of the year. The 173 "D" wa? hpnHpH hv thp harlrfiplrt I , 643 specifically cornerback Frank Adams. >us~ Adams, a 5-foot-8, 175-pound I junior, nabbed "Honorable me< Mention" for SEC Player of the nor p les Week based on his six tackle-one jas| interception-one kickoff return for p a touchdown performance. || era_ This week, the spotlight once I again shines on the defensive back tore f?r the Gamecocks are sure W on to see many flying "pigskins" against the Gators. eve USC and Florida will be meeting ? )uth for the 13th time on Saturday, but i as it will be the first contest since on 1964. Florida leads in the all-time day series with 6 wins, 3 losses and 3 ties against the Gamecocks. eek Kickoff is scheduled for 12:40 om" p.m. at Florida Field. _ Pts' The game will be televised as ^ the SEC Game of the Week, USC's ? third such game this season. - =n j B. A< ? ^ ? ? . ; Ial WI cc r ? L \?/ Pete Rogers/The Gamecock ^ iamecocks to victory over Coastal Ql l. Jy i for Coastal * er th- We have no focus in the of ain Tournament except for Coastal >us Carolina." a? , a The NCAA Tournament pairs ci iz, the best teams in the nation D >nd against one another. Division 1 pr on NCAA soccer contains 194 teams, m and only 28 teams advance into w 10, the NCAA Tournament. C? ng "When our guys step onto the di field they are proud to represent cf *y- The University of South Carolina, ive students and faculty," Berson said. D ^ir USC plays Sunday at 1 p.m. e Because of NCAA regulations, y j there is a S4 charge with a student "The home field advantage is a huge plus for us," Berson said. "I i )0- hope we have the support of as on many students and fans as possigs. ble." u, ..... . Hi ; til ti 24-20 " 3 Dame 37-17 ^ -gia 31-13 ir land 14-13 ^ gia Tech 28-20 bi b hington 13-10 ai esota 20-13 J hi Orleans 20-17 rts tOD G he Gamecock defense is looking 1 Vewton im y ROB RODUSKY ssistant Sports Editor F USC's men's basketball coach * eve Newton was hoping for big * ings this upcoming season. Little ^ d he know these big things would c : coming from the school's com- 11 iance officer. USC's NCAA Compliance a fficer David Didion said he is j oking into possible NCAA rules * olations by Newton. The investiition is revolving around USC ^ cruit Cortez Barnes. Barnes, who is not enrolled at a SC, is believed to have been liv- 1 g at The Roost and receiving F orkout gear from school represen- ll dves. Both of these actions, if true, s ould constitute major d/iolations, a cording to Didion. Such penalties ?uld include probation, ineligibili- c for championship events, exclu- F on from television games and cruiting restrictions. 1 rhank you TIM THORSENL Thank you, thank you, thank ] )u. To all of you who donated )ur hard earned wages, I would ] ce you to be the first to know that f ir hard work has paid off, literal- i r As of today, Alonzo Mourning ^ is agreed to terms with the \ harlotte Hornets. This officially t ids the nastiest separation this side 2 ' Woody and Mia. Now that the Hornets have g ;reed with Mourning and his pen- g 1-necked geek, I mean agent, p avid Falk, there remains one tiny s oblem. Charlotte doesn't have the t oney. That's right, Charlotte s rote a check their bank couldn't \ ish. One can only hope Alonzo \ ibbles as well as the Hornets' r leeks. And now for a new Fool catego- i , the Fool Stat of the Week. This | Canes new nun COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW The mighty Washington Huskies / ave fallen and now the Miami hurricanes are sitting alone atop le college football world. These next three weeks will sete the question of who will be their iggest challenge for the national tie. This weekend sees Miami playtg a highly mediocre Temple :am. It's probably not the type of ame that strikes the fear of God ito the 'Canes. The last hurdle in leir title defense is Syracuse, a ;am that can score with anybody at has a suspect defense. Miami, barring a great upset, will e choosing between the Cotton id Sugar Bowls. Gut instinct says le Texas A&M Aggies will play ost to them in the Cotton Bowl. ? ator st mLI?J $*> W% H WSm to elevate its performance for eleve estigation < Barnes, a 6-foot-7-inch, 205- s lound forward, who played at I lutchinson Junior College in Cansas this past year, signed with S JSC but was not accepted academi- ti ally because of a 'D' earned on his o ranscript in a math course. Barnes' overall grade point aver- f ige met the NCAA qualifications to r ransfer to Division I school, but c TSP wnnlri nnt arrpnf fhp 'TV Didion made a preliminary report u in his investigation to USC Is 'resident John Palms this past week t< ind hopes to wrap up his investiga- p ion today. The full report will be ti (resented to Palms and forwarded d o the SEC and the NCAA. Newton, in his second season, J aid he could not comment on the o negations. t: "I understand there is some con- b ern, some investigation, into that lossibility." d Asked if he be coaching the team e he rest of the season, Newton c for your g< jMKaL weeks Fool Stat of I #^ 9 the Week comes r P mil from Wednesday r l^gi night's NBA game \ ""1 Houston Rockets and the Atlanta b lawks. i The Rockets pounded the Hawks c [01-82, but the Fool Stat came b rom Hawks' forward Jon Koncak. \ n three minutes, Koncak garnered c 10 points, no assists and, you t ;uessed it, no rebounds. In addition, le made no field goals or free b hrows, as you know by his big I :ero in uie punus cuiumn. l String those numbers together c ind you get Koncak's salary, 1 >3,000,000. He becomes the first Y >erson ever to statistically shoot his a ;alary. He almost didn't accomplish 1 he feat, not because he almost i ;cored or did anything any human a vith a pulse could do, but because I le almost didn't play that third Jninute. s Way to go, Roulston, oops, s Concak. I I Fool condolences go out to iber one, but cai L Alabama, the sec- c ond-ranked team in a IbflfWA the nation, has two e miougn games leu l against Mississippi v ?' State and the SEC title game opponent, a \uburn won't be a big challenge 1 or the Tide, but look for, at least I )ne close game, which would drop 1 Mabama out of the number two s ;pot. This scenario would leave t vlichigan and Texas A&M unde- f eated. With Michigan going to the t *ose Bowl, A&M and Miami will \ )e playing for the top spot on Jan. r I- a I As earlier stated, Alabama a 3lays Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss. The Bulldogs s ooked like world-beaters when c hey defeated Florida earlier this 2 reason. On the other hand, they t ooked poor against the 3amecocks. I Defense will be the key for both L iquads. Alabama has the best v I treak Stephanie Newlin/The Gamecocks ;nth ranked Florida Gators. continues aid, "I'm the coach at the Jniversity of South Carolina." Junior Emmett Hall told The itate that Barnes had spent more ime living at The Roost than at his >wn apartment. "Right now, I'm just trying to ocus on basketball and having a eally good season, maintaining lasses and everything," he said. Junior forward Jamie Watson is pbeat about Newton. "Coach Jewton has assured us that he's on op of everything. He just tells us to iractice hard, play hard, play ogether and try to get some things lone before we open." Newton and assistant coach ames Holland remained optimistic m how the allegations will affect he early signing period which tegan Wednesday. TT~II i TTon?? -? : a.: nouanu, s recruiting coorlinator, said he hoped to sign sevral prospects during the early peri?d. enerosity >atriots coach Dick MacPherson. *o, not because he has the unfortutate job of trying to coach the vorst football team since the Renaissance, that being the Patsies. No, he gets condolences because le is in the hospital with a serious ntestinal disorder. Of course, what :an you expect from someone who lad to stand on the sidelines every veek and watch Patriot games up :lose. Geez, the guy is lucky just to >e alive. In related matters, the sidelines lave been roped off for this weeks ^tsies/Colts game. MacPherson's loctors, and law enforcement offi:ers, fear that anyone on the sideines is in serious danger. All local lospitals will be on special alert, md there will be dozens of ambuances at the stadium. Fans are also irged to stay away, like they won't tnyway. And how about the whole AFC. ^s far as their Super Bowl repreentative is concerned, it's a craphoot. I Well, take out the shoot. i they hold it? lefensive unit in college football tnd Mississippi State is no slouch :ither. Alabama has more talent on >ffense than Mississippi State, vhich could be the deciding factor. If Tide specialist David Palmer is ible to break loose, it could be a ong day for the Bulldogs. I Auburn plays host to Georgia, fhis is the first game for Georgia ince they were beaten by Florida. Runningback Garrison Hearst, he best player in the country in my lumble opinion, needs a big game o re-establish himself as a -leisman candidate. Auburn has the linth-rated defense in the country igainst the run, so there's no guarintee he will have his way. If Hearst is contained, the pres;ure would be placed on the shoullers of Georgia quarterback Eric ^ier, the top-rated quarterback in he SEC. For Georgia to win the SEC eastern Division, they need to win he rest of its SEC games. Bulldogs vill roll on.