\ V Defense key By ANDREW BORGERT Staff Writer Clemson and Carolina will be playing Saturday in a game that, although lacking the luster of bowl implications, has the potential to be the closest between the two in recent memory. Clemson is coming off a 53-23 spanking from the hands of Maryland. The Terps rolled up 573 yards of total offense, includ- / ing a Maryland school-record /# 418 yards in the air. I Statistically among the best in \ the nation, Clemson's rushing attack was held to only 120 yards while giving up 155 to Maryland. Their 3-5 ACC record is third worst in the conference. All news from Clemson, however, is not bad news. Kicker Nelson Welch is having an outstanding sophomore season, ranking fourth nationally in field goals per game at two and 13th in points per game at 8.2. Outside linebacker Ashley Sheppard is tied for all time fifth in sacks for a single season at Clemson with 8.5. He is only two away from the record, which is currently . held by William Perry. As a team, ' the Tigers are only two sacks away from breaking the team record held by the 1981 National Championship squad. Parnlinn nlavprl a trmah nam/* v""?* u iv/ugn against the University of Florida. Tlie Gamecocks held a tenuous 30 lead against the Gators at halftime, but two second-half touchdowns gave Florida a 14-9 victory. Considered by many to be the kep to USC's second-half surge, Steve Taneyhill is rated fourth in the conference in passing. Runningbacks Brandon Bennett and Rob DeBoer are rushing for a combined 105 yards per game. Fool's Cle TIM THORSEN Ah, Carolina/Clemson. One team will salvage their season. The other team will be doomed to partake of the smorgasboard of human misery all winter. hor those of you attending the game, I humbly offer to you the first ever Sportin' Fool/Clemson survival guide. After reading this, you will be truly prepared for the annual war. Luckily for the Gamecocks, Clemson's quarterback will be Patrick Sapp. That's SAPP, as in Sorry And Pathetic Passer. This guy makes Wright Mitchell look like Johnny Unitas. In fact, rumor has it that Gamecock head coach Sparky Woods has instituted certain precautions in facing Sapp. For starters, South Carolina will Kliti rvnlw turn nlauorc u ? - UIHL \JlllJ l"? J/1UJVU, miu U1UJ>C two players will be under special instructions not to hit the loser, er, quarterback. Sparky reportedly doesn't want to risk sacking Sapp and injuring him. In addition, all players and coaches will be required to wear helmets on the sidelines and everyone must stand 10 yards away from the sidelines. This is to prevent Carolina injuries from Sapp scuds. You can never be too sure where they are going or where they will land. All you Carolina fans need to take precautions as well. If you in Carolina/Cl< Also, Frank Adams, the only USC leader among SEC statistical categories, is leading the conference in kickoff returns at a gaudy 27.8 yards per return. Defense will be the key to the game for both schools. Since the Mississippi State game, USC has only given up an average of 14.6 points per game. For the season, they have given 22.7 points^per Quick Facts UXi/ I rM nmPArt o ao a I v_,i\_/iiiown nuiu^ a advantage in the series against USC. The last time the Gamecocks won was in 1987 by a score of 20-7. Clemson has won the last four games by an average of 22.5 points. i game. Clemson had been allowing only 14.5 points before the Maryland fiasco. I The Tigers will be using a three-man front on the defensive line while using four linebackers, led by an outstanding pair of outside linebackers in Wayne Simmons and Ashley Simmons. Their secondary is led by Robert O'Neal, who is among the best free safeties in the country. On offense, the Tigers have been plagued by injuries, especially among quarterbacks, where Richard Moncrief, Louis Solomon and Patrick Sapp have all seen playing time. Sapp is listed as the probable starter for Saturday. He : has been erratic at times but it > blessed with tremendous strengtl 1 and a good set of receivers ii i mson Survi someh?w manas to get seats at t he game close to t lie WL field, you will ne red to be especia lly careful. Since t ihe scuds will be in the air, you should take any protect ion you can. Catcher's masks and cl lest pads are recommended. Of cou rse, you could always wear an ora nge Clemson jersey and be assured of not getting hit by a runaway sor d. This goes without mention ing the usual equipment neccessary for a Clemson trip. First and forer dost is one of those blue hospital ma sks. This should be securely affixe A to your face upon entering ( 'ow Country. If not, you run the ris .k of Severe hartPrial infprtirm frr?m tho .vu U.1VVV1VII A* v/lil U1V many contaminants in the air. You should pack two or three e ;xtra masks for gametime because : the closer you get to Munit ;ipal Stadium, the heavier the stink. Penicillin is a must. You 1 never know when you'll be bitten by a rabid Tiger fan. You should also invest i n the newly-released hardback, "Re dneck for Beginners". This will teac h you their language, so you can cc immunicate with the stupid. Rem< ;mber, they can't understand Engli sh, so don't even try. Finally, be sure to pack ; extra bottles of fluids. No matte r what the natives say, never dri nk the water. < And now for the lowdowr i on the < Clemson Republican Gi tard, I mean, defense. These guys ; gave up i 573 yards to Maryland's hi{ ?h pow- ; Sp< i! I ennson game Terry Smith and Larry Ryans. R ii nning duties will fall on the shoul ders of fullback Rudy Harris and f tailback Rodney Blunt. Blunt has rushed for 717 yards in Clen ison's spread-the-wealth rushing attack. Backing up Blunt is forn ler ACC rookie of the year Ron aid Williams. Williams has had leg and disciplinary problems sin <;e his freshman season ended and would like to establish \ some momentum for next seaj son by having a good game. Stopping the run has become a Carolina specialty. Last week, they held Florida ? who has last year's SEC rushing leader, Eric Rhett ? to a season-low 69 yards. Key players for the Gamecocks will be outside linebacker Ernest Dixon and left T? 1- A J tmnci uaLK riaiiK /\uams. Dixon leads the team with four sacks and 10 quarterback pressures. Adams, the spark plug in the Homecoming victory over Louisiana Tech, has four interceptions and eight passes broken up. On offense, Taneyhill, Bennett and DeBoer are all being counted on. but the true test will be on the offensive line, who will face--one of the nation's most * aggressive defensive fronts. Tackle Ernest Dye, center Kenny Farrell and guard Antoine Rivens are all playing the final games of their collegiate career and will have to play their best against the Tigers. A breakdown on the offensive line v/ould be costly in this game. rl'Korn r\ ?*n r\/\ 'Ir. ^ iiiv.iv, an- nu uuwi uius un uic line for this year's game. Despite tlie struggles of both teams during the season, public interest in the game is as intense. Recent Clemson-Carolina games have t>een blowouts with Clemson winrung by an average 22 points. Look for the 1992 edition of this rivalry to be much closer. val Guide ered offense. High-powered, ha! According to published reports, the guard will have recovered from their injuries by Saturday, though. In a string of freak accidents, the entire Clemson Guard suffered whiplash at one point or another in the game. Doctors say it was from the constant snapping of their necks as they watched the speedy Terripins zoom past them. Maryland rolled up 53 points on Clemson. They would have punished them even more, except for a freak Maryland state statute. It seems that the police stopped the game in the third quarter, before the Tigers could be humiliated even worse. There is apparently an ancient law that forbids such carnage in the state of Maryland. There's no telling how ugly mings could nave gotten it Maryland had been allowed to complete their decimation of Clemson. Maryland also racked up about 1000 yards in penalties. It seems that late in the slaughter, on every Terrapin play, the officials whistled them for unsportsmanlike scoring. Thus, Maryland jusl. continually moved up and down, the field, not because Clemson could stop them, but because the refs were trying their hardest to maike the game respectable. 50 mere it is. livery thing you ever wanted to know about Clemson, but were afraid to ask. Hopefully this will aid each and every one of you on your pilgrimage. b " " jrts Exhibition slan llE B _ v> Senior Jamie Watson slams USC tips -VK71 oc c YY1UL1 7J-C BY ROB RODUSKY Assistant Sports Editor The South Carolina Gamecoc opened the 1992-93 campaign \ 95-84 exhibition victory over the team in front of 3,465 fans at the Emmett Hall led the Gamec points. These points came on 1C field and 5 for 6 from the free thi heavily for the Gamecocks wei points and Terry Bynum with 17. were from downtown as he made TT-11 11- J J < t ? nan punea oown 11 ooar< Gamecocks. Bynum grabbed ei McKoy tallied five. USC's first half shooting perce them jump out to a 49-43 halftin held to under 50 percent shooti halves. Free throw shooting for 58.8 percent for the contest. South Carolina's tenacious deft and four blocks for the game, with three steals while Obrad Igi pace the Gamecocks. The second half belonged to th 54.3 percent from the field and percent shooting. Brad Hinson, a junior from 1992-93 squad from an open tr Steve Newton announced Monda the Gamecocks a 12-man roster 1 newcomers and onlv five returnin Hinson, a 6-foot-2-inch, 190-p USC last year after attending I years. While there, Hinson was a ketball team. Men's volleybal Rv NANCY SAI OMONS1TV Sports Editor The USC Men's Volleyball Clu placed third at the Southeaster Conference Club Tournament a the University of Alabama. The volleyball club began prac ticing about a month ago unde the leadership of seniors Robei Flanigan and Scott Churan. Bot] Flanigan and Churan share thi responsibility of coaching the 12 member team. Main outside hitter Flanigai earned first team All-Tournamen ? i! jmLM m' fl ^^ w^ib# f it HP P^HKK. 1 ?t f -i i s home two of his 18 points in a victo off basketb 4 exhibition 1 - ||||| ks men's basketball team Wednesday evening with a St. Petersburg (Fla.) AAU H Frank McGuire Arena. :ocks in scoring with 25 I for 17 shooting from the fl row line. Also contributing iH e Jamie Watson with 18 E Twelve of Bynum's points j [ WM wj four three-pointers. # ght rebounds while Troy ntage of 50 percent helped te lead. St. Petersburg was feSB ng from the field in both the Gamecocks was only JSt la mse accumulated 14 steals Several players were tied ijatovic had two blocks to le Gamecocks as they shot Columbia, has made the ^ yout period, Head Coach y. Hinson's addition gives H which now includes seven g lettermen from last year, ound guard, transferred to JSC-Salkehatchie for two ??1?? member of the men's bas- Enimett Ha Hall led the 11 club takes third ii honors at the SEC tournament. "He is a major force on our b team and an outstanding player," n Churan said. lt Churan, an engineering major, is a strong side hitter and earned All-Tournament Honorable r Mention honors in Alabama, t The team gets its depth from ] h the self-proclaimed "Fab Five e Freshman": Larry Church, Jody ] . Brooks, Brian Lewis, Chris Pagon ; and Chris Roach, jj Two newcomers, sophomore : t Pat Count and junior Sean ! Godwin, have also made a big . I f 4 L7NI ? Photos by Peter Rogers/The Gamecock ry over St. Petersburg AAU. all season i victory 11 hoops it up Wednesday. vjamecocKS witn Z5 points. i SEC tourney contribution to the team. The volleyball club team beat the University of Georgia and Vanderbilt in round robin play. They next played Louisiana State University, who won two of three matches, 12-15, 15-10, 17-15. lou cvciuuaiiy wun ujc luuinament, beating UGA. The Men's Volleyball Club practices Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Anyone interested in playing should get in touch with Robert or Scott at the Office of Campus Activities.