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Friday, November 15,1! Gamecoc South Carolina travels to "The Swamp" to take on the top-ranked Florida Gators. DDV It tu LJi BkJ CTA 51 AaaI Onnrln C/4i4/\r vninn ^vnnaivii nasi, oyuio uvjiivi Pride. To feel pleasure or satisfaction in achievement; self-respect. Revenge. To inflict punishment in return for injury or insult. Florida is known for its pride. As the number one team in the nation, its pride was hurt when it struggled to pull out a 28-21 victory over Vanderbilt, a team ranked last in the SEC East. As a result of their pride being hurt, the Gators now want revenge. They want to run up the score, impress the voters and show everyone they are still the best team in the countiy. Thar first chance to prove that cones Saturday against South Carolina. But don't look for USC to roll over and play dead against the gators. A 7^11 TKOI vwii^yuaii pia DWAYNE MCLEMOWE Asst Sports Edtor The Carolina volleyball team will play its final regular season matches this weekend when it is the host of Tennessee tonight and Kentucky on Sunday. The Lady Gamecocks are 19-7 overall, 8-4 SEC and are looking to win both matches, which will ensure than a secondplace finish in the SEC Eastern Division. The team is tied with Kentucky for second. Carolina head coach Kim Hudson stressed this weekend's bearing on SEC Tournament seeding. "It's very important to win both matches, and that's the bottom line," Hudson said. "We've got to win both in order to finish second in the east, and we could then match with Florida in the finals." Junior Heather Larkin leads the team in hitting percentage with .292, 315 kills and 29 service aces. Freshman Fernanda Laires leads the team with 409 digs. Laires also leads the SEC with 5.43 JOSH PENROD Senior Writer To hear Florida Gator head coach r?i n ! x _ 11_ .1. *x J. oieve opurner ram aDout 11,11 sounds like it was supposed to happen thai way. But in actuality, last weekend, in Nashville, TN, Vanderbilt almost handed Florida their first loss of the year and nearly added to the latest poll shakeup, "The Vanderbilt game was probably good for us. We didn't go up there with enough fear that they could beat us. and we needed a dowivto-the-wire game We need to be tested, and Vanderbilt gave a very good effort which certainly tested us," coach Spurrier said. If the Gators (9-0, 7-0 SEC) dc manage to get an eighth SEC win, they i I ^ - if l>'v w L z_ m hi ? few. m Tf) _ ' Jjj ? m ;ks face 1 "We're looking for South Carolina to come down here and play their hearts out," Florida head coach Steve Spurrier said. Unfortunately for the Gamecocks, the game comes at a time when they are the most banged up. First, it was All-American candidate Duce Staley going down with an ankle. Despite what some people hope and believe, Staley will not play against the Gators. Then, it was junior tailback Scott Moritz going down with a torn shoulder ligament. He is out for the season. So what does that leave for Carolina? It leaves four freshmen in the backfield. True freshmen Boo Williams, Jacob Bush, Troy Hambrick and redshirt. frosh Steve Mixon will handle the rushing duties. "It might be the first time ever here at the school that we've taken on the number one team with all freshmen backs," USC head coach Brad Scott said. ys two crucial digs per game in conference matches Eyor 15-15 WHl ennifer Stanley H Gummi Bear 23-12 hawn Singleton MHI Jabber Jaw 13-12 I Josh Penrod WSt{ YosemiteSam 21-14 flyy Junior Muldrow Droopy 1004-231-7 UM Chris Dixon MR GlJoe 14-11 Jll Adam Snyder ScoobyDoo 12-13 B Nikki Thorpe Betty Boop 0-C) Hllj and 4.39 per game in all matches. The match against the Lady Vols will begin at 7 p.m. tonight. Carolina won at Knoxville on Oct. 13 in three games for its fifth straight win over Tennessee. The Lady Vols are 17-13 (6-6 SEC) and are led by sophomore Kelly Hanlon, who has 453 kills, 299 digs and 33 service aces on the season. Freshman Christine Jestila is second on the team with 407 kills and 256 digs. Carolina dropped to fourth in the most recent District Four poll while Tennessee ranked tenth. Hudson said the team will have to work harder to prepare for the Lady Vols than most would think. "Tennessee will be a tough match," Hudson said. "People overlook them a little bit." Carolina will face Kentucky at 2 p.m. Sunday, which is also Senior Day. The team will honor seniors Lyndy Stevens and Kelly Morrow in their final regular season home match. The Lady Wildcats are 12-15 (8-4 will be the first team in conference history to finish four consecutive seasons 1 with eight wins or more. If the Gators win the USC game, Spurrier will become the first coach in Florida history to win 71 games, eclipsing 1 Ray Graves record of 70 wins. I "South Carolina is a solid team. ^ They have improved a lot since last season, and they will be a big challenge r for us this week," Spurrier said. 1 Coming off a bye week, South ? Carolina has had two weeks to prepare for the nation's best quarterback and the nation's third best offense. Spurrier's squad has four players out for sure, two doubtful, including i offensive tackle Zach Piller, and one probable. |uso Achim Hunt roghorn Leghorn 37-24 Bryan Johnston Wacko Warner 39-21 vaync lvIcLeiiioie|K| Shirt Tale 39-21 | Rob Gioielli Bullwinkle 14-6 [Mfc Martha Hotop spo: tough cha "Certainly, we're going to expect one of them to step up." Lefs not forget they are going against one of the best defenses in the conference. Florida has the third-ranked defense in the conference and the 13th-ranked defense in the nation. They give up an average of 271.2 yards per game, only 102.8 of which are gained rushing the ball. Florida also has the SEC's secondranked pass efficiency defense. They have given up only seven touchdowns while picking off 13 passes. "[Florida] likes to keep a lot of people around the ball. Ifs very difficult to run against and execute a precision passing defense game," Scott said. Florida's offense will keep Carolina's hands full, as well. The Gators have what many believe to be this year's Heisman Trophy winner in quarterback Danny Wuerffel. The senior has thrown for 2,572 yards and 28 touchdowns in only nine games SEC matches SEC) and defeated the Lady Gamecocks 3-1 on Oct. 11 in Lexington. Senior Gina Heustis leads Kentucky with 414 kills and 258 digs going into the weekend. Sophomore Jenny Muzzey leads the conference with 1.47 blocks per game. Hudson said strategies against the Lady Wildcats include more aggressive serving, as well as playing better defense, especially against Heustis. The outside hitter lit up Carolina with 29 kills in this season's first matchup. Kentucky plays at Florida tonight before making the trip to Columbia. The Lady Gators moved to No. 1 in national rankings two weeks ago when former No. 1 Hawaii lost to Stanford. Carolina sophomore Ashley Edlund, who leads the team with 1,077 assists, said this weekend will have implications beyond the SEC Tournament. "We have to win both matches to even make it possible to get in the NCAAs," Edlund said. Carolina will be the host of this year's SEC Tournament, Nov. 22-24. "Certainly we are a banged-up team right now, more so than any of our other teams. Hopefully we will get some of these players back before the end of the season," Spurrier commented. Although he could use those players at this point in the season, it is possible that avan tha miastinnahla nlavars will not be back this week. Instead, Steve Spurrier will have to regroup his calvaiy this week, considering that last Saturday he showed the country that his Gators can bend. Because this week, the South Carolina Gamecocks will be looking for them to break. 'Florida Penn St./Mich. UNC/UV2 I Penn St. I Penn St. I I Michigan I I Penn St. I I Penn St. I Penn St. I Michigan! Penn St. I I Penn St. I Penn St. I Michigan I I Penn St. RTS llenge in 'They deserve their ranking and they're a great football taam Wo portainlu hauo a UfUllla III# |#VI IUIIIIJ IIUII# U tremendous challenge and yet another good opportunity ahead." Brad Scott, USC head football coach this season. His rating of 185.0 is top in the nation, and Wuerffel is considered one of the most prolific passers ever in college football. Wuerffel holds 32 passing records. Two are NCAA records, eight are SEC records and 22 are University of Florida records. Unlike Tennessee's Peyton Manning, who likes to pick opposing defenses apart with short passes, Wuerffel is notorious for his accuracy on the deep-fade route. His favorite targets on this pattern are juniors Reidel Anthony and Ike Hilliard. Spurs, Feathe ACHIM HUNT Sports Editor Whenever people see a golf cart, t nice day out on the links hitting a lit a vast area of space. But if vou see that erolf cart at Wi on a football Saturday, it means y Gamecocks' new mascot. No, we are not talking about an; here, such as Arnold Palmer or Tige The mascots are the two, new live been present at every home game tithe Mississippi State game. They are called Spurs and Feathe most dominant physical traits of the Gamecocks are known for their s their main weapon when gamecock and legal in this state. The gamecocks are also known fo that are both garnet and black in col The gamecocks came from Jimmy who has raised gamecocks and been his life. "I am a third-generation breeder said. "We have gamecocks that are < that my grandfather started. We n birds that we breed on a continuous ACH1M HUNT Sports Editor The chance to rest his players was good for Carolina head coach Brad Scott after the near upset of Tennessee and the challenge that lies ahead in "The Swamp" on Saturday. "This week we had a mneh needed open date. It was a good chance to get ready for our last two ball games. We had a .chance to do some things that we normally don't get to do in preparation for Florida and Clemson. "We had a chance to get our players away from football, and get everybody more healthy. Unfortunately we lost Scott Moritz for the rest of the year in practice. Duce is still not in good shape, and after seeing him last week he is not in a position to play Saturday. And now l Amiy/SyracuseVandy/Kentucky I Army Syracuse 1 Syracuse Army I Army Syracuse Syracuse Army Syracuse Syracuse ^ Army jj Army i Wuerffel Anthony has caught 48 passes for 858 yards and 13 touchdowns while Hilliard has 39 receptions for 756 yards ana nine loucnaowns. Add to the potent aerial mix an overlooked running game and you have l one of the scariest offenses around. Elijah Williams and Fred Taylor rotate at the tailback slot, and either one can do the damage. Williams has 593 yards and four TDs on 91 attempts. Taylor has rushed for 374 yards and two TDs on only 50 carries. "Their running game is a concern for you," Scott said. "We all know of them as being a passing team, but they have some outstanding backs. "You get so concerned aboutstopping " their passing game. If the numbers match up in their favor, they'll run the football." The last time these two teams met was on a bitterly cold night last season when Florida came into Columbia and crushed the Gamecocks 63-7 in a game televised by ESPN. ts provide live Collins also point instinct born into tl hey usually think of a "As far as their f tie, white ball around ?We do try and ke( physical shape, but lliams-Brice Stadium their fighting natui rou have spotted the I'hg gamecocks McGee, and when h y professional golfers he was qujck to sh? r Woods. The idea was E ; gamecocks that have 0f his plans, and we lis year, starting with and made a presei :J._ J l _ _i_. excuea. xnis looxe ;rs, which are the two, football." gamecock. Spurs will be tr sharp spurs that were Gamecock football fighting was popular He will be relea North endzone goal r its beautiful feathers and let out a loud c lor. "Spurs is very ft Collins of Spartanbui-g, "He gets excited b a Gamecock fan all of cheering loudly. H< a big game." of gamecocks," Collins So now, when ) )f the same bloodlines of football games, d< iow have about 50-60 just know that Cars cycle." the next opponent even the Clemson ball game is becoming I a question as well." Scott knows and highly respects the 1 Gators as they have caused a lot of \ problems for his two previous Gamecock \ teams, and earlier on in his career, his j Seminole teams. "We are playing the No. 1 team in nfiaa ?rv Cntn>vlrtir aii?? aaaaViitmt tiic iiauuu uii uaiuiuav cuiu uui ujaiuiiiiig staff expects for one of our freshmen in J the backfield to step up and play a good game. j "Florida is an excellent team, on offense they are near the top of the nation 1 in just about every category. They have a lot of weapons. "Defensively they are one of the leading teams in the country. They have 1 great comers and they run more people One week from to< / * M / 's? In only one week, the 199 Tournament will take place In Robarge (left) and head coach uaay namecocw xo xneir nrex 9 9 , Gators This year's game will be televised nationwide, also. Jefferson Pilot-Sports will carry the game as their SEC game of the Week. Also, ESPN2 will cany the game nationwide outside the nine-state SEC viewing area. Kickoff is at 12:30 p.m. at Florida Field. The only chance U9C has to pull the upset is for the defense to put pressure on Wuerffel, and the offense'to control the ball. The Gamecocks must also play a close-to-perfect game. The bottom line is that Florida is a huge favorite and rightfully so. But Vanderbilt proved last week that the Gators aren't invincible. "They deserve their ranking and , they're a great football team," Scott said."We certainly have a tremendous challenge and yet another good opportunity ahead for us." entertainment ed out that gamecocks have their fighting lem; they are not taught to fight, ighting, that is all genetic," Collins said, jp our gamecocks in the best possible their genetic make up is where they get re." were the idea of Athletics Director Mike e found out that Collins had the chickens, ire his vision with Collins. >r. Mike McGee'sCollins said. "He told ! were real interested. So we came down ntation. He was excited, and we were d like a good thing for South Carolina ained to do his own special trick after a score. sed from his golf cart, fly straight to the post where he will rest atop the crossbar row. iendly, and he likes people," Collins said, efore big plays and when the crowd is j reminds me of a football player before rou see tnose goir carts on tne sidelines j not worry about seeing a famous golfer, ilina's new mascot is ready to intimidate with his tricks in the endzone. to the football than you are able to block." Taient wise Scott has assembled a highly talented offense and defense, but to be like the big boy in Florida he knows that the depth of talent will have to improve. "The thing that stands out about Florida is their depth. Earlier in the season they lost several starters including five on defense and they have not lost a beat. Most of their starters will be back for this game, but like I said, depth is on their side." Finally, Scott knows that his players will be fired up for the game, and he also said that he will have them ready with a game plan that will compete with Florida on Saturday. day... I A ? ?Mi Special to The Gamecock 6 SEC Women's Volleyball Columbia. Sophomore Cindy Kim Hudson look to load tho EC title ever.