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USC Schedule ■ Women’s basketball vs. UNC Charlotte, 5 p.m. ■ Men’s basketball vs. Wofford, 7:30 p.m. ■ Rugby vs. Clemson, 7 p.m., RE. Field W\t (5i* Page 11 by Todd Money Sports Editor Everyone knows about the natural stakes associated with South Carolina vs. Clemson, but tliis year, the stakes are perhaps a bit high er on both sides. A Clemson win means six wins, a likely bowl bid and plenty of off season admiration for first-year Tiger coach Tommy Bowden. On the other hand, a Carolina win means an escape from a winless season and an end to NCAA football’s longest active losing streak of 20 games. Ever hear older Gamecock fans say, “I don’t care if we win just one game all season, as long as that game is Clemson”? This might be the chance to see if they were right. Quarterbacks Clemson’s Woodrow Dantzler is a tal ented runner and passer. He’s the Tigers’ sec ond-leading rusher (70.4 yards a game) and will get the start over the injured Brandon Streeter. He’s got an arm, too — in eight games, he’s completed 17 passes of 20 yards or more and has made big strides as a sopho more, even though he doesn’t see the field well enough to be truly feared as a passer. He’s the biggest reason the 1999 Tigers are a fun team to watch. For USC, Phil Petty will make his sec ond start after coming back from an injury to his medial cruciate ligament that sidelined him for live games. Fun to watch? How about one touchdown pass in 114 attempts this sea son? He did have what was probably his ca reer game last week vs. Florida, but that game was the first time all year Petty’s looked sharp. Advantage: Clemson. Running Backs Though not as prolific as in past years, Clemson’s running game is still a threat, with tailback Travis Zachery rushing for 80.2 yards a game. Beyond him, though, Clemson has little. Carolina’s Derek Whtson should be back r***~ — ' I' —' — ' in action after missing his first career game against Florida because of an ankle injury. He’s probably the Gamecocks’ best back, and USC will need a big game from either him or one of its other young horses, freshmen Ryan Brewer and Andrew Pinnock and sophomore Antione Nesmith, to have a chance. Advantage: USC Wide Receivers Pass-happy Clemson will miss receiver Brian Wofford, who suffered a sprained knee against Georgia Tech last weekend and isn’t expected to return. The Tigers are talented in this spot, though, and Rod Gardner (67 catches) and Mai Lawyer (33) should be able to pick up the slack. Because of the team’s quarterback strug gles, USC hasn’t made much use of a talent ed group of receivers that includes Jermale Kelly, who leads the Gamecocks with 23 catches. Kerry Hood and Ben Fleming are Petty’s deep threats. Advantage: Clemson. Offensive Line There’s a reason Clemson’s offense av erages more than 400 yards a game. The Tiger line is a little young, but it has gotten better as the season has worn on. Center Kyle Young is one of the team’s better players. This is South Carolina’s most inconsis tent and inexperienced position. Two fresh men and three sophomores dot a unit that has gone through six different lineups this season and given up 37 sacks, far too many for Game cock quarterbacks to thrive. Advantage: Clemson. Defensive Line Clemson has an experienced D-line that has been inconsistent at times. Last week, GeoigiaTech ran over the Tigers for 215 yards rushing, but don’t expect that to happen again. The Gamecocks’ front four has surprised several big-name opponents this season with its speed and resiliency. Although sacks haven’t i come easy, the line has kept USC in several games, including Florida last week. Advantage: USC Linebackers Tiger sophomore Keith Adams (149 tack les, 29 for a loss) is one of 15 semifinalists for the Football News National Defensive Player of the Year award. He’s joined by Al troy Bodrick and Chad Carson, who’s fourth in the ACC in tackles (118). USC counts on NFL prospects Corey Atkins and John Abraham for the big hits. Atkins leads the team with 95 tackles, and Abraham and sophomore Kenneth Harney are solid. Advantage: Even. Secondary For Clemson, free safety Robert Carswell and comerbackAlex Ardley lead agroup that’s picked off 19 opponents’ passes. They do give up the big play, though, as evidenced by their 206 yards passing allowed per game. Carolina’s secondary has impressed all season but still has the tendency to give up a big play at the worst time (See: Tennessee, Arkansas). Comerback Arturo Freeman and strong safety Ray Green are reliable, but the others in this unit still have a long way to go. Advantage: Clemson. Special Teams Clemson’s Tony Lazzara has been steady, making six of nine field-goal attempts, in cluding two of three from 40-plus yards. But Ryan Romano gets just 36.4 yards on punts, and the loss of Brian Wofford on kickoff re turns could hurt. The Gamecocks don’t have a reliable placekicker — not even close. On the other hand, Courtney Leavitt has been mostly sol id as a punter, with a 40.4-yard average, and Ryan Brewer has the potential to break a long one on a punt or kickoff return. Advantage: USC As Tigers seek a bowl, Gamecocks seek REDEMPTION, season's first win __ 0 " ... ... „*M ' ^-£_ : - - • 'v'T Sean Rayford photo editor use coach Lou Hottz watches his team from the sidelines. Holtz and the Gamecocks go into the Clemson game Saturday in need of a win to end the team’s winless season. THE CLEMSON VIEW_ Louis Garmendia is sports editor of The Tiger, the student newspa per at C.lemson. He can be reached at: sports®tiger.clem son.edu. Football only part of Tigers' dominance It's late November, and with it comes a familiar face in football. The South Carolina Gamecocks are in the midst of the nation's longest losing streak and are more than two-touchdown underdogs for Saturday's game. Yet, many Clem son fans are a little nervous. I am even more puzzled by the Game cock fans who think they have a decent shot at winning. Coming off one of the team's best performances of the year (a 17-point loss at home against Florida), it is hoped by USC and feared by Tiger fans that this will be the game the boys front Columbia finally put it together. Wfell fear not. Tiger fans. Both our players and coaches have said the politically correct tilings this week. Brad Scott has denied all interview re quests. Rich Rodriguez says USC's de fense ranks up with those of Virginia Tech and Florida State as the best the Tigers have faced tliis year. Players will speak of the respect they have for their in-state ri vals and “tlirow out the record books.” But there's no doubt in my mind that the Tigers fully expect to win. They might be a bit nervous because a bowl bid is on the line and Carolina is winless, but that will all go away at the kickoff. I don't have to play in the game, so I am afforded the luxury of being cocky (no pun intended) heading into the con test. There is no way USC can beat us. None. And here are five reasons why you should believe so, too. Two Years Ago: Clentson entered the game needing a win to secure a bowl bid. USC jumped out to a 14-0 lead and looked like it was aoout 10 neaa mio nauurne wun azi-u lead. But Chad Speck's fumble recovery of a botched reverse gave the Tigers the ball. Clemson scored a touchdown on the next possession on its way to 44 unan swered points. Touchdowns on a punt re turn by Tony Home and an interception return by Antwan Edwards put the nail in the coffin. With 11 minutes left in the game, the alternating chant of “Clemson” on one side of the stadium and “Tigers” on the other could be heard echoing throughout the state capital. Even if the Gamecocks jump out to an early lead, expect more of the same this Saturday. Two Years That’s how long Clemson lias truly dominated USC in team sports. After go ing 15-1 against USC in the 1997-98 and 1998-99 academic years, Clemson is off to a 3-0 start this year thanks to wins from both soccer teams and the volleyball team that avenged the only blemish. If you've missed the matchups earli er this year, don't worry. There are still plenty of games left to catch a Clemson victory over USC. After the men's soc cer team (five-game winning streak), women's soccer (three-game winning streak) and volleyball teams are through winning, football (victories in eight of the last 11 games) is just a small portion. Next up are men's basketball (five game winning streak) and Jim Davis' women's squad (four-game winning streak). For dessert, we'll be serving a delicious slice of Clemson baseball, which has won three straight and 12 of the last 14. And these victories aren't just exhi bition games either. The aforementioned The ^'"'entury’s Last ■<B Larolina-Llemson bathe victory two years ago put the football team in the Peach Bowl. One of the men's soc cer wins came in the NCAA tournament. Anyone who saw the baseball game at home last year wit _ j _ r\* i_ •_•_ ucaacu a .7m 111111115 that seemingly turned the whole season around. There was also the men’s bas ketball victory two years ago, a game that saw the sixth-ranked team in the country go down to a Terrell McIntyre-less Tiger squad. I know this is pretty repetitive and I might be boring some of you, so HI move on. The Schedule Both teams have played tough schedules, and the ‘Cocks look like they've really bounced back from that tough 14-7 loss to Open Date. But no matter how good their defense might have been this year, it can't be as good as Virginia Tech's and probably isn't as good as Florida State's. They haven't seen our offense yet, either. Comparisons might be made to Florida's, but the difference between our backup quarterback and the Gators' is that Wfoody Dantzler didn't see his first action of the year last week. Coaching Lou this, Lou that. As far as I'm con cerned, you can take that Lou, turn it side ways and, uh, nevermind. The bottom line is no matter how great Lou Holtz might be, almost the entire Clemson of fensive staff has been together for three years gnd will find a way to win. And when Tommy Bowden said on Tuesday that one of the effects of rivalry games like this one is job security, you know we are go ing to win. The Chicken Curse ‘Nuff said. Ah, Clemson! The only school (term used very loosely here) I know requir ing all freshmen to complete “Dippin’ | and Chewin’101” before they can ad vance 10 sopnomore siaius. There’s an old joke going around again. Clemson fans the world over (which con sists of the Pendleton-Liberty-Seneca, S.C, area, according to them), are asking, “Why are Gamecocks such good spellere? Because you can’t spell suck without U-S-C.” How does one group of inbred idiots get to be so damn hinny? Unless you’ve been sleeping with a sedated elephant for a week (or a normal Clemson coed, just take your pick), you obviously know it’s once again time for the annual USC Clemson football game. People are al ready giving the game to the Tiggers of clempson, but come on folks, how can you honestly give a victory to a team that can’t even pronounce its own name correctly? It’s Clemson, okay? Not ClemPson. There’s no damn “p” anywhere in the word. The only “p” word I can think of when it comes to Clemson is “pig,” de fined by Webster’s as “a joyful alternative to a Tiger cheerleader.” The Gamecocks, although they have had a less-than-great season, are fully pre pared to come into our own Williams Brice Stadium and de-stripe the Tigers, who could go to a bowl game if they win. Never mind the fact that they’d probably play Tennessee, the defending national champions, and Clemson has lost the last three consecutive bowl games it’s played, two of which were to Southeastern Con ference schools. See what happens when you play in the All Crap Conference? The Carolina view Clemson football truly on different level — a lower one Clemson has managed to post a 5-5 record this season by playing such peren nial football powerhouses as Duke (3-7), North Carolina (2-8), Maryland (5-5), Wake Forest (5-5) and Vuginia (6-4). No tice that when they played real teams like Marshall, Vuginia Tech and Florida State, they received a smackdown similar to a Clemson sorority girl high on CU’s most famous product, roofies. For some odd reason, Clemson’s strength of schedule was rated No. 1 in the nation. (In a related story, its acade mic program was ranked 1,374th, just be hind Bubba’s Tractor Tire College for Dyslexic Nuns.) Anytime somebody men tions No. 1 around Clemson, of course, fans immediately launch into Rick Mies’ “Superffeak,” which was the hit song when Clemson won its national title in 1981. (Note: QUIT LIVING IN THE PAST.) Clemson is such a bad school it could n’t even come up with an original cam pus. The campus, nickname, first football coach and fight song are all stolen from Auburn University, which at least has a tradition of a shining academic institution. Clemson, meanwhile, has the tradition of the Midnight Cow Pie Run, taking place just before the first sugar beet har vest of the new year. Auburn Part Two, except for the sewage dump known commonly as Lake Hartwell, has long had a reputation as an athletics only, cow-town university that basically functions to provide jobs to the redneck mountain community of the outlying area. I should know. My own brother attend ed Clempson, managing to finally leave with his “You Shore Got A Purty Mouth” degree in only seven-and-a-half years. Columbia is preparing itself for an in vasion this year bystocking up on all prod ucts orange, including toilet brushes and Street with dirt so liger tans can either hold a monster-truck rally or a tractor cade, whichever they want. I’m going to have to make some pre dictions for this game: No. 1. Linebackers John Abraham and Corey Atkins will blitz Clemson QB Woodrow Dantzler on the first play and shove his facemask down his throat. After duct-taping him to the 50-yard line, tackle Melvin Paige will use him for a post-game snack. No. 2. The ghost of Joe Morrison (God rest his soul) and Danny Ford will duke it out at halftime to settle an old score. Of course, Joe will be armed with his Black Magic, while Danny will have his ever-present wad of tobacco. No. 3. Clemson kicker Matt “Wide Left” Padgett will once again suit up to avenge his boneheaded missed field goal in 19%. This time, he’ll miss it wide right and hit Bobby Robinson right as he’s finished donating money to a favorite char ity: the Referees of America. No. 4. The Pickens County Correc tions Department will provide the transportation for the Tigers before and after the game to cut down on expenses. No. 5. Tommy Bowden will get a swill boot to the skull from Lou Holtz, just like he did from his father. All Clemson fans who are coming this weekend better be prepared for a butt kicking, because Holtz has manifested his magical powers, endowing them with the spirits of great Tiger-killers like Mike Hold, Steve Taneyhill, Brad Edwards, Duce Staley and Sterling Sharpe, just to name a few. Carolina see page 12 - shoehorns, and paving Assembly David Cloninger is assistant sports editor of The Gamecock and once told former Clemson football coach Danny Ford to "suck it.”