Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

Gamecock Sports Schedule ■ Men’s basketball vs. Vanderbilt, Wednesday, 7:30 p.m. ^ ■ Women’s basketball at Vanderbilt, Thursday, 8 p.m. ^ ■ Men’s basketball vs. Auburn, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. j ■ Women’s swimming at Arkansas/Kentucky, Saturday, 11 a.m. ■ Indoor track in SEC Quad at Kentucky, Saturday use OSU «Hnt downs 18 16 “Rush offense 51-218 33-85 |Ptes yards 175 173 ICca^Att-Sat 9-19-1 16-28-2 ‘Turnovers 12 1‘RmeofPoss. 33:33 26:27 iSacb-Yafds 4-23 1-9 |P6baltiM-Yards 7-50 9-65 t individual Statistics RUSHING: USC-Brewer 19-109, Pinnock 11*33, Smith 7-33, Petty 7-23, Alexander 5-11, Scott 1 *7, Spikes 1-2 OS0-Wells 14-52, Combs 8-25, ftambo 1-7, Bellisari 10-1 PASSING: use-Petty 9-19-175-1 OSU~ Bellisari 14-25-157-2, Krenzel 2-3-16 Sean Rayford The Gamecock Sophomore running back Ryan Brewer scored three touchdowns In the Gamecocks’ 24-7 win In the Outback Bowl. He was chosen as the game’s Most Valuable Player and set Outback Bowl records for Individual points scored (18) and touchdowns. Brewer was Mr. Football In Ohio and wasn't recruited by the team he ran over, Ohio State. Brewer shines in Tampa Bay by Brock Vergakis The Gamecock TAMPA - USC’s superstar in the Out back Bowl probably shouldn’t have even come to South Carolina to play football. Ryan Brewer had grown up in Ohio and wanted to play for Ohio State — badly. But Ohio State didn’t seem to want him. Sure, he was Mr. Football in Ohio, but Ohio State’s head coach, John Cooper, just seemed to think he was a little too small and they never offered him a scholarship. At the same time Brewer was searching for a school to play at, USC had recently named Lou Holtz its head football coach. South Carolina sud denly became another option for Mr. Football. “I had just arrived at South Car olina, and I received a message that Ohio’s Mr. Football wanted to play here, so I called him,” Holtz said of Brewer. “I told him we want you to visit and we’re going to recruit you hard. He said, 'I’m committing my self,’ and I went, 'Whoa, maybe I should look at some film.’” Holtz looked at that film and saw something in Brewer that apparently Cooper didn’t. “There are a lot of talented ath letes who play football,” Holtz said. “But Ryan Brewer is a good football player. He’s old-fashioned. He’s a good student. He’s respected by his team mates. He plays on all of our special teams. He’s not a guy who runs to the sidelines. He’s a north-south guy.” In Carolina’s 24-7 victory over the Buckeyes, Cooper saw exactly what he missed and Holtz didn’t. After the game, Cooper made a point to find Brewer and congratulate him on his performance. ‘•[Cooper] said, ‘We all make mis takes.’ It was the longest conversation we’ve ever had,” Brewer said. Ohio State’s loss turned out to be USC’s gait), and Brewer’s teammates know it. “They could have used him,” se nior wide receiver Jermale Kelly said. “But they chose not to choose him, and I’m glad we got him.” The entire football team knew how special this game was to Brewer and how much he wanted to perform well in this game. Andrew Pinnock said Brewer wanted a piece of Ohio State even before the bowl match-ups were announced. “I’ve always wanted to play against Ohio State. Once I knew we were play ing them, I couldn’t sleep or anything,” Brewer said. But before the game started Holtz saw the nervous anticipation Brewer' had and tried to calm him down. “I had no trouble getting up for the game,” Brewer said. “Maybe I was too pumped up. Coach Holtz found a way to calm me down. I dropped a ball in warm-ups, and he came over and talked to me. He said ‘Don’t play this game against Ohio State for yourself. Play it for the team.’” And by playing for the team. Brew er certainly achieved a level of satis faction for himself. “This game meant a little more to me,” he said. “I grew up an Ohio State fan, so this was a big deal for me. It was something special to go out on the field before the game and see those Buckeyes over there. I felt I had some thing to prove to myself pridewise.” And prove it he did. Not only to himself, but to everyone who was watching. As the game winded down, chants of “Brewer” roared across the stadium. What most people didn't no tice, however, is that the first wave of “Brewer” chants was started by fans in the Ohio Slate section showing their respect for the one who got away. “I said all along I needed to prove something to myself today, and I think 1 did it,” Brewer said. “It’s been a dream game for me, and it was a dream outcome. I don’t think I even believe what’s happened yet.” The sports desk can be reached at gamecocksportB@hotmaU.com TravhLKraft (left) Is hugged by teammate Greg Taylor moments after sinking the game-winning 3-polnt er agplnst the fifth-ranked Florida Gators. Kraft, a sophomore who has seen limited action because of Nury, only played 19.6 seconds In the game In which he was a pivotal player. While You Were Away... Kraft’s buzzer-beating shot tops No. 5 Florida 69-68 ■ After losing six straight, USC finally beats Clemson, see B3 by Kyle Almond The Gamecock Travis Kraft only played 19.6 sec onds in South Carolina’s SEC open er against Florida, and he only took one shot — but that was all he needed to become a hero. Kraft’s long-range 3-pointer at the buzzer Sunday night (Jan. 7) stunned the visiting Gators 69-68 and gave the Gamecocks a huge upset win against the fifth-ranked team in the nation. The Gamecocks (9-3, 1-0 SEC) looked to be all but out of the game with less than five minutes remain ing, as the Gators (10-2,0-1) were up by 10 with 4:49 remaining in the game. However, USC fought back in the waning minutes and put itself in a position to win with 2.5 seconds left. Down by two points, Kraft in bounded the ball to forward Calvin Clemmons. Clemmons immediately passed the ball back to a wide-open Kraft, who calmly swished the game winner from about 25 feet and sent the Carolina Coliseum into hyste ria. “I was looking for the shot right away,” said Kraft, a sophomore whose playing time has been limited because of afoot injury. “Before the game and at halftime, Coach (Eddie Fogler) personally said, ‘Travis, be ready. may need you.’” Fogler’s words proved to be true. Kraft’s game-winner spoiled a sol id night for Florida’s Matt Bonner, who led the Gators with 18 points and 15 rebounds. “We just lost on a shot at the buzzer,” Bonner said. “We just did n’t make the plays we needed to make. We made too many mistakes.” The Gators were playing the fi nal minutes without some of their best players. Forward Brent Wright sat out the game because of injury, point guard Teddy Dupay had fouled out and cen ter Udonis Haslem was on the bench in foul trouble. Bonner’s big night alone wasn’t V Florida see page b3