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4 GAME SCHEDULE WOMEN'S SOCCER vs. Furman, 7 p.m. Monday CONTACT US WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY Great American Cross Country Festival, Rock Hill, 7 p.m. Friday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? FOOTBALL at Mississippi St., 7:35 p.m. Thursday Write us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com MEN’S SOCCER vs. Wake Forest, 2 p.m. Sunday FIRST ON FIELD USC prepares to take on Mississippi State, the first major collegiate football game since Tuesday’s terrorist attacks BY PRESTON BAINES THE GAMECOCK The No. 18-ranked South Carolina foot ball team heads to Starkville, Miss., for an important showdown with the No. 17 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs. The game also is important on a na tional level. The nationally televised game will be the first major college foot ball game since the tragic events of this past Tuesday. MSU (1-0) has had a long layoff since their last, game against archrival Momnhic The lact “This is a better Mississippi State team than last year,” Holtz said. “They are very athletic and have great comerbacks. They can be intimidating when you look at them on film. They will be playing at home at night on national TV. They pre sent a lot of problems for our team.” Senior linebacker Kenny Harney, who was scheduled to miss the Bowling Green game last week, still has an injured an kle, but it has improved and he should be ready to play Thursday. Senior quarterback Phil Petty strained his elbow Saturday night throwing a pass hut is OK and isn’t ex time thS Bulldogs played was Sept. 3, when they overcame a 10-0 third quarter deficit to rout the Tigers 30-10. The Gamecocks’ 23-19 victory over the Bulldogs last year was the most bitter loss MSU suffered all year, and revenge is on the team’s mind. In last season’s “I will address the flying issue with the team at the appropriate time. I don’t think you can live in fear. I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about things I can’t control.” LOU HOLTZ USC HEAD FOOTBALL COACF pected to miss any time. Offensive linemen Cedric Williams (Achilles’ tendon) and Jeff Barnes (neck) were both limited in practice this weekend. Many teams across the nation are still wary about flying to games this week, but Holtz plans to address the situation. game, USC (2-0) seemed to be down and out, but quarterback Erik Kimrey came off the bench to throw a fade to Jermale Kelly to put the Gamecocks in front for good. The Bulldogs’ defense is supposed to be better than last year’s squad, which was one of the nation’s best against the run. USC head coach Lou Holtz thinks MSU’s defense is better this season be cause of its pass defense. “I will address the flying issue with the team at the appropriate time,” Holtz said. “I don’t think you can live in fear. I don’t spend a lot of time worrying about things I can’t control. I worry a lot about things I can control. Now, if something else hap pens in the next few days related to the events earlier this week, then football pales in comparison to what is going on in this country right now.” The USC athletics department is still working on a replacement for the Bowling Green game. Originally, the Gamecocks were looking at filling their open date on Nov. 3, but the SEC is con sidering moving the SEC championship game back a week to accommodate con ference games that were lost this past weekend. USC would prefer to play a division I-A team, but the number of available teams on Nov. 3 is limited. At the moment, a strong possibility is division I-AA Western Kentucky. No mat ter the team, Holtz thinks they need to play 11 games. “We really need to have that 11th game,” Holtz said. “There’s bowl ramifi cations and financial repercussions, not just for football, but for many of our other sports who depend on football.” Kick off against the Bulldogs is set for 7:35 Thursday night and can be seen on ESPN. Tailback Derek Watson, above, looks for an open space at last year’s game against Mississippi State — but Watson finished the game with a career-low -1 rushing yards. Mississippi State’s Wayne Madkin, left, will try to avenge last year’s 23-19 Gamecock win over the Bulldogs. FILE PHOTOS/THE GAMECOCK Keep your USC Bowling Green tickets. They will be honored at the make-up game, which has not yet been scheduled. Nov. 3 and 24 are the most likely dates for the rescheduled game, which will definitely NOT be against Bowling Green. Dec. 1 is also a make-up date possibility. Want to participate in The Gamecock Sports challenge? Each week, The Gamecock will pick the winners of several games around the country, and we will have a slot for a selected reader. Give us your picks by e-mailing gamecocksports@hotmail.com or coming by the newsroom, Russell House Room 333. Be sure to include name, major, year and a phone number or e mail. Note: Please send picks in by Thursday at 3 p.m. to get credit for the USC game. This week’s games are: NO. 18 SOUTH CAROLINA (2-0) AT NO. 17 MISSISSIPPI ST. (1-0) NO. 21 OHIO STATE (1-0) AT NO. 14 UCLA (2-0) ARKANSAS (1-1) AT ALABAMA (1-1) NO. 25 LOUISIVILLE (3-0) AT ILLINOIS (2-0) MICHIGAN STATE (1-0) AT NO. 23 NOTRE DAME (0-1) WISCONSIN (1-2) AT PENN ST. (0-1) VIRGINIA (1-0) AT NO. 19 CLEMSON (2-0) Send your picks in this week and check The Gamecock on Friday to see the picks of the staff, as well as reader picks. SPORTS BRIEFS Women’s soccer rescheduled The women’s soccer match with Furman, originally scheduled for last Wednesday, has been rescheduled for 7 p.m. today at Eugene Stone Stadium. USC (2-0-2) has started off in fine fashion under new head coach Shelley Smith after last year’s season full of struggles. Former USC standout among missing in World Trade Center A former Gamecock tennis star who worked in 2 World Trade Center is missing after last Tuesday’s attacks. Richard Lynch, a member of the tennis team from 1989-93, worked on the 84th floor and has not yet been in contact with anyone, including his wife, Christina Macknell Lynch. Lynch played mostly doubles because of an abundance of injuries during his time at USC and occasionally hit with retired tennis star John McEnroe and his brother, Patrick. Lynch lives with his wife and 15-month old daughter, Olivia, in Westchester, New York City. The family calls Queens home, and the Lynch and Macknell extended families live nearby. Christina told The State that she hasn’t given up hope on finding her husband. Basketball teams release schedules Both the USC men’s and women’s basketball teams have released their schedules for the 2001-02 season. The men have stacked their schedule with some very tough games to go along with then difficult conference schedule. They open the season at the Maui Invitational in Hawaii, which includes traditional powers UCLA, Kansas and defending national champion Duke. The non-conference schedule also includes home games against Colorado State, Georgetown, Providence and the annual match-up against Clemson. The women will have a difficult schedule leading up to their conference battles. USC will play at Durham in the Duke Classic against Missouri and then either Davidson College or Duke. The non-conference schedule also includes Duquesne, Syracuse, Temple and Clemson. —PRESTON BAINES, THE (IAMECOCK Associated Press Football Top 25 1. Miami 2. Florida 3. Oklahoma 4. Nebraska 5. Texas 6. Florida State 7. Oregon 8. Tennessee 9. Virginia Tech 10. Georgia Tech 11. Fresno State 12. Kansas State 13. Washington 14. UCLA 15. LSU 16. Northwestern 17. Mississippi State 18. SOUTH CAROLINA 19. Clemson 20. Michigan 21. Ohio State 22. Oregon State 23. Notre Dame 24. BYll 25. Louisville ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Top 25 1. Miami 2. Florida 3. Oklahoma 4. Nebraska 5. Florida State 6. Texas 7. Oregon 8. Tennessee 9. Virginia Tech 10. Kansas State 11. Georgia Tech 12. UCLA 13. Washington 14. LSU 15. Fresno State 16. Mississippi State 17. Michigan 18. Clemson 19. Northwestern 20. SOUTH CAROLINA 21. Ohio State 22. Oregon State 23. Notre Dame 24. Purdue 25. BYU SEC Standings All statistics are current as of Sept 17. EASTERN DIVISION CONF. OVERALL South Carolina1-0_ 2-0 Tennessee_ 1-0 2-0 Florida0-02-0 Kentucky_ 0-01-1 Georgia__0-11-1 Vanderbilt 0-1 0-2 WESTERN DIVISION CONF. OVERALL Auburn1-0 _2-0 Alabama_1-0 1-1 Mississippi State_0-0_10 Louisiana State_ fr-0_2-0 Arkansas__ 0-1_1-1 Ole Miss ~~ 0-1 1-1 This Week’s SEC Schedule: SOUTH CAROLINA (2-0) at Mississippi State (1-0) Arkansas (1-1) at Alabama (1-1) Auburn (2-0) at Syracuse (1-1) Florida (2-0) at Kentucky (1-1) Richmond (0-1) at Vanderbilt (0-2) Tennessee, Mississippi, LSU and Georgia: Open weekends Jordan most likely to announce via fax BY JOSEPH WHITE THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON - Forget about a big news conference announcing Michael Jordan’s return. Word is more likely to come via fax. Jordan is now in no rush to an nounce his decision on playing again in the NBA, and plans for a major media appearance have been all but shelved in the after math of Tuesday’s terrorist at tacks. It was expected that a news con ference would be held Sept. 20, but Jordan apparently felt such a spec tacle would be inappropriate. A source close to Jordan, speaking on condition of anonymity, con firmed a report ip Friday’s Washington Post that Jordan’s an nouncement will be more low-key. Word probably will come via fax, although the means and time are still being determined, the source said. Jordan nas come uui ui retire ment via fax before. In March 1995, he announced his return to the Chicago Bulls with a two-word bulletin: "I’m back!” Knowing that Jordan could call at any time, the Washington Wizards’ staff has been ready for weeks to stage a news conference at the MCI Center with just a few hours’ notice. The day before Tuesday’s at tacks, Jordan’s comeback was the sporting talk of the nation’s capi tal. He strongly indicated Monday in a discussion with three re porters in Chicago that he would return from his three-year retire ment and play for the Wizards, saying he was doing it “for the love of the game.” It remains all but certain that he will make his intentions known before Oct. 2, when the Wizards are scheduled to begin training camp in Wilmington, N.C. Jordan’s late decision has led to numerous uncertainties with in the organization. Coach Doug Collins doesn’t yet know whether In the aftermath of Tuesday’s attacks, Michael Jordan has canceled his press conference scheduled for Sept. 20. PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK one of the game’s greatest players will be on his roster. The team’s media guide is on hold as the pub lic relations staff waits to hear whether to include several pages on Jordan among the biographies. The Wizards have experienced a surge in season ticket sales. More than 12,000 have been sold, yet there are about 8,000 more available that could go in a hurry if Jordan decides to suit up. Jordan, the team’s president of basketball operations, would also need to sell his ownership stake in the Wizards if he played. Much of the paperwork has already been done to make that process go swift ly. Jordan stayed in Chicago this week, where he has been training at a local gym for several months. He was scheduled to attend a char ity dinner ^nd golf tournament in Minnesota this weekend, but that event was canceled.