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Story ideas? Questions'? Comments'? MEN’S SOCCER vs. Charlotte, 7 p.m. Wednesday Write us at gamecocksportsia.hotmail.com FOOTBALL vs. Miss. State, 7:35 p.m. Thursday CROSS COUNTRY vs. Rockhill, 7 p.m. Friday OUT FOR REVENGE Andrew Pinnock runs for yardage during last year’s game against Mississippi State. FILE PHOTO/THE GAMECOCK Gamecocks get prepared to face an MSU team that still hasn’t forgotten last season’s defeat BY RICK JOHNSTON TI1BBAMKC0CK In what could be one of the most evenly matched SEC games of the season, USC will take on Mississippi State to morrow night in the hostile con fines of Scott Field. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN and will be the first Division I college foot ball game since the terrorist at tacks on New York and Wash ington. USC Offense vs. MSU Defense It’s no secret that the heart of the Bulldog football program is its defensive unit. Led by defen sive coordinator (and former USC assistant) Joe Lee Dunn, the Bulldog defense is one of the best in the conference. One advantage for the Game cocks is that their defense runs the same scheme as MSU, a 3-3-5 with three linemen, three line backers and five defensive backs, so the Gamecocks are used to seeing the look the Bull dogs will give them. Rushing: Junior running back Derek Watson was a non factor in USC’s win over Geor gia. He couldn’t break away for any long runs and had problems between the tackles. However, the tandem of Wat son and fellow junior Andrew Pinhock is a distinct advantage for USC. Depending on how the game goes, the Gamecock of fense can switch between the quicker Watson and the pun ishing Pinnock. The defensive front the Gamecocks will be looking to break is a tough one. Defensive tackle Dorsett Davis is a 6-foot-6, 314-pound monster. He will be joined by All-SEC defensive end Conner Stephens. At the linebacker spot, junior Mario Hagan was the leading tackier in the SEC last season, notching 132 tackles. His back up, Jason Clark, was a consen sus All-SEC freshman pick. Last season, the Bulldogs held the Gamecocks to -1 rush ing yards. Overall, the MSU rushing de fense ranks fifth in the SEC and 24th in the country. ADVANTAGE: MSU Passing: Senior Phil Petty’s best passing performance last season came against MSU. With the running game shut down, Petty went 19-40 for 305 yards. Petty will likely need to du plicate that performance - ei ther to keep the MSU defense honest by making them honor the run and the pass, or in case the rushing attack falters again. Petty’s main target will be Brian Scott, one of the heroes in the Gamecocks’ victory over Georgia. However, unlike the Georgia game, Scott won’t have a size advantage over the Bull dog defensive backs. At 6-foot-2, he matches up evenly against the MSU defensive backs. However, Scott had a solid game against the Bulldogs last year, hauling in three catches for 80 yards. The Gamecock passing game will be confronting a deep MSU defensive backfield. The defensive backs will be led by senior All-American safety Pig Prather. Last season, Prather was tied for second on the team for tackles for loss, with 11. Prather and fellow senior Shawn Byrdsong will be at strong safety, and junior Josh Morgan will be at free safety. The weak spot for the Bull dogs could be at the corner backs, where two new starters will be arriving. Juniors De metric Wright and Korey Banks are junior college transfers look ing at their first SEC game. The MSU defense is first in the SEC and fourth in the coun try in passing defense. Howev er, pressure on the untested cor ners could be a key for the USC receivers. ADVANTAGE: EVEN USC Defense vs. MSU Offense MSU perhaps has the most underrated offense in the SEC. Like the Bulldogs, USC runs a 3 3-5 defense, so MSU will be get ting familiar looks. Rushing: The Bulldog offense is run by offensive coordinator (and former USC head coach) Sparky Woods and has quite possibly the most potent one two rushing attack in the con ference in senior Dicenzo Miller and junior Dontae Walker. Miller was a second-team All SEC pick last season after be coming the fifth running back in Bulldog history to rush for ♦ REVENGE, SEE PAGE 11 Lady Gamecocks knock off Furman, stay unbeaten BY CHRIS FOY THE GAMECOCK In what was the first USC ath letic event since the terrorist at tacks in New York and Washing ton, the women's soccer team cruised to a 3-0 victory against in state rival Furman. The game was originally scheduled for last Wednesday night and had been rescheduled for last Friday night before the SEC and the universi ty announced the cancellations. USC head coach Shelley Smith was pleased with her team's play. "Our whole philosophy head ing into a game is on our work ethic and putting a lot of our players in there to make things happen," Smith said. "Tonight, our team played well. Our for wards were causing a lot of 7 things to happen in the box." The Lady Gamecocks contin ued to show their newly unveiled high-power offense by outshoot ing the Lady Paladins 17-10. De fensively, USC had a strong showing as well, with goalkeep er Carolyn Ortega earning her first shutout of the season. Less than 10 minutes into the game, the Lady Gamecocks got on the board with the only score they would need. After a foul by a Lady Paladins defender in the box, senior co-captain Lydia Bi enias put in the penalty kick to put USC up 1-0. The goal was Bi enias' first of the season. With a little under 15 minutes left in the first half, junior co-cap tain Melinda Carter took on Fur man goalkeeper Melissa Barnes off a rebound and fired one into the net to give the Lady Game cocks a 2-0 lead going into the The Lady Gamecocks, seen here against Utah, returned to action Monday, shutting out Furman 3-0. FILE PHOTO/THE GAMECOCK half. In the second half, the Lady Paladins put more offensive pres sure onto the Lady Gamecock de fense. Ortega was forced to make three saves, compared to none in the first half. Furman wasn't able to capitalize on any of its eight shots in the second half, as they still were unable to put any points on the board. With four minutes left in the game, USC freshman Amy Gos nell put in her second goal of the season off an assist by Carter to make the final 3-0. Smith was impressed with Carter's play throughout the game. "[Carter] has done what we expected she would do when we moved her to left midfield," Smith said. "Every game, she is having more effect and giving us more opportunities." The Lady Gamecocks are off to their second-best start in USC women’s soccer history. Their next game will come tonight against in-state rival South Car olina State. 9 Human life must be the top priority KYLE ALMOND JBLAZINI24@HOTMAIL.COM Basically all U.S. sporting events, professional and colle giate, were postponed this past weekend, allowing the nation to reflect on what's really impor tant. And it’s not a pennant race, home-run record or a trophy. It’s not about bragging rights, pres tige or even money. No, what's really important in this world has nothing at all to do with sports. It's so much more signif icant. Human lives are the most precious resource on this plan et, and when thousands of them are taken, we should take time out to mourn, even if that means giving up sports for a weekend. You could have made a case for returning to normalcy and going on with the games. Why should we give these terrorists the satisfaction of changing our way of life? That makes sense, in a way. But on the other hand, what is one weekend? It's nothing. We can always reschedule the games. After a tragedy like this, sports should be the last thing on people's mind. If you can take anything pos itive out of these horrendous events, it's the perspective it brings to Americans nation wide. In the grand scheme of things, does it really matter if we ever beat Clemson in foot ball? Does it matter if Michael Jordan comes out of retirement? If we don't qualify for the World Cup, is it really the end of the world for soccer fans? Of course not. These things don't really matter at all. Some people would get bent out of shape if their team lost a close game. Many, myself included, would get frustrated, ticked off and have a whole day ruined by the outcome of a sporting event. ♦ PRIORITY, SEE PAGE 11 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 ore 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 LOUISVILLE (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 wader picks.