The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 21, 2001, Page 8, Image 8
GAME SCHEDULE
VOLLEYBALL vs.Florida, 7:30 p.m. Friday
WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Wofford, 2 p.m. Sunday
MEN’S SOCCER vs. Wake Forest, 2 p.m. Sunday
VOLLEYBALL vs. Georgia, 2 p.m. Sunday
Pinnock, Jenkins
lead USC rushing
game to propel
Gamecocks to 16-14
upset of No. 17
Mississippi State
Mississippi State’s running game was thwarted by an adjusted Gamecock
defense. PHOTO BY KRT CAMPUS.
BY ADAM BEAM
THE (iAMECOCK
USC left guard Cedric
Williams told The State on
Thursday there was no doubt
about it; the Gamecocks would
run the ball.
Rest easy, big man, your
prediction came true.
The Gamecocks rushed for
a staggering 238 yards against
a highly touted Mississippi
State defense for a 16-14 victo
ry during college football's re
turn after last Tuesday's ter
rorist attack.
“That's something we've
been working on all week,”
USCs Andrew Pinnock told
Mike Hold of the Gamecock ra
dio network. “We knew that
Mississippi State was tough
against the run, but in order
to win this game, we were go
ing to have to take a little pres
sure off of our quarterback
and run the ball.”
For the first 10 minutes of
the game it looked as if the
Bulldogs would run the field
on USC, scoring on their first
drive with a monster 13-play,
83 yard drive that resulted in a '
2-yard Dontae Walker touch
down run.
The Gamecocks took over
on their own 27, but lost three
yards on a three-and-out dri
ve that resulted in two penal
ties for 15 yards. After Teylor
Dear’s 44-yard punt, the
Bulldogs started their drive on
their own 31 yard line.
Moving 17 yards in six
plays, the Bulldogs were
threatening to move into USC
territory when defensive end
John Stamper recovered a
Walker fumble. The USC of
fense went to work, scoring
on three plays and culminat
ing with a 35-yard TD run up
the middle by Pinnock. It was
the longest carry of his ca
reer.
Pinnock didn’t stop there,
leading the Gamecocks with
12 carries for 97 yards, con
verting several key third
down situations.
After USC Defensive
Coordinator Charlie Strong's
defense held the Bulldogs to
six plays on their next drive,
the Gamecocks again used the
run well, going 61 yards on 12
plays that resulted in a 35 yard
field goal by Daniel Weaver
with 14:27 left to play in the
half.
From there, the USC de
fense went to work, holding
the Bulldog offense to just 41
yards in the first half, includ
ing back-to-back sacks on
Mississippi State quarterback
Wayne Madkin early in the
second quarter.
MSU did threaten late in
the second quarter, driving
59 yards on seven plays, with
3:36 left in the first half. After
two incomplete passes, the
Bull-dogs’ J. Michael Marlin
missed a 38-yard/ield goal
that would've tied the game
at 10.
Taking a 10-7 lead into the
half, the Gamecocks came out
in the third quarter and struck
quickly with a 25-yard field
goal by Weaver to put USC up
by six.
After forcing MSU to punt,
the Gamecocks then pulled an
unexpected move and took out
starting quarterback Phil
Petty, opting for the high
ranked transfer Corey
Jenkins.
Jenkins then led the
Gamecocks on an incredible
93 yard, 17-play drive that vir
tually ate up the entire third
quarter. Jenkins threw the
Bulldog defense for a loop,
bringing a new running threat
to an offense that had depend
ed more on passing.
Jenkins ran the ball 11
times during the drive for 75
yards, setting up another field
goal for Weaver, bringing him
to 3-3 for the night.
That made the score 16-7, si
lencing the crowd at Davis
Wade Stadium, but the
Bulldogs came alive again dur
ing the waning moments of
the game. They went 88 yards
on 13 plays, with Madkin find
ing Harold Lindsey in the end
zone, bringing the Bulldogs
within two, with 36 seconds
left in the game.
The Gamecocks sealed the
game after they recovered an
♦ FOOTBALL, SEE PAGE 9
■
Women’s soccer makes point with win
USC remains
undefeated with
12-0 blowout
of Bulldogs
BY BONNIE BERKES
THE GAMECOCK
The South Carolina women's
soccer team beat South Carolina
State Wednesday night at the
Graveyard by a decisive 12-0
score.
The Gamecocks (4-0-2) broke
their record for the most goals
scored in a game. The previous
record of eight was set in 1999
against LSU.
The Lady Gamecocks' defense
has been an integral part of their
success this season, and its dom
inance continued against the
Bulldogs. The combined effort of
goalkeepers Elise Matthews and
Carolyn Ortega led to Carolina's
fourth shutout in six games. The
Bulldogs weren't able to get a
clean shot at the goal the entire
game.
Leading the USC backfield was
center fullback Lydia Bienias,
along with Becky Leeper, Jessica
Uecker and Sarah Lentz.
“[The four of them] have all
done a good job of keeping every
thing organized and well-com
municated,” USC coach Shelley
Smith said. “There is a lot of pres
sure playing as a defender, and
each has been able to do a good
job. The defense has definitely
met my expectations.”
The Bulldogs' (0-4-0) weak
play gave every USC player an
opportunity to take the field.
S.C. State has struggled the past
few seasons, losing its last 26
games.
Freshman Ashley Gosnell
along with sophomore Amy
Caddies both scored two goals for
USC. Becca Epstein had two as
sists, with nine other Gamecocks
also scoring.
Gosnell struck quickly, scor
ing a goal at the 4:47 mark. She
added another score in the sec
ond half.
“We came in and passed the
ball well and played as a team,”
Gosnell said. “We wanted to play
this game the same way we
would against a higher-caliber
team.”
Allison Jarrow, Jordan
Meyer, Kelty Hudson and co-cap
tain Melinda Carter also scored
goals for the Gamecocks.
Smith was confident that her
players would have a good show
ing because of their desire to
♦ SOCCER, SEE PAGE 9
Lady Gamecock Ashley Gosnell battles for the ball with an SC State defender, photo by
TRAVIS LYNN
Gamecock
win over
Miss. State
makes big
statement
forfuture
PRESTON BAINES
PBAINES@GAMECOCKS.COM
Of all the victories, of all the
SEC games, this was the biggest
of them all.
The Georgia game was big, but
this game was bigger. This game
was at a SEC powerhouse with the
entire nation watching. USC faced
a Mississippi State defense that
was much better than the Georgia
defense and manhandled it at the
line of scrimmage in the second
half. The Gamecocks won a road
game when they were the under
dogs. And for the second straight
year, the Gamecocks got through
the first third of the season unde
feated.
Only this year, it was different.
USC won games at Athens and in
Starksville in the same season,
something they had never done
before since joining the confer
ence.
Not to mention beating UGA
and MSU for two straight years.
That's good no matter what team
you are.
Now, for the next four games,
USC plays teams that aren't as
good as MSU or UGA. Three of
those are home games against
Alabama and perennial cellar
dwellers Kentucky and
Vanderbilt. The other game is
against Arkansas in Little Rock.
USC will be the favorite in each
game, another event which hasn't
happened very often in the history
of Gamecock football.
After that stretch, USC takes on
the “Orange Crush”: a trip to
Tennessee, then games at home
against Florida and Clemson.
In past years, the Gamecocks
have struggled with these teams,
but then again they haven't been
undefeated going into the
Tennessee game — which is a dis
tinct possibility this time. What
all this really means is that USC
has a great chance of playing for
the conference championship for
the second straight season.
Even when the team does go
against the Vols and Gators, you
can actually see the Gamecocks
having a chance to win this year.
Any time you can shut down both
Bulldogs (UGA and MSU) in the
fashion the Gamecocks have, you
have a chance to win any game.
In addition, whenever a team
gets victories like ; these
Gamecocks have, the confidence
builds and they believe they can
beat anybody. I thought to myself
after the first drive, when the
Bulldogs drove it down the field
for a score with ease, “Great, we
are going to get taken to the wood
shed by these guys.”
This brings us to another rea
son this team has a chance to do
special things. The coaching staff
made adjustments defensively,
just like in the UGA game, and
shut down the Bulldogs.
MSU only managed 119 yards
rushing. Dicenzo Miller and
Dontae Walker were supposedly
one of the best running back
tandems in the nation. In the sec
ond half, the USC offensive line
decided to take over the line of
scrimmage and decided that they
weren't going to let MSU in the
backfield any more. But because
the Gamecocks were able to run
effectively in the first half, USC
obviously made big adjustments
from the UGA game.
My fellow Gamecocks, get
ready, USC is going to make an
other trip to Florida this year on
New Years Day at the least and
will be challenging for the confer
ence championship for years to
♦ VICTORY, SEE PAGE 9