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GAME 1 Louisiana-Lafyette at use Saturday, Aug. 30 Columbia, SC BY BRAD SENKIW ^SAMECOCK »'.* The Louisiana-Lafayette Rajih' Cajuns are entering Williams-Brice Stadium on Aug. 30 hoping to overcome last season's problems. The team was winless on the road and finished with a 3-9 record. This season, the Cajuns will look for the inexperienced players to gel quickly. Offensively, UL Lafayette will have to rely on freshman quarterback Jerry Babb in 2003. Eric Rekieta is a returning senior that has been sidelined all of the spring and summer because of hand and elbow surgery, but is expected to play this year. “It's not a rotation,” Bustle said. “There will be a time that tells me to put Eric in and a time to put Jerry back in. We haye two guys that need to pla^lS; Luckily for whoever plays at quarterback, wide receiver Fred Stamps returns as one of the best players on the team. Stamps has caught a pass in all 32 games he has been apart of and racked up 1,007 yards and eight touchdowns last season. The senior playmaker finished as an first team All-Sun Belt Conference selection in 2002. “I expect our big-play guys to make plays*’ Bustle said. “Fred Stamp needs to and our running backs need to make plays in order for our running game to be effective.” -A* Unfortunately*Louisiana Lafayette will not start the season with a proven running back as Dwight Lindon leads all returning rushers with 19 carries and ^2 y irds. “I believe you ve got to be able to run the ball. We can throw, that was our strength last year. I want to take pressure off the quarterback. On a brighter note, the Cajuns have three returning starters oft the offensive line, which will need to play well to help the team improve on last year's conference-leading low in scoring offense at 16.9 per game. On the defensive side, Bustle hopes to get a lot out of linebacker Ross Brupbacher, who was on the 2002 Butkus Award Watch list before getting injured. With only four returning starters on the entire defense, defensive ends Antonio Floyd and Derace James will be called upon to step up. It will be somewhat of a homecoming for Bustle, who graduated from Clemson in 1976 and was the offensive coordinator at Carolina in 1994. He coached quarterback Steve Taneyhill and led the Gamecocks to a Carquest Bowl victory in 1995. UL Lafayette will take on other non-conference opponents on the road this year that include Minnesota and Oklahoma State. The Cajuns will face conference foes New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech at home. If you’d like to write about Gamecock sports, e-mail us at gamecocksports @hotmail.com. GAME 2 Virginia at USC Saturday, Sept 6 Columbia, SC BY WES WOLFE THE (iAMECOUC - ; The Virginia Cavaliers are heading into the 2003 football campaign looking to build upon the gains of last season, which ■ ended with a 48-22 thumping of No. 15 West Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl. After enduring Coach A1 Groh’s first season with the Cavs which ended with a 5-7 mark, last year’s result was a welcome step forward. Groh had some positive com ments regarding last season’s ef fort. “Our team last year had a very strong resolve that they were going to be a good team de spite whatever input they may have gotten from other direc tions. They had a very positive ‘can do’ attitude and that’s some thing this team can build off of.” Virginia is expected to com pete for the ACC Championship this year and for good reason. For instance, senior quarter back Matt Schaub is a Heisman Trophy candidate, not to mention also a candidate for the Johnny Unitas Goldfeh Arm Award and the Davey O’Brien Award. * Last season, Schaub played itr all 14 games, going 288-418 and racking up nearly 3,000 yards. Schaub also had 28 passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns, along with seven interceptions. Against South Carolina last year, Schaub went 20-30 for 170 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore running back Wali Lundy is a candidate for the Doak Walker Award, which is annually awarded to the nation’s best running back. Lundy had a dramatic season as a freshman last season, in which he was named a Freshman All-American and scored four touchdowns on West Virginia in the Continental Tire Bowl. However, Lundy was held in check by USC last year, rushing for just 22 yards on six carries. Lundy still managed to get 39 yards on four receptions, though. L -On fhe'defensive side of the •fealL Virginia returns eight bsjta'f4^r’8:ahd' 16 letterman, in defensive end Chris^lanly/vflio made Second Team All-ACC last season. Also returning is outside line backer Darryl Blackstock who was named National Defensive Freshman of the Year by The SportingNews last year. This season, the Cavaliers have their season split between six home games and six away games, so they’ll need to perform well on the road. Last season, Virginia went 2-4 on the road, including two ACC losses. Virginia’s road war begins at USC on Sept. 6, where the Gamecocks will be cueing in on their high-profile opponent. Virginia’s main tests on the road this season come from N.C. State and Maryland. N.C. State features another main contender for the Heisman, senior quarterback Philip Rivers. Both teams handled their op ponents in bowl games last sea son, with N.C. 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