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-|-v -pi p-pi /—Ni GAME SCHEDULE PAATTAPT TIO I 9 m ■ I 9 ' I ' ' WOMEN’S SOCCER vs. Vanderbilt, 7 p.m. Friday UUlNlALii UO I ^ ■ ■ I—< ■ VdLLEYBALLvs. Arkansas, 7 p.m. Friday Story ideas? Questions? Comments? I I / I 1 I L J MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING vs. Qemson, 5 p.m. Friday E-mail us at gamecocksports@hotmail.com \_L FOOTBALL vs. LSU, 7:45 p.m. Saturday USC to rumble with Tigers Upset over LSU would get Carolina one step closer to bowl eligibility LSU at USC 7:45 p.m. Saturday Columbia TV: ESPN2 BY JIM ROCHE THE GAMECOCK Halfway through the college football season, Gamecock foot ball fans can smell an upset in the air as the lOth-ranked LSU Tigers (5-1,2-1 SEC) take on USC (4-2,1 2) in a nationally televised game Saturday night on ESPN2 at Williamc-Rnpo defenses. The Gamecocks are ranked first in the SEC and sixth in the nation in pass defense. The Tigers are ranked first in the SEC and fourth in the nation at stop ping the run, and the team is only giving up an average of 10.3 points a game. USC head football coach Lou Holtz said: “LSU is very talented and well-coached. Coach Saban has done a very good job there. They have a lot of talent and a great defensive scheme and will try to intimidate you. We will see a lot of pressure.” LSU has spent all week trying to focus on Carolina and forget the shocking loss to the Gators last week. “I know it’s going to be a tough game on the road because South Carolina is a tough place to play,” T.STT head Stadium. Kick- «. k -r tfninK tn Hp a coach Nick off is set for 7:45 1 Kn0W 11S S0mS10 De 3 Saban said at p.m. tough game on the road Wednesday’s lsu is com because South Carolina news cod ing off its first ^ a tough place to play.” fnce “They loss of the sea- ° ^ w have some son against NICK SABAN good football Florida last lsu head coach players and wppV TTSP are nlavinp coming off its first SEC win of the season against the Kentucky Wildcats. But for the Gamecocks, this midseason clash could poten tially have bowl implications. LSU has been troubled with in juries as of late. LSU’s top running backs, Joseph Addai and Shyrone Carey, have both sat out of prac • tice the entire week and are ques tionable for the game Saturday. Both are suffering from medial collateral-ligament injury to their knees. If those two are not able to play Saturday, LSU will turn to true freshman Justin Vincent, who has carried the ball 30 times for 132 yards and one touchdown. For the Gamecocks, defensive tackle George Gause is doubtful, and Holtz said running back Demetris Summers could see a limited amount of carries against the Tigers on Saturday because of a lingering groin injury. Saturday’s showdown will fea ture two of the SEC’s top-rated very well on defense. We certainly need to improve the consistency that we are playing with on of fense, and I think it is really im portant to learn to focus on the next play.” LSU leads the all-time series 13-2-1, winning last year’s contest 38-14 in Baton Rouge after trail ing 14-6 at halftime. LSU’s wide receiver Michael Clayton caught five passes for 77 yards. Quarterback Michael Randall threw for 183 yards and ran for a touchdown in the Tigers’ victory. For the Gamecocks, a victory against the Tigers this Saturday is essential, as the Gamecocks will make journeys to Ole Miss and Arkansas at the beginning of November before returning home to wrap up the season against Florida and Clemson. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail. com PHOTO BY JOHNNY HAYNES/THF. GAMECOCK Hart Turner, left, will need to make big catches against LSU like he made against Kentucky. • Odom ready for tough offseason to end BY WES WOLFE THE GAMECOCK USC head basketball coach Dave Odom held his first news conference of the year Thursday, in which he spoke about the off season and what the team has to do to be ready for this year’s schedule. Still, questions surround the eligibility of center Rolando Howell and recruit Renaldo Balkman. A major issue for the Gamecocks will be how they will get over an offseason that has in cluded the possible loss of Howell because of his criminal domestic violence conviction and Balkman’s possi ble academic inel igibility. Also, guard Jon Land is out for the season be cause of a medical issue involving his bones. Land Odom will stay on the team, but in a ca pacity that will be decided by the coaching staff. Odom said that losing a star player like Howell and a recruit like Balkman would be a problem. “When you’re dealing with teams that have got 25 and up wards of 30 or 40 or 50 people on their team, one player is impor tant,” Odom said. “But when you’re dealing with 13 players — or like we are scholarship-wise — and you lose one or two of them, you’re down.” The Carolina coach wasn’t surprised by the problems, though. “Trying to get, as I’ve said many times, from the end of one season to the beginning of anoth er season — which we are now on the doorstep of — with your team intact is almost impossible,” Odom said. The USC administration, in cluding athletics director Mike McGee, is in the process of decid ing whether Howell can play with the Gamecocks this season. Odom said a decision will be coming soon, but right now Howell is not practicing and will not play with the team. Even with the possible loss of an All-SEC-team candidate like Howell, Odom isn’t changing his plans. “I’ve been in meetings all week with my staff to get ready for practice, and that decision does not play into how we practice, be lieve me,” Odom said. The university is appealing the decision by the NCAA Academic Eligibility Clearinghouse on Balkman, who hasn’t been ad mitted to the university. The NCAA is expected to give a ruling on the appeal soon, allowing Balkman to enroll Monday and be eligible to practice. The Gamecocks open play in the Guardians Classic against Gardner Webb on Nov. 17. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecocksports@hotmail.com BRIEFLY Men’s soccer team breaks losing streak The USC men’s soccer team (8-5) got back on the winning track Wednesday with a 1-0 win at Charlotte (4-6-2), breaking the team’s five-game losing streak. Jack Cummings won the game on a penalty kick 25 sec onds into the match, giving him four goals this season. Ayo Akinsete was taken down in side the penalty box, setting up • Cummings’ goal that was enough to give Carolina the win. Brad Guzan picked up his fourth save and sixth shutout this season. “I’m very proud of our team,” USC head coach Mark Berson said. “We played with a great deal of determination, and we were able to put together two good halves. It is nice to come away with a win on the road.” The Gamecocks get right back to action Sunday when they visit the Furman Paladins in Greenville at 2 p.m. Women’s soccer to finish home season The USC women’s soccer team (8-5-2,1-2-1 SEC) is return ing to Eugene E. Stone III Stadium for its final home games of the season this week end, against Vanderbilt (5-5-2, 1-3-1 SEC) and Kentucky (6-5-2, 4-0-1 SEC). USC assistant women’s soc cer coach Jaime Smith will re ceive the AFLAC Assistant Coach of the Year award before the Vanderbilt game, and Sunday’s game against Kentucky will be senior day for the Carolina women’s soccer players. USC’s game against Vander bilt will be at 7 p.m. tonight, and the Kentucky game will be 1 p.m. Sunday. SPORTS CHALLENGE THE CHALLENGE: The Gamecock’s readers and staff test their sports knowledge with predictions of the weekend's games. (Rankings are from The Associated Press.) Brad Senkiw Sports Editor (41-29) Wes Wolfe Asst. Sports Editor (41-29) Charles Tomlinson Editor in Chief (42-28) Adam Beam Managing Editor (47-23) Alexis Stratton Asst. News Editor (44-26) Jason Stewart Reader of the Week (34-34) Texas Tech at 23 Okla. St Okla St. Texas Tech 15 Michigan St. at 25 Minn. Minn. Mich. St. 13 Purdue at 14 Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin 9 Iowa at 8 Ohio St_ Ohio St. O.iioSt 24 Missouri at 1 Oklahoma Oklahoma Okla^ma 5 So. Cal. at Notre Dame_ Notre Dame So. Cal. Florida at 11 ArkansasArkansas Arkansas Alabama at Ole Miss Ole Miss Alabama Clemson at N.C. State N.C. State N.C. State 10 LSI) at use ~ use USC 17-14 22-21 Texas Tech Texas Tech Okla. St. Okla. St Mich. St. Minn. Minn. Minm, Wisconsin Purdue Wisconsin_Wisconsin Iowa _OhioSt__Ohio St. Ohio St. Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma So. Cal. So. Cal. Notre Dame So. Cal. Arkansas Arkansas Florida Arkansas Alabama^ Alabama_Ole Miss Ole Miss O. State N.C. State N.C. State N.C. State . use use use 19-i4 28-0 "M; 01 SPORTS CHALLENGE’S EIGHTH-WEEK OUTLOOK: Sports Editor Brad Senkiw and Asst. Sports Editor Wes W'-tio tied for first place last week, in a spectacular return to the top of the standings after several subpar weeks. Previously unstoppable Managing Editor Adam Beam came back down to earn, however, going 4-6. Editor in Chief Charles Tomlinson, selected staff member Gabrielle Sinclair and Reader of the Week Jonathan DuPre all made respectable 5-5 showings on the day. Be sure to get your picks in next week by Thursday at 2 p.m. WANT TO BE READER OF THE WEEK? E-mail your selections next week to gamecocksports@hotmail.com. If you’re picked and have the best record, you’ll win a free Gamecock T-shirt and be able to talk all the trash you want I Younger Holtz’s decisions crucial JOHNATHAN IIILLYARD GAMECOCKSPORTS@HOTMAIL.COM Running game is key to second half of season. The Gamecock football team, boasting a 4-2 record, is at a criti cal stage in the season where its success, or failure, has yet to be determined. This makes Saturday’s game against LSU ex tremely crucial. Will Carolina sttunble as it did last season and close its season with a losing “record? The truth is that this might not even be in the players’ control, but m the hands ot olten sive coordinator Skip Holtz. The defensive unit for Carolina has been solid throughout the sea son. As a team, USC has allowed just an average of 16.5 points per game and given up 11 touchdowns in six games. Carolina’s pass de fense is ranked first in the SEC, while the overall defense ranks I third in the conference. Even in its two losses to Georgia and Tennessee, the defense held the op ponent’s offense to well below their average offensive produc tion. Needless to say, defense is not the problem with this team. Many would say that success lies with quarterback Dondrial Pinkins, who is now 4-4 as a starter for the Gamecocks. His completion percentage is last in the SEC and is tied for fourth in the SEC with five interceptions. It is easy to point the finger at Pinkins for deficiencies in the of fense, and after the Georgia game, many Gamecock fans did. However, let’s take a look at the other aspect of the USC offense: the rushing attack. Thirteen of Carolina’s touch downs have come on the ground, and the team is second in the SEC for yards per game. The running game is, without a doubt, the strength of the Carolina offense. Skip Holtz’s play-calling will be the difference for this team. In the first game of the season, Carolina ran the ball 34 times and passed the ball 36 times with no USC run ning back having over 11 carries. In the opener, Carolina escaped with a 14-7 victory against an over matched Louisiana-Lafayette team. In game two, USC threw 24 passes and ran the ball 49 times. Daccus Turman ran the ball 18 times for 124 yards. The result? The Gamecocks demolished then 15th-ranked Virginia 31-7. Against Georgia, Carolina ran the ball 37 times and threw it 36 times. No back got more than 12 touches, and the Gamecocks were embar rassed 31-7. I think we are starting to see a pattern here. Since the Georgia game, the run to-pass ratio has been 134 rushes to 80 passes, and the USC offense has benefited greatly. In the one loss to Tennessee in that stretch, a blocked punt turned out to he the difference m a game mai i^aroima uommaiea in the second half. Minus that block and a few key penalties, we would be talking about a 5-1 Gamecock team that would need ope win to be come bowl eligible. Skip, the moral of the story is simply this: Run the ball, run the ball, run the ball, and give a back enough carries to make a differ ence. Sure, an occasional pass is necessary, but why put the game in Pinkins’ hands when you don’t have to? In the last three games, he has thrown one interception. Y-o, i.e’s getting better, but the pressure is no longer squarely on his shoulders. Continue this and Carolina will be fine It won’t hp easj, h r' ie last six teams on USC’s schedule 1.^.0 .* __. bined 22-15 record and include two top 15 teams. Will we see a repeat of last year, or is this team des tined to be different? What do you say, Skip? IHillyard is a first-year electronic y journalism student. i