The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 10, 2004, Page 9, Image 9
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tj o I I I ■"“‘V I . WOMEN’S SOCCER at Maryland, 4:30 p.m. Friday
ragey ■ 1 V I I I L 1 VOLLEYBALL at Duke, 7 p.m. Friday
r Friday, September 10,2004 1 MEN’S SOCCER vs. Bucknell, 7:30 p.m. Friday
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|FRIDAY FJOTBALL PREVIEW!
USC looks to bite Dogs back
.■■■—I II 111 I fl Till ill ''Till II III III I ll I l ■ I III ■""■l WT" I
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
USC safety Jamacia Jackson prances into the endzone after intercepting a Jay Cutler pass and returning^ 98 yards for a touchdown Saturday against Vanderbilt.
By TODD GREEN
THE GAMECOCK
This Saturday at 5:30 p.m., the
Gamecocks host the nation’s No. 3
team, the Georgia Bulldogs, in a
nationally televised ESPN game.
Already there have been
unsubstantiated Lee Corso
sightings all over campus as the
ESPN GameDay crew comes to
Columbia to make Williams-Brice
Stadium the center of the college
football universe.
The Bulldogs come to town
with six preseason ALL-SEC
players. Their offense is led by
Heisman hopeful David Greene,
an experienced offensive line and a
big-play threat at wide receiver in
Fred Gibson. Freshman running
back Danny Ware rushed for 135
yards and three scores last week
for the Bulldogs.
The Georgia defense is loaded
with talent. Bulldog defensive
lineman David Pollack spends
more time in the offensive
backfield than most running backs.
On the surface, this Georgia
squad, coming off of a 48-28 win
over Georgia Southern, should
have no problem defeating the
Gamecocks.
But as Lee Corso often says,
“Not so fast my friend.” There are
still 60 minutes of football to be
played in this one, and a win on
the road in SEC country, especially
in a place like Williams-Brice
Stadium, is no easy task. Just ask
Russ Tanner, junior starting center
for the Bulldogs.
“We know what we are going
up against,” Tanner said. “Their
stadium is one of the loudest we
will play in. Their fans really know
how to make a great atmosphere.”
This game is a big one for the
Gamecocks, who started the
season with an impressive 31-6
victory against SEC foe
Vanderbilt. A win over the
Bulldogs would put the
Gamecocks in position to
challenge for the SEC East title.
Head coach Lou Holtz is no '
stranger to preparing a team for a
big game and will have his squad
ready for the task of playing one of
the nation’s best teams.
“I do expect our players to play
hard, I do not expect them to be
intimidated,” Holtz said.
The key to this game will be in
keeping the star-studded Georgia
offense off the field. To do this,
the Gamecock offense will have to
♦ Please see PREVIEW, page 10
Mark my -
words:
We will
beat UGA
■ This season bears
striking resemblance to
the 2000 campaign
For those Gamecock fans who
haven’t been around this program
for awhile, don’t worry. The
explanation is coming.
But for those of us who have
been USC through-and-true all our
lives, we know that deja vu is and
Carolina football is not always a
pleasant thing. Except this
weekend.
Let me explain.
In 2000, the USC football
program had something to prove.
After coming off an 0-11 season
and 21 straight losses, the
Gamecocks played New Mexico
State like they
ALtA had something
RILEY to prove.
USC put up
FIRST-yEAR 31 point$ on
JOURNALISM the Aggies in a
STUDENT home shutout
that brought
the streak and
the goal posts down.
In 2004, the football team still
has something to prove after back
to-back 5-7 seasons. USC played
Vanderbilt on the road and put up
31 points against the
Commodores to start off the
season 1-0.
Willie Offord helped cap off the
huge win for the Gamecocks with a
long run on a fumble for a
defensive score in the 2000
opener. Jamacia Jackson dotted
the “i” in USC’s win with his
interception return for a
touchdown to start the season
Saturday.
In 2000, Carolina had a highly
touted sophomore running back
in Derek Watson, who was
looking to show the nation he was
one of the best in the country
after a less-than-stellar freshmen
♦ Please see RILEY, page 10
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
The Carolina offensive line prepares for a snap Saturday against Vanderbilt. The Gamecocks dominated
the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, racking up 269 rushing yards to the Commodores’ 36.
Gamecocks’ success to hinge
on veteran offensive line play
By STEPHEN FASTENAU
THE GAMECOCK
It’s one thing to run the ball on
a perennial bottom dweller in the
SEC such as Vanderbilt, but it will
be another thing to run on one of
the most formidable defenses in
the country, which is what USC
will try to do when it takes on No.
3 Georgia this Saturday.
The Bulldogs’ imposing
defensive front seven are led by
senior end David Pollack, who is on
numerous preseason award lists.
While the Gamecocks would still
like to center their offense on the
run, quarterbacks’ coach Skip
Holtz knows they will not likely be
able to run the ball 57 times as they
did at Vanderbilt.
“This is not a game — with the
front seven Georgia has — where
we can line up and say we are going
to run the ball every down,” Holtz
said. “You have to try and keep this
%
“We are going to have
to throw the ball and
utilize misdirection by
using all kinds of
different runs, screens
and passes.”
SKIP HOLTZ
QUATERBACKS COACH
defense off balance.”
USC did a good job keeping
Vanderbilt off-balance last week,
rushing for 269 yards by using a
variety of weapons. The offensive
line dominated the game, a facet
which Holtz said should be there
each week.
“We’re looking for the offensive
line to set the tone for the next 10
games,” Holtz said. “When "you
have the leaders we do up front and
the upperclassmen we do, you are
starting to feel a little bit better
about things.”
Georgia Southern had success
running the ball against Georgia
last week, racking up 191 yards and
four touchdowns. The statistic
likely means nothing to USC,
however, as the majority of the
production came after the game
was out of reach, and Georgia
Southern executes a triple option, a
different offensive style than the
Gamecocks.
The Bulldogs will be more
prepared for the revamped USC
running attack, having seen film of
the Gamecocks’ game against
Vanderbilt. The Gamecock coaches
know they will need to mix it up
this week in order to win.
“We are going to have to throw
the ball and utilize misdirection by
using all kinds of different runs,
screens and passes,” Holtz said.
Holtz should be more confident
. \
♦ Please see OFFENSIVE, page 10
Georgia freshman RB
adds to loaded offense
By STEPHEN DEMEDIS
THE GAMECOCK
Coming into this weekend’s
game, USC defensive coordinator
Rick Minter has the formidable
task of stopping one of the
country’s most prolific passing
games in Georgia’s air born attack,
but that might not be his number
one priority. Last year, Georgia
quarterback David Greene passed
for 208 yards and two touchdowns
against USC before giving way to
backup DJ Shockley. But this year,
Georgia’s offense could be carried
on the legs of freshman running
back Danny Ware.
Last week, in the team’s opener,
the 6-foot-l-inch back scorched
the Georgia Southern defense for
135 yards and three touchdowns.
By starting the game, Ware became
the first freshman at UGA to start
in the opener since 1943, and since
then, Georgia has had many solid
collegiate backs, including
Herschel Walker, Terrell Davis
and Robert Edwards. But Ware has
the rare speed which none of those
ball carriers possessed.
“Georgia has always had good
backs and they have always had
productive backs, but not the
breakaway back that Ware is,”
head coach Lou Holtz said. “He
brings a completely different look
to your defense because of his
explosiveness.”
Ware came to Georgia from the
Hargrave Military Academy and
spent the spring season practicing
with the team. He moved up the
depth chart when projected starter
Kregg Lumpkin was lost for the
year due to injury.
Georgia head coach Mark Richt
was not taken back with the
success his new offensive weapon
had in week one.
“It didn’t surprise me that he
A
played great,” Richt said. “That’s
how he’s been practicing. He’s just
a big back who has great balance,
changes directions well and breaks
tackles.”
Ware’s early success caine against
a Division I-AA school. A week
later, he has to face a South Carolina
defense that prides itself in its ability
to stop the run. The Gamecocks
held Vanderbilt to 36 rushing yards
last week in their season opener.
Carolina’s concern is that Ware
is just the newest starter in an
offense that is star-laden and
explosive. Greene is a frontrunner
in the Heisman race and a
preseason candidate for the Unitas
Award, awarded to the nation’s top
quarterback. His starting receivers,
Fred Gibson and Reggie Brown, are
two of the SEC’s best. The
emergence of Ware only adds to the
arsenal Richt has at his disposal.
Ware “has exceptional
quickness and that is the type of
back you fear the most,” Holtz
said. “Georgia has a great offensive
line. But when you’ve got David
Greene and their receivers, be it
Gibson or Brown, etc., and they
spread you out and turn Ware
loose and pop him into the
secondary, then that is when
problems occur.”
The emergence of Ware
complicates things for the Carolina
defense. With the attention of the
front seven focusing on tfye him,
the pressure on a young and
inexperienced secondary greatly
increases. If the safeties are brought
up to support the run defense,
corners Jonathan Joseph, Tremaine 1
Tyler and Fred Bennett will be
forced to play man-to-man against
two of the best in only their second
start.
In the same regard, it will only -
be Ware’s second start. This has led Z
Richt to realistically announce that Z
other backs on Georgia’s roster will '
see time sparing Ware. Regardless,
the South Carolina defense will J
have its hands full trying to contain 'j
Ware the 15 to 20 times, or more,
he carries the ball.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gum.sc.edu
ROB CARR/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Georgia Southern’s James Young, left, tries to bring down UGA
running back Danny Ware during Saturday’s game in Athens, Ga.
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