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* ,J If/ | | j ' I ’ GAME SCHEDULE pafrpo I I I I I i VOLLEYBALL at Mississippi, 7 p.m. ~ F, ~ „_ I 1 f I I 111 WOMEN’S SOCCER at Vanderbilt, 8 p.m. Friday, October 8,2004 1 V J B ^ B FOOTBALL vs. Mississippi, 1 p.m. Saturday Offense loses weanons By JONATHAN HILLYARD SPORTS EDITOR If the Gamecocks are to win their fifth game of the season Saturday, they will have to do it with an offense that will look a little strange to USC fans. Carolina will be without seniors Matthew Thomas, because of a suspension, and Dondrial Pinkins, because of an injury, throwing a pair of highly recruited sophomores into the limelight. Thomas, who started the first five games of this season and nine of 11 games last season, was suspended this week due to academic purposes. USC head coach Lou Holtz said the suspension was related to “class attendance and other academic reasons.” The length of ^ r^he suspension, according to Holtz, will be a P Minimum of three weeks. “People who come to school here are going to be student-athletes,” Holtz said. “We will re-evaluate his status after three weeks.” Stepping in for the suspended Thomas will be sophomore Noah Whiteside, who has been a starter for the Gamecocks since the beginning of the season. Whiteside only has five receptions on the season, but has a total of 99 receiving yards over a 19-yards-per-catch average. Whiteside, a Greenville native, emerged last season with a two-touchdown catch game against, fittingly, the Ole Miss Rebels. Outside of Whiteside, Michael Flint, Travis Lee and D’von Hill have been mentioned as receivers who would see more playing time. When asked if the loss of Thomas would affect Saturday’s game plan, quarterbacks coach Skip Holtz said, “No, it doesn’t change the game plan, but somebody has to step up. Noah and Troy have played an awful lot, so as Noah steps up into that position, I don’t expect us to miss a beat.” Skip Holtz said that 39-year-old Tim Frisby will dress, but would not factor in the receiver rotation. Quarterback Dondrial Pinkins injured his right shoulder for the second time this season against Alabama. The USC medical staff diagnosed the injury as a deep bruise. This is a similar injury to the one he sustained against Georgia, but the injuries are completely J. separate and are not related. Pinkins had not practiced all week as of Thursday, and Holtz said that he would likely not dress against Ole Miss. “It’s a little (frustrating), but it’s something I’ve got to deal with. It takes time for these kind of injuries to heal,” Pinkins said Wednesday. “I’ve just got to rehab, get it better and hopefully get ready for the stretch run of the season.” Pinkins noted that he threw the ball a little bit Wednesday but was not able to do it comfortably, and he did not feel it was in his best interest not to rush into throwing. Making his second start as quarterback will be sophomore Syvelle Newton. Newton saw the majority of the playing time last week at Alabama and scored the Gamecocks’ only two touchdowns. Both touchdowns came on runs by Newton — the first an 8-yard run, the second a 9-yard run. In Newton’s first start, the Wallace native threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns. While Newton will get the majority of the ♦ Please see OFFENSE, page 10 CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK Quarterback Dondrial Pinkins, center, uses his blockers to gain extra yards last Saturday at Alabama. Pinkins will not play against Ole Miss because of an injury. OLE MISS PREVIEW CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK Sophomore quarterback Syvelle Newton, left, prepares to throw the ball to senior wide receiver Troy Williamson against Alabama. Manning-less Mississippi *[ travels to Williams-Brice ■ Carolina hasn't defeated Ole Miss at home since 1979 By JIM ROCHE THE GAMECOCK First up on USC’s revenge list are the Mississippi Rebels, who at 2-3, 1 - 1 SEC, appear to have an Eli Manning hangover. Ole Miss is coming off a 28-21 win at home last week against Arkansas State. The Rebels have won two of their last three games after dropping their first two games of the season against Memphis (20-13), and Alabama (28-7). The Gamecocks, however, beat Alabama 20-3 last week and are ranked No. 25 in the AP poll, the first time since the third week of the 2003 season. South Carolina has won its last three games. The Rebels have an up-and-down offense. Ole Miss is tied for the t lowest number of passing touchdowns in the SEC (three) with Kentucky. On the other hand, Mississippi running back Vashon Pearson is fourth in the SEC in rushing . yards with 481 yards. Pearson carried the ball 24 times for 129 yards last week against Arkansas State. “We’ve got to step things up a notch. We need to speed our game up next week,” Pearson said after the win. “We’ll play a good South Carolina team, and we’re looking forward to the game. We’ve got some things to work on.” On defense, the Rebels have a great free safety in Eric Oliver. Oliver received the 2004 Chucky Mullins Courage Award. He had three tackles and two pass deflections against Arkansas State last week. Oliver could present a problem for the Syvelle Newton-Troy Williamson connection. Mississippi has a solid kicker in senior Jonathan Nichols. Nichols has hit 12 of 16 field goals in five games this year and is 8-of-8 on extra points. The Gamecocks come into the “We’ve got to step things up a notch. We need to speed our game up next week.” VASHON PEARSON MISSISSIPPI RUNNING BACK game riding a three-game winning streak. South Carolina will be missing two starters offensively in quarterback Dondrial Pinkins (bruised shoulder) and wide receiver Matthew Thomas (suspension). USC will have to rely on quarterback Syvelle Newton and Troy Williamson, who have hooked up for three touchdowns already this year. South Carolina’s defense has been on a roll the entire first half of the season. Linebacker Marcus Lawrence has 31 tackles, 21 of them solo tackles. Freshman standout free safety Ko Simpson has three interceptions ffor 93 yards and one touchdown. South Carolina is tied with LSU for the most defensive touchdowns scored this season with two. Last year in Oxford, Ole Miss beat USC 43-40 after leading 43-14 in the third quarter. Eli Manning completed 30-42 passes for 391 yards, three touchdowns and one interception to beat the Gamecocks. Ole Miss wide receiver Chris Collins caught 10 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns in the win. But Manning is in the Big Apple and the South Carolina defense ranks second in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing just 7.8 points a game and giving up just four touchdowns in the first five games of this season. The last time USC beat Ole Miss in Columbia was in 1979 with the score of 21-14. For Gamecock fans, a happy Saturday Homecoming spells R-E-V-E-N-G-E, a meal best served cold. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu Rebel runner shines despite murky season By BEN BEITZEL SPORTS EDITOR, THE DAILY MISSISSIPPIAN OXFORD, Miss. — Amid a swirling quarterback situation, an offensive line that has not played up to potential and a receiving core hampered by injury, the Ole Miss offense lacks the firepower it boasted last season, but if there is a positive spin, it rolls off the shoulders of running back Vashon Pearson. The Rebel back pounded through Vanderbilt, Wyoming and Arkansas State to notch three-straight 100-plus rushing games, the first time for an Ole Miss back since 1999, when current Saints running back Deuce McAllister rushed for five in a row. “I’m pretty happy about it,” Pearson said. “It’s been something that I’ve wanted to do. I’ve got my chance now, and I ‘m just trying to make the best of the opportunity.” And he has had plenty of opportunities. In the three-game span, he has gathered 379 yards on 62 carries, including a 129-yard performance on 24 carries as the Rebels squeaked out a 28 21 win against Arkansas State last Saturday. Pearson ranks fourth in the SEC in rushing yard, behind Florida’s Ciatrick Fason, Bama’s Ray Hudson and the Cadillac from Auburn. Pearson’s carries are not surprising considering the near 50-50 balanced attack head coach David Cutcliffe employs, a format he stuck to even during the reign of top draft pick Eli Manning. Rather, what is surprising is his high output. Pearson rushed for 398 yard on 94 carries in 2003. In the past three games, he is only 19 yards below that ’03 total, and he compiled those yards on 32 less carries and nine less games. “Vashon has been practicing hard,” said Rebel offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Latina. “He’s a fast physical player, and we expect him to gain 100 yards. We think he’s that kind of back.” Pearson is a straight-ahead type of back who would rather run through a defense than try to avoid it, but he has speed to break away when he gets in the open field. That speed was best demonstrated on a 34-yard touchdown scamper against Vanderbilt, the longest TD run of his career. For Latina and the offense, Pearson’s best attribute is his running style because it controls the ball yet has the threat of a breakaway run. I think our backs have been running well,” Cutcliffe said. “Vashon Pearson has been consistent, and he is getting as much out of the runs as he possibly can. I think we can still be a good running football team.” To be a good running team, Ole Miss might need to switch the focus of the offense from the pass to the run and allow the pass to open up some lanes not only for Pearson but for the other backs, Alan Abrams and Brandon Jacobs. If that does happen and Pearson starts to be utilized as a main offensive threat, the 100-yard games may keep coming. “He’s not an elusive back, but he’s a physical guy that has good speed,” Latina said. “If we can feed him the ball enough times, we expea him to get 100 yards or more.” STREAKING TO VICTORY BRUCE NEWMAN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Mississippi's Lorenzo Townsend scores on a 9-yard pass from Ethan Flatt against Arkansas State in a 28-21 victory Saturday.