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LOU SAID IT “If you told me (five) turnovers and we're going to work our way down to Michael Rathe, I would have mailed it in." LOU HOLTZ HEAD FOOTBALL COACH fg SOUTH CAROLINA (5-2) 12 — KENTUCKY (1-5) 7 USC avoids Wildcat upset By ALEX RILEY THE GAMECOCK LEXINGTON, Ky. — To say that the game between USC and Kentucky was somewhat different and a little strange would be the understatement of the year. Despite all the chaos, USC left the Bluegrass State with a 12-7 victory. Kentucky was yielding 30.6 points a game, while USC’s defense was only allowing 11.7 points to their opponents. Carolina was expected to take out its frustration on the Wildcats as the 12 point spread indicated. Things began as expected for the Gamecocks — Lou Holtz’s commitment to run Demetris Summers at least 25 times in the game was coming true as Summers ran the first three plays of the game and seemed to be gaining yards with ease. That’s when everything went in reverse. Summers became the first victim in a slew of Gamecock fumbles, interceptions and turnovers that seemed to haunt the team all night. Gonzie Gray put the ball on the ground after the defense took a stand following Summers’ first fumble. Summers managed to end his playing time by fumbling again, while Syvelle Newton recovered one of his own mishandled snaps before his early exit in the first half. Carolina also added two interceptions from fill-in quarterback Blake Mitchell, who was later replaced by senior Mike Rathe. The Wildcats also failed to protect the ball, as they had two fumbles, one that they lost and they threw one interception on a reverse pass from wide receiver Jacob Tamme. But sometimes it’s not what you do, it’s what you don’t do. Wildcat senior safety Mike Williams had a pass land in his lap that should have been an interception to seal the game for Kentucky. Instead, the ball fell to the ground and gave Carolina another chance. That chance resulted in a 16-yard pass from Rathe to Noah Whiteside for a first down. From there, a few quick passes and short runs set up what could be the defining moment of the season. On third and seven, Rathe rolled right and found Troy Williamson, the SEC’s leading receiver, for a 19-yard touchdown pass that would put Carolina ahead for good and give the Gamecocks their fifth win of the season. “I looked him right in the eye and he just threw it up,” Williamson said. Rathe added: “I saw Troy working with me and it was either him or nobody. I’m glad to see (Lou Holtz) has confidence in me.” USC head coach Lou Holtz also commented on the wild turnovers and close match. “It was a crazy game,” he said. “Three fumbles on first down, then we had a couple of interceptions. But this team found a way to win.” Rathe had been less than stellar over his career. The junior college transfer arrived at USC as the 37th best junior college prospect in America. But on his only pass against Georgia in 2003, Rathe was picked off, beginning his apparent downfall. He did manage to pick up three completions last fall, but also had two interceptions. Rathe was listed as the fourth string quarterback coming into this season. Ahead of him were senior incumbent Dondrial Pinkins, sophomore Syvelle Newton and redshirt freshman Blake Mitchell. Rathe was left for the bench, until Saturday rolled around. With Pinkins not making the trip, Newton’s ankle injury, and Mitchell’s inability to get anything going, Rathe was called upon to take the reins and lead USC back. “I asked (Skip Holtz), ‘Do you want to go with Mike Rathe?’ and he said ‘I think we should,’” Holtz said. “I asked him about four times.” Near interceptions were a major point of discussion, as Louisville failed to capitalize on a bad pass by Miami quarterback Brock Berlin who lead the Canes to a come from behind win over the Cards. The Gamecocks overcame mistakes to set themselves up for a shot at bowl eligibility with that elusive sixth win, as they host Tennessee in two weeks. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockspoifs@gwm.se. edu STAT BOX GAME 7 9 Total number of turnovers ■ 7 Number of consecutive field goals converted by USC’s Josh Brown 3 Career completions by Mike Rathe prior to Saturday 5 Completions in game-winning drive by Rathe CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK Junior running back Daccus Turman slides past Kentucky corner back Earven Flowers. Turman rushed for 54 yards and didn’t fumble the ball. Gamecocks unleash Rathe on UK ED REINKE/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Fourth string quarterback Michael Rathe raises his arm in victory after completing a touchdown pass to Troy Williamson. By JONATHAN HILLYARD SPORTS EDITOR LEXINGTON, Ky. — The first pass USC quarterback Michael Rathe ever completed in a Gamecock uniform was to Georgia safety Sean Jones, basically sealing his fate as a bench-warmer for the rest of his career. After Saturday night, this fourth-string signal caller’s legacy is quite different. In the span of five minutes and one second Rathe accomplished maify things. He completed five passes — two more than his career total entering the game, one more than USC did in an earlier win versus Alabama. He drove the team 88 yards on 13 plays, culminating in a 19-yard touchdown pass to Troy Williamson. Most importantly, Rathe did something no USC quarterback has done in two years — lead the Gamecocks to a come from behind SEC win. “It couldn’t have happened to a better guy,” kicker Josh Brown said. “The whole time he’s been here he’s just asked what he could do to help out the team.” This time last season Rathe had been banished to the bench after that fateful pass against Georgia blew any chances of a win in Athens. Rathe finished 2003 with two completions for 24 yards, both against Clemson. In Saturday’s game-winning drive Rathe completed five of seven passes for 57 yards. Following the Georgia game in 2003, Rathe’s name no longer figured into the quarterback shuffle and all signs pointed to the end of any meaningful career he may have had as a Gamecock. “You keep hoping,” Rathe said. “That’s what pushes you and you keep going every day and you treat the game of football like a game and just having fun with it every day. There are millions of kids that wish they could do what we do every day.” Entering spring workouts this season Rathe was listed as the fourth string quarterback and completed two of three passes for 5 yards in the spring game. He completed one pass in a win over South Florida in mop-up duty. Skip Holtz said Rathe received few reps in practice prior to an injury that sidelined Dondrial Pinkins against Alabama. He began splitting snaps with Blake Mitchell under the second-team offense following Pinkins’ injury. Despite his lack of playing time, Rathe continued to work hard in practice, which was noticed repeatedly by Lou Holtz. “It was great for him,” USC head coach Lou Holtz said. “He’s hung around here, he’s been positive and upbeat, and just to step in there and do that was great for Michael Rathe.” Even entering Saturday’s contest in Lexington, Rathe was third on the quarterback depth chart. Could he possibly have imagined that he would get his big chance on this cold October night in Kentucky? “No,” Rathe said with a laugh. “I’m not going to lie. I mean — uhhh — no.” After a Syvelle Newton ankle injury and two Blake Mitchell interceptions, quarterbacks coach Skip Holtz felt it was time for Kentucky to feel the Rathe. After being thrown to the wolves on the deciding drive, Rathe responded immediately, completing his first pass to Cory Boyd for a 13-yard gain. It was not all easy for the senior slinger, as two possible interceptions were dropped by Kentucky defenders on the final drive. Lou Holtz could have decided to run the ball on a third down and 7 yards to go from the UK 19-yard line and set up Josh Brown for a game-winning field goal in the middle of the field. However, Holtz felt like a pass was the right call for the situation. “I didn’t want to put the pressure all on Josh Brown and say ‘OK. Josh, it’s up to you’,” Lou Holtz said. “I wanted to be able to say to Josh, ‘Josh, we tried to score. We couldn’t.’” Following the game, Lou Holtz was asked if he recalled winning a game with so many turnovers and his number four quarterback. “If you would have told me (five) turnovers and we’re going to work our way down to Michael Rathe, I would have mailed it in.” Comments on this story? E-?nail ga7necockspo1ts@gwm.sc. edu I’ll take an For the second straight week, the Gamecocks didn’t have their “A” game on hand. For the second straight week, the Gamecocks came back from a deficit to take the lead . late in the game. However this week the Gamecocks made the plays when they had to and the bottom line is they won. Who would have thought Michael Rathe would be the man who threw the game winning touchdown pass? The senior looked poised and confident on the final drive and the final pass couldn’t have been placed any better. And once again Troy Williamson came up big, and 1 do mean big. If he got up any higher on that catch, rain would have come down with him. Michael Rathe set the example for a lot of players who don’t get a lot of chances each week. When he got his shot, he took it in full stride and capitalized on it. With a tough four games remaining, we must have individuals step up and make the big play. Speaking of quarterbacks, I must bring up a point that the last two games have taught me. In the final four games, I believe a healthy Dondrial Pinkins will only help us, not just because of his leadership and experience, but his ability and skill. Pinkins’ speed mixed with his experience will be needed. Our team seems to play well with him in the game and I hope he’s back for Tennessee. We need him. After last week, our defense was hungry to get back on the field and have a good performance. I’d say holding Kentucky to 251 total yards and forcing four turnovers is a job well done. I know, I know, Kentucky had a drive of more than 90 yards and we made some other noticeable mistakes. But the gang tackling was back and in full force and only giving up seven points is exciting. Now I will say that our defensive line could do a better job getting pressure on the quarterback. However, there were two pluses that came from Saturday night’s game. First, we only gave up 80 yards rushing and second, Moe Thompson was in the backfield more than any other time this year. Now don’t get me wrong. Our last two games haven’t been anything to brag about. I know that, you know that and our players know that. Let’s take our week off and reevaluate what needs to be corrected. Most importantly let’s hide the buttered popcorn from the team before the games. It’s vital for us to hold on to the ball in order to be in the game against Tennessee. Once Demetris Summers gets over that, I can’t wait to see him light up Tennessee again. I’ve just got a feeling he will. And finally, I have to give a shout out to the second-string offensive line. Just like last week, they came in and dominated the Kentucky front. I think they have deserved more* playing time the final four games. The future looks good for our O-line. With two weeks to prepare for a home game against Tennessee, we’re going to find out where we stand with the rest of the conference. I can’t wait. RYAN CLARY FOURTH-YEAR ELECTRONIC JOURNALISM STUDENT Listen to Ryan Clary and sports editor Jonathan Hillyard on “Your Sports Show” every Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. on ■ ■ i——■