The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, October 18, 2004, Page 10, Image 10
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
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