Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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■ WOMEN Continued from page 7 meetings. The teams would finish regulation tied 1-1, despite Carolina holding a 13-8 shot advantage. The first overtime period did not favor either team, as both were limited to two shots apiece. However, the Gators missed on an opportunity to clinch the game when USC’s Kimmy Criss stopped a ball off the goal line that rolled past goalkeeper Lindsey Thorstenson. With 10 seconds remaining in the overtime period, Criss cleared the ball to give Carolina another period to score. The second overtime was dominated by Florida, though, as their third consecutive shot of the period was the game-winning goal at 104:23 by KeLeigh Hudson. Afterward, Smith and the Carolina fans were left pondering the season that just didn’t fall right for the Gamecocks. “This game that we played tonight was somewhat of an example of how our season went this year,” Smith said. “We played our hearts out and deserved to win, unfortunately Florida was able to come up with the goal to win. It was an intense match and I thought we controlled most of the play tonight.” Florida head coach Becky Burleigh agreed with Smith’s assessment, acknowledging that she “didn’t think we deserved to win tonight. South Carolina outplayed us.” The loss ends Carolina’s 2004 campaign, which finishes at 8-10-2 and 2-7-2 in the SEC. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu USC, Clemson reverse courses By PETE IACOBELLI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Never look ahead. It’s almost the first thing every Pop Warner football player hears from his coach. But any Clemson or South Carolina fans who say they haven’t let their minds wander to the season ending showdown — Tiger backers with glee, Gamecock supporters with nail-biting fear — probably aren’t telling the whole truth. A month ago with South Carolina riding high at 4-1 and Clemson searching for answers at 1-4, the annual rivalry game looked like a Gamecocks slam dunk, with fens planning their delicious Death Valley revenge after last season’s 63-17 debacle. But now after Clemson’s third straight victory and South Carolina’s second defeat in three games, a scenario is out there where the Tigers (4-4) could again send the Gamecocks (5-3) home for the winter. “We can’t think, ‘Here we go again,’” South Carolina receiver Troy Williamson said. He’s right. That’s best left to fans at both schools. Clemson travels to Miami and then to Duke before taking on the Gamecocks. Should the Tigers split those ACC contests, they’d need to defeat South Carolina to extend coach Tommy Bowden’s record to six straight bowl trips. South Carolina faces Arkansas at home Saturday, then goes to Florida before its trip to Clemson. In the past six seasons, the Gamecocks are a combined 1-11 against those two SEC rivals. If form holds again this year, South Carolina would be stuck on five wins heading to Tigertown — and could face postseason elimination at Clemson’s hands for the third consecutive year. “Negative things are going to happen and you have to stay upbeat and try to win the rest” of the games, Williamson said. “We have to make it happen.” The Gamecocks’ first chance to do that c^me Saturday against Tennessee, and they had the Vols on the ropes for much of the opening the half. But Tennessee tied things at 8-all just before halftime and put up 35 second half points for a 43-29 win. South Carolina coach Lou Holtz was disappointed his team didn’t rise to the Vols’ challenge. But he said the they played hard to the end and would be ready for the rest of the season. The players agreed. “We have to play with pride,” cornerback Fred Bennett said. “We have to be strong and not get down.” Clemson’s made a habit of that the past three seasons. In 2002, the Tigers won three of their final four games to qualify for the postseason. A year ago, they swept their final four games to finish 9-4. This year, Clemson hit rock bottom again as it lost four consecutive games after it began the season ranked in the top 25. But the Tigers have found their defensive swagger — they forced six turnovers in a 26-20 victory over North Carolina State this past Saturday and have made up for a sluggish offense. “This game was as important as any here in the past couple of years,” Clemson quarterback Charlie Whitehurst said after beating the Wolfpack. “Now we’ve set ourselves up in the best situation to go and see what, happens.” Only the most orange colored of Tiger fans would pick Clemson in its first game with Miami since 1956. But only the most rabid Gamecock backer would bet against the ligers getting that hrth victory before the Nov. 20 season-ender with South Carolina. Clemson’s turnaround says “a lot about the players’ character and not quitting,” Bowden said. Holtz doesn’t expect his club to quit either. The Gamecocks wanted to beat Tennessee so badly, Holtz felt a compassion he’d never experienced before. “If we continue to have that effort,” Holtz said on his TV show Sunday, “we can get to a bowl game, we can win.” Life is Calling. How Far Will You Go? Next year, the Peace Corps will need thousands of new Volunteers for a variety of work areas in 70 countries around the world. Find out how you can be one of them. 1 1 ■ .... .. .. ..•.—t Peace Corps Information Meeting & Film Presentation University of South Carolina H. William Close Bldg. Career Center, 6th Floor Thursday, November 4 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. For more information or to schedule an interview, call Keith West at (800) 424.8580, option 1, ext. 23473or Email: kwest@peacecorps.gov. www.peacecorps.gov Peace Corps 8oo-4Z4-858o CHUCK BURTON/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Fans celebrate North Carolina’s 31-28 win over Miami in Chapel Hill, N.C., Saturday. UNC’s win was the team's first over a top five team in school history. The day marked the first time since 1978 that Florida, Miami and Florida State lost a football game on the same day. A dark day for Sunshine State ■ Florida schools lose on same day for first time since 1978 By MARK LONG THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida, Florida State and Miami were out of the national championship picture by Thanksgiving last year. It could happen even sooner this season. All three lost Saturday, the first time that happened on the same day since On. 14, 1978. The rare feat gave them a combined seven losses this season, their most this early since 1981 and staggering numbers for teams that dominated the 1990s. It also is an indication that each program has problems — the biggest of which may be that the rest of the country has closed the gap on the Sunshine State. “I think teams are catching up from the standpoint of recruiting,” Miami coach Larry Coker said Sunday. “There is a lot of parity. If you’re not on top of your game and make a play here and there when you need to, it can be a tough day.” The Hurricanes (6-1) have given up an average of nearly 500 yards the last three weeks and were upset 31-28 at North Carolina on Saturday night, losing for the first time since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference. They fell from No. 4 to 11th in the latest Associated Press poll. The Seminoles (6-2) missed three field goals against Maryland, lost 20-17 and dropped from No. 5 to No. 13 in the rankings. The once-mighty Gators (4-4) have tumbled the farthest. After winning six Southeastern Conference championships and a national title in Steve Spurrier’s 12 seasons, the team has gone 20-14 in three seasons under Ron Zook. “It’s hard to maintain the level of intensity that you have to maintain,” Zook said Sunday. “There’s not very much difference between playing at the level you have to play at to win and not. That happens on every level and with every team.” Throw out the two non-conference cupcakes scheduled each year and Zook is 14-14 at Florida. He also has one loss each year to an unranked opponent — the last one prompting athletic director Jeremy Foley to fire him last week. Players responded by ripping Foley and threatening to transfer — even if Spurrier returns to Gainesville. They also vowed to win their remaining games for The Zooker, but the emotion couldn’t carry them past Georgia. The Bulldogs’ 31-24 victory at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party was their second in the series in the last 15 years. iNow tne uators nave rour conrerence losses for the first time since 1986 and need to win two of their remaining three games — at Vanderbilt, against South Carolina and at Florida State — to become bowl eligible. Florida has gone to a bowl every year since 1990, when the team finished 9-2 in Spurrier’s first season but was on NCAA probation. “These guys have a lot of pride and they want to play well,” Zook said. “It’s important for them to show people that they can be a good football team.” The Seminoles — who won national championships in 1993 and 1999 and played for others in 1996, 1998 and 2000 — have lost 10 of their last 31 games and are out of the title chase for the fourth consecutive year. This year’s problems have been obvious — poor play from the quarterback and placeddcker. I Chris Rix threw two interceptions and fumbled twice in a season-opening loss to Miami in overtime. Xavier Beitia, the second leading scorer in school history, also had a 34-yarder blocked late in the game. Beitia struggled again Saturday against Maryland. He missed a 41-yarder wide left in the second quarter and.hit the left upright from 52 yards out in the fourth. He could have tied the game with a 45 yard attempt late but was wide left again. Although missed kicks have defined Florida State’s series against Miami, they rarely have played roles for the Seminoles against others. “It goes back to parity. There’s much more evidence of that than there was five years ago or 10 years ago,” coach Bobby Bowden said. “Our conference is getting pretty balanced.” Miami’s woes can be tto losing The Hurricanes had 19 players drafted in the NFL’s first round over the last four years, including a record six in April. They also have lost two starting offensive linemen to injuries this season, tackle Eric Winston and guard Tyler McMeans. But the Hurricanes don’t want to make any excuses. Despite needing overtime to beat Florida State and a late comeback to avoid an upset against Louisville, they still have a good chance to win the ACC and earn a fifth consecutive berth in the Bowl Championship Series. Even so, that would be a drop-off for a program that captured five national titles between 1983 and 2001, played for several more and had 34-game winning streak just two seasons ago. ‘Teams that play us, I think they raise their level,” Coker said. 'That’s pan of the beauty of being at Miami.” -- 1 PHIL COALE/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Ciatrick Fason watches as the clock runs out on the « Florida Gators as they lose to Georgia 31-24. i small fares, big fun across the US and Canada (800) 777.0112 U.S. (888) 427.5639 CANADA [TRAVEL | wwvir.statravel.com .V ■ OFFENSE Continued from page 10 would finish the game with 190 total yards rushing. To the credit of the USC offense, they showed no signs of quitting, scoring 21 points in the game’s final quarter. While it was not the final nail in the coffin, the UT knockout punch most likely came with the Gamecocks at the UT 37-yard line. Pinkins was rolling to his left and was in his throwing motion when his pass was deflected from behind, sending the ball fluttering helplessly into the hands of Volunteer linebacker Omar Gaither. Five plays and 52 yards later, the UT lead was back to 21 points at 36-15. The Gamecocks would put together touchdown drives of 61 and 80 yards seemingly at will in the game’s final minutes, but could not overcome the late deficit. “We just have to keep working. We have to focus on the little things,” Pinkins said. “Big time players make big plays in big games. It’s just something we’re lacking right now.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gtvm.sc. edu ■ DEFENSE Continued from page 10 20 unanswered points in the second half to win. “They’re heartbroken because they didn’t play well for two halves,” Minter said. “They played real well for the first half but that’s not how you win games. You have to play well for 60 minutes.” Holtz denounced the idea that his defense was tired and lacked the depth needed to play four quarters, although defensive end Moe Thompson lined up at fullback at times throughout the game and Holtz substituted his defensive line often. “I don’t think it’s conditioning at all,” Holtz said. “I mean, the receivers ran the whole day and we all run the same amount (in practice). Let’s credit Tennessee.” Minter said it just came down to his unit not making enough stops in the second half. “Look up at the scoreboard and we scored what? 29 or so?” Minter said. “That should always be enough.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu ■ CLARY Continued from page 10 Tennessee scored and scored again, and that was all she wrote. Now I do commend our players for not giving up, but just once I wish the script would have had a different ending. Here’s something else that is getting to me: Demetris Summers rushed for 106 yards on just 10 carries. All we heard over the summer is how he is going to get 20 carries a game. Now yes, he’s been hurt, and he went down again Saturday. But he ran off the field and was back in the next series. Summers had more than enough opportunities Saturday to get the ball. We seem to be looking for a go-to guy; who better than “Meat?” What’s it going to take to come out on top against a team like Tennessee or Florida? You can’t blame our guys for not being prepared or not wanting to win or not giving 100 percent. It just seem$ like we can never finish a game the way we started. The same old script is just simply getting old.