Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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LOU SAID IT "I don't have the answers. Just hide all sharp implements and all Page 14 guns.That's all I ask. I don't know.” Monday, November 15,2004 ^ ... < • head football coach _ SOUTH CAROLINA (6-4) 14 — FLORIDA (6-4) 48 4g$ ggg/r /'if Ittnft ^ ^ c.’fWKMF t** , * DAVID STAGG/THE GAMECOCK Florida sophomore quarterback Chris Leak prepares to throw a deep ball in the second half of the Gators’ 48-14 victory over USC on Saturday. Flead coach Ron Zook, in his last game, looks on from the sidelines. ■ Florida offense looks like Fun V Gun of old days By JONATHAN HILLYARD SPORTS EDITOR After losing four of their first nine games, firing their head coach and falling to the Georgia Bulldogs for the first time since 1997, Chris Leak and company reminded us Saturday that the Florida offense is still, well, the Florida offense. What was known under former head coach Steve Spurrier as the “Fun ’n’ Gun” offense, the unit has not been itself since losing the OF Ball Coach. The flare of a deep passing game has not been prevalent at Florida under head coach Ron Zook. That being said, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville was still the home to the SEC’s leading quarterback and running back coming into Saturday’s game. Against USC, the mighty Gators were once again mighty and as Spurrier used to say, they “tossed the ball all over the field.” True sophomore quarterback Chris Leak was nothing short of sensational against the conference’s fourth-ranked pass defense. Leak completed 18 of 31 passes for 319 yards. Most impressive were Leak’s six touchdown passes. The sextuplet of TDs spawned from Leak was the most by any SEC quarterback against a conference opponent, ever. It was also the most touchdown passes thrown by any quarterback in the SEC this season. “You can’t say enough about a guy like Chris Leak,” Florida freshman tight end Tate Casey said. “As humble as he is and as much as he puts into it, he really does a great job.” More impressive than the quantity of the touchdown passes was the quality of them. Included in the plethora of scores were passes of 24, 56, 61 and 39 yards, all of which were perfect strikes. The Gator signal caller was not by any means locked in on a single receiver. Leak hit eight different receivers with his 18 completions. The distribution of his passes was impeccable with sophomore Andre Caldwell catching four passes for 78 yards and one touchdown, sophomore Chad Jackson catching three passes for 90 yards and one touchdown, junior Dallas Baker catching two balls for 70 yards and one touchdown and freshman Tate Casey catching two strikes for 28 yards and two touchdowns. By the way, Casey has five catches on the season — four of them are touchdowns. Prior to Saturday’s game, Leak’s collegiate career high was three touchdown passes. When asked when the last time he threw six touchdowns, Leak’s response was, “It’s been a while because in high school I usually threw seven or eight.” ♦ Please see OFFENSE, page 12 USC no match for Zook, UF / By STEPHEN FASTENAU STAFF WRITER In his first start in Gainesville, USC quarterback Syvelle Newton was treated to a rude welcome. The sophomore threw three interceptions and re-injured his ankle as Florida ran away with a 48 14 win. Newton went just 7 of 17 for 66 yards and no touchdowns and was also sacked three times. Blake Mitchell took over with 6:19 remaining in the third quarter, as Newton was unable to elude a constant Gator pass rush. “I didn’t really get comfortable,” Newton said. “(Florida) coach Strong had a good blitz on and they just brought it.” Bringing it was something the USC defense had trouble doing. Florida quarterback Chris Leak threw for 319 yards and six touchdowns while not being sacked. USC held Gator running back Ciatrick Fason to just 20 yards but had no answer for Leak. Head coach Lou Holtz hinted that Newton had aggravated an ankle injury first suffered at Kentucky. Newton confirmed his condition. “I kind of hurt (the ankle) again out ♦ Please see RECAP, page 12 STAT BOX GAME 10 6 Touchdown passes thrown by Florida 7 Touchdown passes allowed by USC prior to Saturday 4 Interceptions thrown by USC quarterbacks RON ZOOK’S LAST STAND I jl . I 'W ■■■■ DAVID STAGG/THE GAMECOCK Florida head coach Ron Zook is congratulated after his team's victory Saturday. The game was Zook’s last in the Swamp as coach. Chris Leak owns up to rich Florida QB legacy ■ Give Leak respect, not questions filled with homosexual implications I’m sitting 5 feet away from Chris Leak and some shady reporter with chest hair is trying to get an emotive response out ofhim. “So, were you sad in the locker room? Were there hugs?” the reporter asked him. “I mean, yeah, it was sad, but we just DAVID won,” Leak responded. STAGG You’d think this was fourth-year a done deal. Leak media arts obviously wasn’t going STUDENT i to open the spigots tonight. Head coach Ron Zook was the first to speak in post game interviews and made it very clear that HE wasn’t going to cry. In feet, he was kind of a jerk. It’s his last home game at the Swamp, just minutes prior he had received a standing ovation from those left in the stands, and here he was, pissed off he had to face the media. Despite Zook’s short, smart-aleck answers, Leak, much more responsive than Zook, seemed grateful for every minute he had in the spodight. And now — when the only coach and staff Leak’s ever had have played their last home game of the season — someone was looking for the tears. Most of the time, Leak only gave a stoic expression with responses that sounded as if he’s never been quoted before. You wouldn’t think they’d just won by the largest margin of victory over a conference opponent in the Zook era. You wouldn’t think he’d have just thrown for six touchdown passes, the most ever by an SEC quarterback against another SEC team — besides one Danny Wuerffel, who did it twice when he manned the Florida offense. Not only that, but Leak waltzed into a world where when you lose, your neck could be on the chopping block. And though Zook’s been taking,the heat lately for the Gators’ shortcomings, here was Leak, trying to field responses from some dude who wouldn’t let the conspiracy locker room story go. And the shady reporter wasn’t done yet. “So did you give Zook a hug? Were there hugs in there?” he pried. “Yeah, I hugged him.” The young quarterback was trying to finish him off. I’m sitting there thinking, “He doesn’t deserve these kinds of questions.” Just recendy, he probably said goodbye to his mother as he left for college. Dude’s 19 years old. When I was 19, I was learning how to eat solid food and had just finished teething. Sure, there are other young quarterbacks at huge schools: Erik Ainge and Brent Schaeffer at Tennessee, ♦ Please see STAGG, page 12 Make lVWW*C(ipit(llOTiebOWl.COTTl your home page and vote everyday!iflj