The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, November 19, 2004, Image 1
unvw.dailygamecock.com _FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2004_ Since 1908
Holtz tells players he won’t be back
By STEPHEN FASTENAU
THE GAMECOCK
Coach Lou Holtz will retire at the
end of the season, reportedly opening
the door for former Florida coach Steve
Spurrier to take over, a source close to
the team confirmed Thursday.
According to the source, who spoke
on condition of anynomity, Holtz told
his players before Thursday’s practice of
his plans to retire. Wednesday,
sophomore quarterback Syvelle Newton
said Holtz would let his players know of
his plans before he addressed the media.
Just two days before USC plays its
biggest game of the season against rival
Clemson, Columbia awoke to a plethora
of talk on a report from The
Tennessean, a Nashville newspaper.
w
Spurrier, former Florida and
Washington Redskins coach, has agreed
to take the head coaching position at
USC if Lou Holtz retires following the
season, according to a report published
in The (Nashville) Tennessean on
Thursday. ESPN.com confirmed the
report.
Holtz has repeatedly said he will not
make a decision on his future until after
this week’s game against the Tigers. He
has also said it would be a “great thing”
if Spurrier were to succeed him if he
were to retire.
Holtz should make a formal
announcement early next week. In the
meantime, USC Sports Information
Director Kerry Tharp has said neither
Holtz nor his players would meet with
the media until after the Clemson game.
Tharp said he fielded calls Thursday
from various media outlets across the
country and gave them all a similar
response.
“Coach Holtz has mentioned several
times that he is going to take a look at
whether or not he’s going to coach
beyond this season,” Tharp said. “He
certainly has some season left.
“It’s his call, and it always has been
his call. We’ll talk about this publicly
when it’s best for him.”
During the past two weeks, Holtz
had not given a definite answer to the
situation. Earlier this week he noted that
he had talked with Spurrier.
“I’ve talked with Steve,” Holtz said.
“We’ve talked about how to cure a slice.
That’s about it.”
Golf has apparently played at least a
small part in Spurrier’s decision making.
Spurrier is reportedly enticed by the
prospect of becoming a member at the
prestigious Augusta National golf club,
where Holtz is an associate member.
USC alumnus Hootie Johnson is the
chairman of the club.
Local news station WIS was on
campus Thursday gauging student
reaction.
Other news stations from Charlotte
and Charleston, as well as a crew from
ESPN, were in the Williams-Brice
parking lot.
Campus reactions were mixed. First
year engineering student Kayleigh
Hudson said she thinks Spurrier would
be good for the program.
♦ Please see NEW ERA, page 4
KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK
A USC student shows his feelings about Spurrier during the USC
Florida game in Gainsville last Saturday.
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Rivals
to meet
*again
By JOEL WALLACE
THE GAMECOCK
The battle for pigskin supremacy in
the Palmetto State continues Saturday
with the 102nd meeting between USC
and Clemson.
The usual pageantry associated with
the rivalry has taken a backseat to
questions surrounding the future of
coaching legend Lou Holtz. This is
particularly disconcerting for the
Gamecocks, as Holtz has tried to avoid
distractions so the team car be better
prepared than when they headed into last
year’s 63-17 debacle at Williams-Brice.
B Holtz has beaten Clemson only once
^ in his Carolina career, and he has made
it clear that he wants to win this game
more than any he’s ever coached.
Statements like that have left the door
open for speculation about the coach's
future at USC, especially with rumors of
Steve Spurrier running rampant.
The Gamecocks and Tigers head into
this game with question marks
surrounding their quarterback situations.
For USC, the question is how effective
the Gamecocks can be at the position, as
Syvelle Newton’s ankle injury might
limit his mobility. The sophomore
sensation was unable to avoid the Florida
pass rush in the Swamp.
“Syvelle has been moving around
pretty good,” quarterbacks coach Skip
Holtz said. “His ankle seems much
better.”
♦ Please see PREVIEW, page 3
CHARLIE DAVENPORT^THE GAMECOCK
I am the Cock Commander. All other cocks must bow before the Cock Commander. Yo soy el Cock Commander.
Seasons
hinge on
defense
By MATTHEW NAGY
THE GAMECOCK
As USC Clemson enter the
102nd Palmetto Classic on Saturday, the
only certainty is the teams’ uncertain
defensive performances — Clemson
started slow and picked up the pace,
while Carolina has faltered after a 4-1
stan. Carolina has struggled since feeing
Mississippi on Oct. 9, while Clemson has
started another late season roll after
starting 1-4.
The Gamecocks came into the match
up with the Rebels ranked No. 25 in the
week’s AP poll but got torched on
defense against Mississippi’s three
quarterback rotation. Since the game,
USC has gone 2-2 and given up more
points against Tennessee (43) and Florida
(48) than it had during its entire 4-1
stretch to begin the year. While Carolina
has been struggling since mid-October,
the Tigers have turned it on down the
stretch yet again and were able to position
themselves for bowl eligibility with a win
Saturday.
Carolina gave up an average of 7.8
points per game in the first five match
ups, but that number has ballooned to
32.2 points per game in the last five
contests. The Gamecocks forced more
turnovers in the first five games than the
second five and were able to get to the
quarterback more. The USC defense has
not earned a sack since the Tennessee
match-up and has had problems putting
pressure on the quarterback all year.
♦ Please see DEFENSES, page 4 %
he
Seniors bid farewell to season
CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE GAMECOCK
Seniors Rod Wilson, top, and
Preston Thorne take part in
serfor day festivities.
By STEPHEN DEMEDIS
STAFF WRITER
Since 1908, the Clemson-Carolina game
has been an annual in-state showdown, but
for some Gamecocks, this year will be the last
game. On Saturday, 23 USC seniors,
including 15 from the state of South
Carolina, will take the field for the last time
against the archrival Clemson Tigers.
Once again, the game has huge
implications concerning bowl games, coaching
changes and recruiting leverage. But for USC’s
senior players, the game has an extra meaning.
“This game is really important to both
schools when you think about the rivalry and
how we want to win as a team,” linebacker
Rod Wilson said. “But it is different this year
because (as a senior) you get a lifetime worth
of bragging rights if you win. It gives the
game extra meaning.”
Some seniors were pan of the team that
defeated Clemson 20-15 in 2001 and know
what it is like to beat the Tigers. Others have
only been on the roster the past two years, in
which USC lost both games to Clemson.
“I have never beaten them,” South
Carolina native Marcus Lawrence said. “I
was a junio. college transfer and have been
here two years. To be able to beat them for
the first time and go out on top as a senior
would be awfully special.”
One of the losses Lawrence witnessed was
the 63-17 trouncing Clemson handed
Carolina last year at WiUiams-Brice. The loss
not only kept the Gamecocks out of a bowl
game for the third year in a row but
humiliated Carolina’s oldest players on Senior
Night. The reactions of their teammates last
year looms in the minds of the’05 seniors.
“It was hard seeing seniors like TraveUe
Wharton and Jeremiah Garrison last year
after the game, just watching them get
undressed and seeing the hurt that they had,”
serior guard Jonathan Alston said. “The
whole team felt that way, but it was different
for (the seniors) because they couldn’t come
back and play another game.”
Carolina’s upperclassmen have been
taking time to convey their emotions and
anticipation to their younger teammates. On
Wednesday, Wilson, a fifth-year senior,
explained to a freshman who did not believe
in rivalries just how much this game means
to the students and alumni.
It is a message that those who returned from
last year’s team know aU too weU, as they were
reminded ot Lie 46-point loss wherever they went.
“Last year when I went home (to Goose
Creek), I was at a gas station and these little kids
are yelling, ‘63-17,’ and it was embarrassing,”
Alston said. “But at the same time, this year I
don’t want to do anything but smile and
know that we came away with a
victory.”
Any success that Carolina has
Saturday will he directly related to
the play of its seniors, who will
clearly bring drive and emotion with
them onto the field. Throughout the
week, USC head coach Lou Holtz has
stressed the importance of strong play
from the offensive line and defenders
in pass coverage over the middle —
both areas where seniors hold
starting rolls.
How the Gamecock seniors
respond to their coach’s comments
will wait to be seen, but one thing
is certain: A victory in their last liqBBBBBl
game against their archrivals would
deliver a great sense of pride and
bragging rights, as well as something ''SMS*
to hang their hat on in years to come.
Comments on this stoiy ? E-mail
gamecockspoi-ts@gtv?n. .>.. edu
Dondrial Pinkins is one of
\ 23 seniors who will play in
their final regular season
game Saturday against
Clemson.
■ CHARLIE DAVENPORT/THE
GAMECOCK