Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Future bright for Spurrier's Carolina ■ Clemson loss hurts, but let’s focus on the good things coming our way There were two very noticeable differences between South Carolina and Clemson in Saturday’s ball game that ultimately led to a Tiger victory. Clemson was tougher and more confident than we were. It was noticeable from the start that Clemson tackled better and hit harder than we did. They just looked confident on the field and we RYAN didnt CLARY However, you cannot tell me and FOURTH-YEAR I will not listen to ELECTRONIC , JOURNALISM any°ne who ^ STUDENT that Clemson has better players than we do. I will say that their players are better at their system than we are at ours. The good news is, change is on the way. We’ve got two things going for us that are different from last year. First off, on Tuesday, we’re going to announce Steve Spurrier as our coach. I can see the quarterback draw being thrown out of the playbook already. The other thing we have is our bowl game coming up. This is our chance to end the year on a high note and send Coach Holtz out the right way. Someone asked me after the game, “How were they able to run all over us like they did?” 1 honestly had no answer. I don’t know what happened and I’m not DAVID STAGG/THE GAMECOCK USC has an abundance of young talent such as Cory Boyd. going to fill the column with excuses or guesses. What I am going to tell you is that I am excited about the future. We’ve got a solid group of guys coming back next year with a coach who I believe can take us to that next level. The first key is obviously to get our guys to play to the best of their ability, which will lead to many victories. Don’t get me wrong. I, like many of you, am very disappointed about the game and have to prepare myself to “take it” from Clemson fans for another year. However, I will not question our players mind set or desire to win. I would like to take this time to thank Cdach Holtz for all he’s done for this program. You may not get where I’m coming from since we just lost to Clemson for the third straight time. But I’ll do my best to explain. Let’s look back at what he adopted. We were coming off another losing season and were doing what we could not to finish last in the SEC. It took him only two years and we were beating Ohio State in the Outback Bowl. Later on this year, we’re going to play in our third bowl game in the last five years. That may not sound all that great, but looking back at South Carolina’s history, I’d say the man is a genius. On Monday, he’s going to make one of his best moves yet. Coach Holtz is a very smart man and he knows when it’s time to pass the torch to someone else. He has built this program up and knows the best thing for it is to add a new face. Coach Spurrier will now take this foundation of great talent and put it over the top. I can’t wait. ■ CLEMSON Continued from page 12 Against Carolina, Merriweather’s 28 rushes were the most by a Clemson player since a game against Maryland in 2000. “We watched a lot of film and Clemson doesn’t run the ball much,” cornerback Taqiy Muhammad said. “We worked on stopping both the run and the pass, but focused more on stopping their passing attack.” Holtz’s rationale for Clemson’s success running the ball was the play in the trenches. Carolina’s defensive front seven could not manage to get a sufficient push up front and that opened holes for Merriweather. “He ran the ball hard. They played physical and ran physical. That was the main difference in the ball game,” Holtz said. The Gamecocks will have to find a way to stop Merriweather as he still has two years of eligibility left. While he might not get any taller, the back’s role is likely to grow in the upcoming seasons when two of college footSall’s biggest rivals face again. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockspo7ts@gwm.sc. edu ■ BRAWLS Continued from page 1 investigating the incident along with Clemson coach Tommy Bowden and ACC Commissioner John SwofFord. Phillips said the group would make “a determination of appropriate actions to be taken.” A number of video highlights showed USC defensive end Charles Silas charging a Clemson player when the fight appeared to be settling down and other footage shows Clemson running back Yusef Kelly tossing a USC helmet into the stands. “This is an intense rivalry,” Clemson cornerback Justin Miller said after the game. “Both teams wanted to win and emotionally got involved, so you really can’t stop that in this game.” A number of video highlights showed USC defensive end Charles Silas charging a Clemson player when the fight appeared to be setding down and other footage shows Clemson running back Yusef Kelly tossing a USC helmet into the stands. Friday night’s brawl between the Indiana Pacers, the Detroit Pistons and their fans was fresh on everyone’s mind after the Palmetto state’s version of unorganized boxing. “Emotions flew, things just got out of hand and one thing led to another,” USC tackle Na’Shan Goddard said. “It’s the Indiana Pacers’ fault.” “For 24 hours they’ve watched that basketball fiasco,” Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden said. . “That’s all they’ve watched. Every major news program, that thing was covered. They sat there and watched it and watched it.” The fourth quarter fight was not the first exchange of the day between the players. Clemson players rubbed Howard’s Rock and ran down the hill to the field prior to the game, and USC “It’s the Indiana Pacers’ fault.” NA'SHAN GODDARD USC TACKLE players were there waiting for them. Instead of running between band members to their sideline, Clemson players confronted USC players and a shoving match ensued in the East end zone. Neither coach condoned the fights and both made it clear that it was out of order. “There’s no reason, no excuse whatsoever to have a team come off the bench or off the sideline,” USC ^ head coach Lou Holtz said Saturday. “I don’t know what caused it. I don’t know what motivated it but there is no way that should ever be pan of college football.” Holtz’s feelings a day later had not changed. “For our players to run out onto the field like they did is devastating to not only me as a coach, but to the University of South Carolina and college football in general,” Holtz said in his weekly coaches show Sunday. “I’ve never had anything like this happen in all my years of coaching and I must say it is certainly the most disappointing thing I’ve experienced as a head coach. I care deeply about our players and I care deeply about how our players react to situations. On Saturday, they reacted inappropriately j and I feel bad about that.” ' No other incidents occurred after the fourth quarter brawl, and after the game players shook hands without any problems. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.se. edu ■ SOCCER Continued from page 9 kick sailed just over Hislop’s head and out of bounds. “I’m extremely proud of my team tonight. I thought they did a tremendous job,” Berson said. “I thought College of Charleston played a great game. It was a tremendous soccer game from end to end. If that’s the first college soccer game you’ve ever seen, I guarantee you that you’re coming back to look at another one.” The game indeed was a tough, physical battle, but Carolina came up short. Only four Gamecocks had postseason tournament experience, and at times it showed. “We make mistakes and made mental errors, yet we’re getting better. Coming into the NCAA Tournament is another step in the right direction for this group,” Berson said after the game. USC has lost five straight tournament games, including four straight at home. Despite the early exit, the Gamecocks stand as a formidable foe in the future as they look to a brief spring season before inaugural Conference USA play next fall. “I’m extremely proud of my team tonight. I thought they did a tremendous job: I thought College of Charleston played a great game.” MARK BERSON use HEAD SOCCER COACH Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Head coach Lou Holtz contemplates what went wrong in his team's fifth loss to Clemson in six years. ■ HOLTZ Continued from page 1 But the week that he wanted to be focused on Clemson turned into a media rampage about his future and the coming of Spurrier. After the loss, in which Clemson controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage, Holtz blamed no one but himself. “When we come out of two-a-day practices we’re tough, we’re physical and we play hard,” Holtz said. “As the year goes along we are too much finesse ... we lose our toughness. We lose our toughness when we need it the most. It was never more obvious out there.” A number of players spoke about Holtz’s last game and expressed their concerns and hurt about the way they sent their coach out. “We have to win the last game and send him out as a winner,” quarterback Syvelle Newton said about the upcoming bowl game. A victory would have been the 250th career win for Holtz. Instead, the loss - dropped USC’s record to 1-10 in November in the past three seasons. “Three straight years now we’ve gone down in November,” Holtz said, dejected after the game. “I just told the coaches that it’s nobody’s fault but mine.” Toughness was a repeated theme from Holtz following the game with the Tigers holding the Gamecocks to just 66 yards rushing and racking up 162 of their own on the ground. Clemson entered the game ninth in the ACC in rushing yards per game. USC badly undershot their rushing average of 179 yards per game, fourth in the SEC. Holtz has said recently he could not leave the program in the state it was in after last season’s 63-17 loss to Clemson. He is expected to formally announce his resignation today at 11 a.m., leaving it the program in what he still considers to be less than perfect condition. The Gamecocks, with six wins, are bowl eligible, but when asked if his team deserved to go to a bowl, Holtz said no. “Not the way we’ve played the last two weeks,” Holtz said. “I thought that in the first half of the season we were pretty good. Then we lose our toughness and that’s my fault.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc. edu ■ GREEN Continued from page 12 Greenville Waffle House. As I went to sleep that night I tried to play out the game in my mind. Most of the images contained Troy Williamson touchdown catches and Ko Simpson interceptions. We made our final descent into Clemson early the next morning. As I got my first good look at Clemson I was struck by the beauty of the upstate. I was curious to see how Clemson fans would treat us. We found a Clemson tailgating party and they invited us with open arms. An hour later one of my friends was being hoisted upside down by the Clemson fans, doing keg stands as they counted out, “1”, “2”, “3”. We had a great time with our new Clemson friends, we even walked to the game together, said goodbye, and wished each other good luck. As we made our way through the crowd in the stands, many Clemson fans were courteous and polite, allowing us to move right in amongst them. As I looked up to see Clemson’s team prepare to run down the hill I laughed at myself, remembering my earlier thoughts of the Tiger Burn and Gamecock Funeral, and for having feared that the rivalry was too brutal. This was as amicable a rivalry as I had ever seen. It was just about that time that I looked over to see our team meet the Tigers at the bottom of the hill. A brawl was taking place and it would only be the first one of the day. The game was hard to take. Our beloved Gamecocks were beaten handily by the Clemson Tigets. The fourth quarter brawl between the two teams was condemned by the national media as an example of how ugly sports competition has become in this country. The pain of the loss made the trip home that much harder. The stigma of loser is with us again and will not be gone for at least another year. I went to Clemson with an open mind and left cursing that place and the stench of Death Valley. 1 learned everything I needed to know about the rivalry - hate Clemson and don’t ask questions. Maybe now I can call myself a true Gamecock fan. If you have any questions or comments about the Sports section, please e-mail Sports editor Jonathan Hillyard at . gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu. 1.---— 777 .— ... . ......... ... ......... 777—... ... . . ^ .-7-—'---7—~ '