Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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TfflffeAMECOCK _ SPORTS _ ‘NCAA FOOTBALL 2006’ •:»- . ' mm -.■■■ ' n, ' * Photos courtesy of EA Sports Race for Heisman glory gives USC students chance to build winning program on video-game systems For every video game that it produces, EA Sports makes a bold promise: If it’s in the game, it’s in the game. In “NCAA Football 2006,” one of EA’s marquee video games, the slogan holds true. Williams-Brice Stadium? There. Cocky and “2001”? Absolutely. Spurrier and his visor? Visible, but not on the ground. Cory Boyd, starting at tailback? There — oops. EA Sports apparently didn’t get the memo on that one. Regardless, the game takes aim at providing the most realistic college football atmosphere possible, and as for Boyd and other roster mistakes, true fans of the game make the roster change themselves. “I redshirted Cory Boyd,” said second-year media arts student James Basler. “I had to use Albert Ashcraft, who I don’t think even plays, and Mike Davis. It was rough.” important tins game, and the guys did a great job of that this weekend.” When he says Wilmington is senior dominated, big and . strong, Berson isn’t kidding. Wilmington boasts nine seniors, eight of which are consistent starters providing their team with leadership and skill. The main player who could cause some trouble for the Gamecocks is senior forward Sam Leger, who has scored six goals for Wilmington in its first SOCCER • II ♦ Juan Biw/THK (lAMECOCh USC’s men’s soccer team will play host to a senior-heavy UNC Wilmington team,today. Chicago on Sunday in a nail-biting double-overtime game. The Gamecocks look to ride the momentum of that win into a crucial game against a strong UNC Wilmington (5-1-0) team that has played very well this season, including a victory against No. 13 UNC Greensboro. > USC coach Mark Berson said he thinks the team is well prepared after its first win this weekend. “First of all the most important thirfg from this weekend is that the guys played with a lot of confidence,” Berson said. “Wilmington is senior dominated and very big and strong. Playing smart is going to be UNC Wilmington to provide Gamecocks with another challenge Ulichael Aguilar FOR THE GAMECOCK After opening the season with a heartbreaking loss to rival Clemson in double overtime, USC’s mens soccer team has had trouble recovering. The team’s schedule is considerable, as USC’s combined opponents’ record is 19-10-4. The squad recorded its first win of the season against Loyola Men’s soccer building confidence after first win to redshirt freshman wide receiver Sidney Rice. Having played only two games in his college career, Rice is averaging more than 14 yards per / catch and leads the team with two touchdowns. “He’s not afraid to play,” Spurrier said. “That’s what you’ve got to love about Sidney. He loves to play the game.” Following the Alabama game, Spurrier mentioned that his offensive system might be too much for redshirt quarterback Blake Mitchell at this point. He suggested scaling down the offense for this week’s game, incorporating more running plays. Shortening the playbook will reduce some of the confusion and hopefully assure that players know their assignments. One of the most notable changes in scaling back the aerial attack will be giving freshman running back Mike Davis more carries to get him into a routine. Through three games, Davis has only gotten 23 carries and is averaging a mere 2.8 yards per rush. Ironically, the heralded running back has more receiving yards than rushing yards, totaling 79 yards through the air, good for fourth on the team. “Most running backs need the ball more than five to eight times a game. They need to get it and get it, and Mike needs to carry the ball a little better,” Spurrier said. SPURRIER • II New faces, game plan to appear on both sides of ball against Troy Paul Cohen FOR THE GAMECOCK When Steve Spurrier arrived at USC last November, he had plans of revolutionizing the playbook with the Fun ‘N’ Gun offense he made popular at Florida. Dubbed the Cock ‘N’ Fire, the plan was to rely strongly on the air attack with a supportive running game. But with USC losing two of its first three games, including a 37-14 blowout Saturday by Alabama, Spurrier’s master plan needs a few adjustments. “We’re going to make some changes,” Spurrier said. “If the players on the field are not very productive,. we’ve got to give the next guy a chance to go play.” Although Spurrier said he could not recall a week in his career having to make so many personnel changes, he acknowledged that he was not surprised. “If you look at our team, we just don’t have a lot of guys who played a whole bunch last year,” Spurrier said. “We just don’t have a track record of a steady bunch of guys.” After the game Saturday, Spurrier mentioned the need to get the ball Katie Kirkland/THE GAMECOCK USC coach Steve Spurrier has made changes during practice this week. Spurrier changes lineup after Alabama thumping i gave myseir my real neignt ana wcigm, uui i probably made myself a little better athletically than I am,” Basler said. “I mean, I’m obviously a speed 99, but my catching I made a little better.” What makes the success of the NCAA Football franchise so amazing is that a new version of the game is put out every year. The game of football does not change all that much from season to season, and there are not really story lines or plots to the game. However, every summer, NCAA Football is one of the hottest games on the market. Basler attributed the sustained popularity to the consistent improvements in the game. “Every year, it just gets more realistic, he said. “I’ve been playing NCAA Football since about ‘96, and before that, I played ‘Tecmo Bowl’ (which) is probably eight out of 10 on my list, just for nostalgia, but NCAA Football is practically a 10. It’s just a really well-done game.” Comments on this^story?E-mailgamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu www. dailygamecock. com “The dynasty mode is nice,” Basler said. “I played out a season with South Carolina and did better than they ever possibly would since they are so horrible.” Another draw of “NCAA Football 2006” is online gaming. This option allows players to battle on the virtual gridiron with people from around the country. Basler’s PlayStation 2 was not set up for online play, but he hoped to take advantage of the option in the future. Two big additions to the game this year are year round recruiting and “Race for the Heisman” mode. The in-season recruiting feature is within the dynasty mode, and makes the recruiting process of the game much more comparable to real life. In Race for the Heisman, the player starts out as a high-school star and evolves into a winner of the coveted Heisman Trophy. Many gamers chose to play as themselves in this mode. easier, nice so many otner uov^ scuucnts, is addiaed to the simulated experience of playing in front of 80,000 screaming fans. The Facebook group “NCAA 06 Football” has a following of 243 USC students, and the game is played in countless dorm rooms across campus. As with many video games, playing time can be excessive. “I’m obsessed from time to time,” Basler said. “Some weeks I’m not into it, some weeks I am, and when I am, I play it for about a day straight.” For Basler, the appeal comes from creative and life-like game play. “The game is not redundant, “ he said. “Especially now, when the (artificial intelligence) is so good, you actually have to think about what you are doing in the game.” One of the game’s main draws is dynasty mode, in which a player becomes coach of a team and controls every detail of the squad, from play-calling to recruiting. All in all, the dynasty mode is the most in-depth and developed portion of the game.