IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN
I SEC, stillfull of surprises, should get more this week
Tennessee might look back at its
game against LSU and call it “a tail of
two halves,” or maybe even “a tail of
two quarterbacks.”
With apologies to fans of the NFL
(and Charles Dickens for the previous
pun), I can’t think of a more
appealing Monday night football
matchup than LSU vs. Tennessee.
With the imminent approach of
Hurricane Rita last week, the SEC
showdown in Death Valley was
moved from Saturday to Monday
night.
^ The game began with a bad omen
for Tennessee: nearly losing the ball
by fumbling the opening kickoff.
Luckily Inquoris Johnson, the Vols’
return man, was already down. Five
plays later, Tennessee quarterback
Erik Ainge was hit by an LSU
defender, fumbled the ball and LSU
was in business. LSU running back
Joseph Addai took the ball on the
next play and darted 19 yards into the
end zone.
The first half continued in the same
fashion, with the peak coming when
LSU pinned Tennessee on its own 1
yard line. Ainge dropped back to pass
and as he was about to be hit, he tossed
^ the ball up into the air to no one in
* particular. The ball fell into the hands
of LSU linebacker Kenneth Hollis,
who gladly accepted the gift-wrapped
pick she. LSU 21 Tennessee 0.
Quarterback Rick Clausen was
then given a second chance at leading
the Vol offense. Clausen, who
transferred from LSU, was the starter
last week against Florida before being
pulled in favor of Ainge.
Clausen proceeded to move the
Tennessee offense with an amazing
amount of efficiency, completing 21
of 32 passes for 196 yards, throwing
one touchdown pass and running for
another. Combine that with one of
| the nation’s best defenses, and with a
little more than two minutes left in
the game, Tennessee found itself tied
with LSU, 24-24.
Enter Tennessee running back
Gerald Riggs Jr.
After the Vol defense had forced
LSU’s offense to settle for a field goal
in the first overtime possession,
Clausen passed the ball to Riggs for a
10-yard gain. Riggs then took the ball
on a hand-off grinding out 7 yards. A
5-yard gain, again by Riggs, and the
ball was on the 3. On third-and-goal
trom the 1,
Riggs took the
ball and forced
| his way into the
end zone.
Exit
Tennessee with
an improbable
come-from
behind victory.
T h e
honeymoon for
first-year LSU
coach Les Miles
is now over.
The other
highlight of
week four in
college football
was South
Florida’s 45-14
trouncing of
) ninth-ranked
Louisville.
Graphic illustration by Laura-Joyce Gough/THE GAMECOCK
Louisville coach
Bobby Petrino,
known for running
up the score against
opponents, was given
a taste of his own
medicine. While
leading 31-7 in the
second half, the USF
Bulls called a double
reverse pass for a
touchdown in the
back of the end zone.
Petrino’s fecial
expression was
priceless.
Also from week
five:
Michigan State
established itself as
the team to beat in
the Big Ten by
moving to 4-0 with a
61-14 thrashing , of
Illinois. Michigan
State is averaging an
incredible 49 points
per game. Next up for
the Spartans is in
state foe Michigan,
reeling after losing its
second game of the
year, 23-20, and
dropping out of the
r_j
Graphic illustration by Laura-Joyce Gough/THE GAMECOCK
top 25.
Prediction: Michigan State 37
Michigan 27
For two quarters, it looked like the
improbable might be possible as
Oregon jumped out to a 13-0 lead
against the No. 1 ranked Trojans.
Southern Cal never showed a trace of
panic, as its firepower began to take
control of the game. Reggie Bush and
Matt Leinart showed why they are the
two best players in college football.
Leinart threw 23-of-39 for 315 yards
and three touchdowns. Reggie Bush
rushed for 122 yards and a
touchdown on 20 carries. He also
caught three passes for 49 yards and a
score. When it was all over, those of us
who had seen the score when Oregon
had jumped out to a 13-0 lead and
thought that an upset might be in the
making simply felt foolish for ever
entertaining the notion. The Trojans
won 45-13. USC next takes on
Arizona State in Tempe. There are
some that predict this Sun Devil
squad has the weaponry to give the
Trojans a fight. I am not one of those.
Prediction:
Southern Cal
52ASU21
The matchup
of greatest
interest in week
five is Florida
vs. Alabama.
Urban Meyer
looks to
continue his
“Urban
Renewal”
project as he
takes the Gators
on the road to
Tuscaloosa.
One of the
major SEC
stories this year
has been the re
emergence of
Alabama. The
Crimson Tide
might be that sleeping giant that has
finally been awakened, having
jumped out to a 4-0 start. Seeing
Alabama struggle for the past couple
years was nice, but the feeling they
would eventually make it back always
remained. This is the perfect
opportunity for the Tide to show
everyone they have.
The Tide has the running game to
control the ball against Florida. They
also have the defense to slow down
Chris Leak and company. This will be
quarterback Brodie Croyle’s chance to
be remembered as one of the great
Alabama quarterbacks with the likes
of Jay Barker, Ken Stabler, Joe
Namath and others. With a loss,
people might be ready to run him out
of town, along with coach Mike
Shula.
Prediction: Alabama 27 Florida 26
Other notable games:
Notre Dame vs. Purdue: Purdue
fans have a serious inferiority complex
when it comes to this in-state rivalry.
The problem is, their football team
also has a penchant for collapsing at
the end of a game.
Prediction: Notre Dame 37 Purdue
28
Virginia Tech vs. West Virginia:
The Hokies are looking quite
impressive. Their defense is one of the
best in the land, and Marcus Vick is
starting to remind people of his older
brother. WVU will get its first loss of
the season.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 28 WVU
17
I have picked Clemson to win the
past two weeks, and they have lost
both games in overtime. You might be
thinking “hey, if they lost the last two
games in overtime, and you picked
them to win, keep picking them to
win!
It’s tempting I admit, but somehow
I get the feeling that Clemson’s
downward spiral will continue
without my help.
Last week: 4-2 (14-6 overall)
SHUFFLE #001)111)10 FR0IDB2
rest. If you have a real strong
defense, time of possession is not all
that important, if yOur offense can
score quickly.”
The result is an offensive line unit
subjected to constant shuffling. The
coaching staff made many depth
chart decisions last week against
Troy, and the effects have been felt
by players.
“The coaches are just trying to
find the best ones to go out on the
field, the ones that play hard every
play,” said junior starting center
Chris White. “Every week it’s a
different guy (plugged in), so we
have to go out there and give it all -
we got.”
The offense is hoping that with
starting quarterback Blake Mitchell
sidelined with a high ankle sprain,
the substitution of mobile Antonio
Heffner will jump-start the ground
game. Heffner, a redshirt freshman
from Memphis, Tenn., was the
starting quarterback for the Garnet
team in list spring’s Garnet and
Black game. His skill-set
combination of a strong arm and
agile, quick legs has Spurrier hoping
that he can avoid Auburn’s talented
pass rush, keep the defense second
guessing itself and create some
changes on the ground.
v “He’s a quarterback, but you have
to utilize his running ability as well
as throwing. We’ll try to get him
free running the ball as well as
handing it off and throwing,”
Spurrier said. “It will be a little
different style offense than I’m used
to coaching. We’ve been actually,
practicing a lot of these plays all
year, and we might have a chance to
use them in this game.”
With Saturday’s primetime
matchup against Auburn on the
Alabama plains, White said he only
hopes the line can begin to gel and
work together better as a unit, one
with heightened familiarity among
the starting five players, and one
that can hopefully stick together
throughout the season.
“Were all a team, we all practice
together, But it is good to be in there
with a guy that you have constantly
been playing beside every other
snap,” White said. “But the coaches
put who they want out there, and
you jusjt have to roll with it.”
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gum.sc.edu
REEUCS • COfITinUED FROIR B6
I wanted to do when I got my
chance.”
After being an assistant coach for
Dallas until 1980, Reeves took on
the head coaching job at Denver, a
team he led to the Super Bowl three
times while coaching one of the
game’s all-time greatest quarterbacks
in John Elway.
After 11 years and three Super
Bowl appearances in the Mile High
City, Reeves was offered the job in
the Big Apple as head man of the
New York Giants. After five seasons,
Reeves made his final stop back in
his home city of Atlanta, coaching
the Falcons to a Super Bowl in only
his second season.
“To be the head coach of Atlanta
was something you think about it
might happen, but you think you
might be in Denver your entire
career,” Reeves said. “I was very
fortunate I got the job here in
Atlanta. I’d been gone ever since
1965 and to come back here was just
a tremendous thrill. And then for us
to go to the Super Bowl a couple of
years later was just great.”
In 22 seasons, Reeves totaled 210
victories, good enough for sixth
place on the all-time totals list
behind greats such as Don Shula and
his mentor Landry. He also posted
nine seasons with 10 or more wins.
But his biggest success might have
been being able to appear in nine
Super Bowls, four as a player and
five as a member of a coaching staff.
“I think I’ve been a part of nine
Super Bowls, and you’ve got to feel
like you’re very lucky because a lot of
guys go through their career and
never go to the Super Bowl,” Reeves
said.
Now retired from coaching,
Reeves spends his time in Atlanta
relaxing and enjoying life, doing
things he didn’t get to do while
coaching.
“I’m doing that radio show from 8
to 10 on Sirius Radio Monday
through Friday, and other than that,
just playing golf and watching
college and pro football,” Reeves
said. “I get a chance to watch both
now.”
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu
...
ON THE
COVER I
:
•fc "i •
Teaser photos :
courtesy of USC, j
The Associate Press j
Cover designed by :
Laura-Joyce i
Gough/The ;
Gamecock •
Auburn game not must-win yet, but Gamecocks need victory to keep heads above water
Tigers present new
challenges that Gamecocks
will have to overcome
1— How will Antonio Heffner
react to being starting quarterback?
Last weekend, Blake Mitchell
went down with an injury, and to
quote Steve Spurrier, “the way our
pass protection is right now he may
want to rest a couple of weeks.
That’s an understatement.
If I were Mitchell, I’d be busy
developing some sort of full-body
Kevlar suit to wear during games.
I m excited about the first start of
Antonio Hugh” Heffner’s career. (If
“Hugh isn t already his nickname, it
needs to be. Somebody make this
happen.) If there is one way to slow
down a great defense such as
Auburn’s, it’s to be as confusing as
possible. And if there is one thing
Heffner is, it’s unpredictable.
In last week’s post-game press
conference, Spurrier said he will “let
him run around a; little bit, and
with Jake Broom
Third-year political science
student
AUBURN
hopefully we can hit a few balls here
and there.”
Sounds like a plan to me.
2— Will former Gamecock and
current Auburn running back Kenny
Irons run all over us?
Probably. If we couldn’t stop Troy
from running on us, I doubt we can
stop Auburn. Old Kenny couldn’t
^get it done at Carolina and ended up
riding the bench behind Demetris
Summers and Cory Boyd (remember
him?), so he transferred to Auburn.
Since then, he has taken every
opportunity to bad-mouth USC, so
I hope he ends up getting yanked for
my new favorite Auburn player,
running backTre Smith.
Why is Tre Smith my new favorite
non-Gamecock? One reason:
www.tre22.com, the official Web
site of Auburn’s backup running
back. My favorite part of the Web
site is his “Frequently Asked
Questions” section, where burning
questions such as “what is it about
you that makes you such a great
football player?” and “my son is 13
and very shy with the ladies, is there
any advice you could give him as to
how to land a lady?” are answered.
Seriously. I can’t make this stuff up.
3— Is this a must-win game for
Carolina?
This game is not a must-win
game, but it’s getting close. The
remainder of the schedule looks like
this: Kentucky, Vanderbilt, at
Tennessee, at Arkansas, Florida and
Clemson.
So let’s be real here. Let’s be real
real. We should beat Kentucky, but,
unfortunately, even that should be a
good game. Vanderbilt is 4-0 and
looking 5-0 right in the face.
Tennessee just beat No. 4 LSU in
Baton Rouge at night. Arkansas is
down this year, but they are still one
of the best running teams in the
nation (and guess who can’t stop the
run?).
Remember how I said Tennessee
just beat No. 4 LSU in Baton Rouge
at night? Well, Florida beat
Tennessee. And the last time we
were favored to beat Clemson, we
lost 63-17 and I had the John
O’Hurley Face on for the next six
months.
This game is not a must-win
game, but it is a must-win-so-Jake
can-sleep-at-night-for-the-rest-of-.
the-season game.
4— What is it like to play a team
not from Alabama?
After breaking Curtis Chow’s
record for “Most Hate Mail
Regarding a Single Column in The
Gamecock” a couple of weeks ago
after the Alabama game, I’m pretty
much ready for this part of the
schedule to be over.
5— Will Auburn ever be the same
after I make the trip there this
weekend?
After sitting in the no-cheering
allowed press box all season long,
I’m ready to unleash the fury that is
my heckling on the Auburn Tigers.
This is my first and probably last
trip to Auburn, so I intend to take
full advantage of it.
Sure, I’ll be sitting in the upper
deck and nobody on the field will
actually hear what I’m saying, but
I’m sure the people sitting around
me will.