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SPORTS Page 14 Vy V, y Monday, Oct. 10,2005 south Carolina (3-3) 44 — Kentucky (1-4) 16 Cock ‘n’ Fire ignites Katie Kirkland/THE GAMECOCK USC receivers Sidney Rice, right, and Carlos Thomas, left, celebrate after Rice caught a second-half pass for a touchdown. Mitchell, Rice power USC offense in win Jonathan Hillyard SPORTS EDITOR When Steve Spurrier was named USC’s head football coach in November, Gamecock fans had visions of pigskins flying all over Williams Brice Stadium, scoreboards lighting up constantly and opposing defenses shaking their heads in disgust. Saturday, the Carolina faithful got what they’ve been hoping for. With sophomore quarterback Blake Mitchell coming off a high ankle sprain, many were wondering what kind of numbers he would be able to put up. The answer: 23 completions in 34 attempts with a pair of touchdowns to his new favorite target, redshirt freshman Sidney Rice. “He just looked for me,” Rice said. “I guess he’s got some confidence in me, and I’m gonna do everything I can to keep it like that.” Rice astonished a less-than-capacity crowd, catching eight passes for 125 yards in Mitchell’s return. With his first of two touchdown catches, Rice tied a school record for consecutive games with a touchdown catch, matching Jermale Kelly’s five-game mark set in 1997. Rice has not played in a game without catching a touchdown. “I’m gonna keep it going as long as coach gives me the opportunity to,” Rice said. “Ain’t too many words you can say for that guy, he’s a great receiver,” Junior Syvelle Newton said about Rice. “And as long as you got a guy like him on the team, it’s gonna scare the defense, and once teams start realizing it, it’s gonna start opening up a lot of other guys.” That seemed to be the case on Saturday, as seven different Gamecocks caught passes. Freshmen Kenny McKinley and Carlos Thomas each caught four passes in the game after Spurrier promised that they would play more. Newton, who finished the game at quarterback, was USC’s second leading receiver with five catches for 63 yards. “I’ve got confidence in all of them,” Mitchell said. “All of them know what to do, know how to get open, and most of the time, they’re gonna catch it when they get a chance.” In a performance that might have orrense • 13 Nick Esam/THE GAMECOCK Sophomore quarterback Blake Mitchell fires a pass downfield on Saturday after returning from a high ankle sprain. Katie Kirkland/TUB (MMKCOtiK Sophomore rover Ko Simpson gathers up a fumble and runs it back for a 19 yard touchdown during Saturday's win. Simpson returns to freshman form, turns game with big plays on defense RJBembry STAFF WRITER Following last week’s debacle in Auburn, USC head football coach Steve Spurrier had been challenging his players to step up, hoping to find a leader in the locker room to inspire the team with outstanding play. At halftime on Saturday, with the Gamecocks tied with Kentucky at 10 10, sophomore rover Ko Simpson must have become that leader, as the preseason All-SEC player came out in the second half and played like a man possessed. Already totaling nine tackles, with five unassisted by the end of the first half, Simpson ratcheted his game with four more tackles, an interception and a fumble returned for a 16-yard touchdown, helping the defense hold Kentucky to just one touchdown in the second half. The result? A game changing performance that ultimately allowed Carolina to paste the Wildcats for a 44-16 victory, claiming Spurrier’s first SEC win in his short USC tenure. “(Co-defensive coordinator John Thompson) told me, ‘Ko, you’re going to score this week.’ He told our whole defense, ‘Ko’s going to score.’ So, he put the pressure on me, and I had to score. I told him (after the game), ‘Don’t do that again!”’ said Simpson, with a wide grin on his face. As solid as the defense was in the latter part of the game, the first half found the Gamecocks in a dogfight with the Wildcats. After Kentucky deferred possession until the second half, Carolina continued its troubles from last week; the offense quickly burned a timeout within the first minute of play and quarterback Blake Mitchell fumbled the snap, forcing Josh ffrown to punt. Kentucky’s offense was firing on all cylinders early, as quarterback Andre’ Woodson led the Wildcats on a 12 play, 46-yard drive to the USC 21-yard line. There, Woodson was blindsided by senior defensive end Orus Lambert, who caused a fumble that was recovered by sophomore Dustin Lindsey. From there, Mitchell regained his composure and engineered a 13-play, 7 5-yard march down the field by completing passes to a myriad of receivers, including a 24-yard strike over the middle to freshman Kenny McKinley. After tailback Daccus Turman got the ball to the one-yard line, Mitchell punched it in for the first touchdown of the game, giving Carolina a 7-0 lead. Not to be outdone, Woodson led his team on the next drive for a 16-play, 69-yard odyssey that only had one play for more than ten yards, burned almost eight minutes off of the clock and culminated in a two-yard touchdown run by tailback Arliss Beach. After another fumble by Mitchell on USC’s own 10-yard line, the defense showed up for a strong stand and held Kentucky to a field goal, which gave the Wldcats a 10-7 lead with 6:30 left in the second quarter. It was the last time Kentucky would hold a lead in the game. Josh Brown kicked a career-long 45-yard field goal with a litde more than a minute left in the first half to cap a 52-yard drive. After halftime, Carolina looked like a different team. The defense held Kentucky to just one more touchdown (after which Wildcat Taylor Begley’s school-record streak of 92 straight PATs was snapped), while the offense scored simpson • i3 5 Consecutive games without a Sidney Rice (ties school record) 7 of 11 Gamecocks conversions on third Kentucky 161 Yards gained rushing by Carolina 4 Consecutive drives with a turnover in the second half 2 jpi ^ 20 Consecutive points given up by UK defense 6 Straight losses to USC Graphic Illustration by Laura Joyce Gou$h!THE (lAMECOCK www. dailygamecock. com