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Page 10 Ky I Vy _ L. 1 Monday, Nov. 14,2005
NO.,19 SOUTH CAROLINA (7-3) 30 — NO. 20 FLORIDA (7-3) 22
Party like it’s 1939
USC beats UF for 1st time since start of WWII
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Sophomore wide receiver Sidney Rice celebrates during USC’s 30-22 victory against Florida on Saturday. The win was the Gamecocks’ first against the Gators since 1939 and their fifth consecutive victory.
Carolina makes history
with win against Florida
Jonathan Hillyard
SPORTS EDITOR
The game was over. The field was
clearing. The camera crews were
packing up. Yet 80,000 people were
still in their seats, celebrating the USC
football team’s first win against Florida
since the beginning of World War II.
And then there was coach Steve
Spurrier. The ol’ ball coach walked off
the field with a grin as his team
clinched at least second place in the
SEC East against the school he
coached for 12 years. Spurrier said in
postgame interviews that he had
mixed emotions about the win.
“I love the Gators, always will,”
Spurrier said. “But I’m with South
Carolina. This is my team now.”
Only four years ago, Spurrier led a
No. 3 Florida team into Columbia to
take on the Gamecocks in front of a
national audience. His Gators got the
better of then Carolina coach Lou
Holtz and his team, winning 54-17 in
blowout fashion. Spurrier said after
Saturday’s contest that this kind of win
was a little sweeter.
“It’s more fun when your team is
not a dominant team and you try to
find a way to win the game,” Spurrier
said. “I tell people we are defying
football logic. We’re not very good at
stopping the run, we’re not very good
running it and yet we’re winning.”
The win ended a 14-game winning
streak in the series for Florida, dating
back to USC’s 7-0 win in 1939.
After beating Tennessee and now
Florida, the Gamecocks also become the
first USC team since joining the SEC to
beat two of the SEC east’s “big three” of
Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.
“I want to get used to this feeling, I
want to keep winning,” senior tackle
Na’Shan Goddard said. “It’s a dream
season, and I want to keep it alive.”
The Gamecock senior class assured
HISTORY • 9
Carolina
Receiving yards by Sidney Rice
88 Rushing yards by Mike Davis, a career high
5 Consecutive wins for USC, all coming in the SEC
1939 Last time Carolina beat Florida
: Florida
91 Consecutive passes Chris Leak had thrown without being
intercepted
359 Total yards by Florida offense
5 Number of sacks given up by Florida offense
11 Total number of penalties committed by the Gators
Defense holds spread option
in check, seals historic win
for USCfootball program
Alex Riley
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Even though he’s listed as a
sophomore, Ko Simpson has been on
the USC sideline for three seasons now
and has been witness to what fans have
known as a meltdown in November.
Over the previous two seasons, Carolina
has notched only one win in the month
of November.
But after Saturday’s 30-22 win over
Florida for the first time since 1939,
Simpson knows that the November
slump is truly over.
“We’ve come up with some big
victories,” Simpson said. “We’ve got
confidence on our side.”
That confidence helped the
Gamecock defense hold the potent
spread option offense of Florida in check
as the Gators managed to control the
time of possession (34:10) and total
yards (359), but couldn’t find enough to
Defense #9