Sept. 25, 2002

Columbia, SC –

? Preparation continued Wednesday for South Carolina’s SEC road encounter with Vanderbilt this Saturday in Nashville (7 p.m. eastern kickoff, pay-per-view TV). “We’ve have a good week of practice,” said assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Skip Holtz. “The tempo has been upbeat and good. Coming off of a win is much better than coming off of a loss. A loss stings and burns. We need our senior leadership to carry us through this week.”

? Freshman running back Daccus Turman was limited in what he did at practice Wednesday due to a bruised shoulder he suffered on Tuesday. He is expected to be available for the Vanderbilt game.

? Skip said there has been a good offensive mindset this week. “We’ve been productive and we’re starting to gel on offense,” said Skip. He indicated that Coach Lou Holtz had been spending much of his time at practice this week on the defensive field, observing, correcting and teaching that side of the football as they prepare for Vanderbilt’s option attack.

? Wide receiver Andrea Gause is still bothered with a sore knee and has had to have it drained several times the past two weeks. “Andrea hasn’t been able to settle in,” said Skip. “He moved to cornerback that one week (for the Virginia game) and I think that was a difficult transition for him. His knee hasn’t been 100 percent but he’s been working at it.”

? When asked about the recent allegations that have surfaced regarding USC and the NCAA, Skip said: “We’re certainly not going to bury our heads in the sand. When we hear something, we check it out. We’ve done that in the past and we will continue to do that. When these recent allegations came out, we talked with several players thoroughly about them and found nothing. I believe we are building this program the right way and we are following NCAA guidelines. It’s difficult to respond to rumors and innuendos. That’s all we’re hearing now. It’s hard to discuss something when you don’t know who your opponent is.”

? Approximately 4,000 Gamecock fans are expected to make the trip to Nashville this weekend.