The South Carolina Gamecocks (5-2/3-1 SEC) continue their October SEC road swing by traveling to Baton Rouge to take on the defending Southeastern Conference champions, the LSU Tigers (5-1/2-0 SEC), Saturday, Oct. 19 at Tiger Stadium (91,600). LSU is ranked 12th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and 14th in the Associated Press poll. Kickoff for the nationally-televised contest (ESPN2) is set for 7:45 p.m.
A Closer Look
* South Carolina has won four straight games and three consecutive SEC contests, the most recent being a come-from-behind 16-12 victory at Kentucky last Saturday night on ESPN2. The Gamecocks opened the 2002 campaign with a 34-24 victory at home over New Mexico State, followed by a 34-21 defeat at Virginia Sept. 7. The following week, the Gamecocks dropped a hard-fought 13-7 SEC opener at home to #6 Georgia. Since then, Carolina has run off four straight wins – 42-21 vs. Temple, 20-14 at Vanderbilt; a 34-10 Homecoming triumph over Mississippi State; and last week’s 16-12 conquest of Kentucky.
* LSU is the defending SEC champion and enters this Saturday’s cross-divisional matchup with a 5-1 overall mark and a 2-0 slate in the conference. The Tigers’ 5-1 start is their best since 1997, when LSU likewise was victorious in five of its first six outings. LSU is coming off of an impressive 36-7 rout of Florida last Saturday in Gainesville and is tied with Ole Miss for first place in the SEC’s Western Division. The Tigers opened the year with a 26-8 loss at then #16-ranked Virginia Tech (which has since moved up to #3 in the national polls). Since that opening day loss, LSU has run off five straight wins: 35-10 vs. The Citadel; 33-7 vs. Miami (Ohio); 31-13 vs. Mississippi State; 48-0 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette; and 36-7 at Florida.
* Carolina claimed a gutsy 16-12 victory over Kentucky on Oct. 12 in Lexington. Finding themselves trailing 10-0 at halftime, the Gamecocks regrouped at intermission and found a way to win over the final 30 minutes. The Gamecock defense shut out the high-scoring Wildcats in the second half, with UK managing just a safety that USC gave up in the closing moments of the game. USC’s offense also showed some life in the second stanza, managing 246 total yards and nine first downs, after having just accumulated 104 yards and five first downs in the opening half. Corey Jenkins threw for 199 yards and rushed for 49 yards, while Andrew Pinnock picked up 61 yards on the ground. Freshman wide receiver Troy Williamson showed his big-play capability with three catches for 101 yards, while Ryan Brewer continued to show why he is one of the most reliable players in all of college football, with four receptions for 47 yards and also scoring the go-ahead touchdown on a six yard run. Linebacker Jeremiah Garrison led the defensive charge with a career-best 13 tackles, two quarterback sacks and one fumble recovery. Dunta Robinson intercepted his third pass in the past two games and his fourth overall of the season
For the complete set of game notes, click on the link above for an adobe acrobat (.pdf) version.
