Sept. 26, 2004

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina head football coach Lou Holtz held his weekly teleconference on Sunday. Here are some of his comments: “Our inability to run the ball effectively has been a combination of things. We did put together three drives of 77 yards or more against Troy and that’s pretty good if you can do that during the course of a game. The two 80-yard drives we had are what you’re looking for on offense … We’ve played pretty well on defense. We play intelligently and we’ve been pretty good on third down. Offensively, we had done a pretty good job of protecting the football until this past Saturday (three turnovers). I think we have a defense that plays as a team and compliments our offense. What we are lacking is a good, solid pass rush. Coach (Ron) Cooper has done a great job with the secondary. Jamacia Jackson (strong safety) is playing the best football of his career … (on the quarterback situation) “I can assure you we will have a quarterback in the game at all times on offense. What difference does it make who hands the ball off to the running back for a one -yard gain. We’ve got to be able to run the ball effectively. Both quarterbacks (Dondrial Pinkins and Syvelle Newton) do some good things. We love them both. They belong to us. As long as they both can help us win, we will continue to play them both. (on the differences between the two): “Dondrial is a veteran. He’s bigger and strong and probably a little more accurate. Syvelle is very quick; he’s athletic and he’s very elusive … We need to establish some consistency in running the football. I want to know what we are going to get on certain plays … (on Alabama) “Their offensive line is exceptionally good and they have outstanding running backs. On defense, they are very, very good. Arkansas made a couple of unbelievable plays in order to beat them. They are well-coached and very athletic.”

o Injury update: TB Demetris Summers (ankle sprain) is listed as day-to-day. Summers injured his ankle on the first play vs. Georgia and did not play against South Florida or Troy.

o A look at the SEC statistics shows South Carolina ranks 3rd in scoring defense (9.0); 2nd in rushing defense (92.2); 5th in total defense (267.8); 4th in passing offense (234.8); tied for first in turnover margin (+4); and 1st in time of possession (34:25).

o A reminder about head coach Lou Holtz’s press conference on Monday at 12 noon in the Lettermen’s Lounge at Williams-Brice Stadium.