Sept. 28, 2006
SETTING THE STAGE: The South Carolina Gamecocks (3-1, 1-1 SEC) wrap up their four-game homestand as they host the No. 2 (AP)/No. 3 (ESPN/Coaches) ranked Auburn Tigers (4-0, 2-0 SEC) in a Southeastern Conference matchup. Game time is set for 7:47 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium (80,250) in Columbia on Thursday, Sept. 28. The game will be available across the nation on ESPN, with Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Erin Andrews providing the commentary. Todd Ellis and Tommy Suggs will be in the booth for the Carolina Gamecocks Sports Network, with Rob DeBoer on the sidelines. The game can also be heard on SIRIUS satellite radio channel 123.
THIRD NATIONAL TV APPEARANCE: This week’s game marks the third time in five weeks that Carolina has been nationally televised on ESPN. This same crew of Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Erin Andrews saw the Gamecocks blank Mississippi State, 15-0, in the season opener on Aug. 31. The ESPN cameras were also on hand for the home opener when USC fell to Georgia by an 18-0 score. Last season, the Gamecocks made six national TV appearances, including five between ESPN and ESPN2.
ABOUT THE GAMECOCKS: USC has posted a pair of non-conference wins over Wofford and Florida Atlantic in the last two weeks to run its record to 3-1 this season. They are 1-1 in the SEC, with a win at Mississippi State and a loss to Georgia. This week’s game begins a stretch in which they will play six straight SEC contests. The loss to Georgia snapped their school record six-game SEC winning streak. After this game, they will not play at home again for a full month. Their final two games of the regular season will be non-conference affairs against Middle Tennessee and Clemson.
AND FOR THE TIGERS: Auburn comes into this week’s contest with a 4-0 record, including a 2-0 mark in the SEC. They have league wins at Mississippi State and over LSU and are coming off a 38-7 victory over Buffalo. They have won eight of their last nine and 13 of their last 15 contests. This is the first of three straight SEC tilts and one of only four road games this season for the Tigers.
GAMECOCKS AND TIGERS: This is just the eighth meeting between Carolina and Auburn and the second since the 1997 season. The Tigers lead the all-time series, 5-1-1. The teams met four times in the 1930s, with Carolina winning one, tying one and losing two. All four of those contests were played at neutral sites (Columbus, Ga., Montgomery, Ala., and twice in Birmingham). The teams have met three times as Southeastern Conference rivals, with Auburn winning all of those games, taking a 28-24 decision in Auburn on October 5, 1996, winning by a 23-6 count in Columbia on October 4, 1997, then routing the Gamecocks, 48-7 last season at Auburn. Carolina’s only win over the Tigers came in the 1933 season, a 16-14 victory in Birmingham.
HOW THINGS CHANGE: Carolina last defeated Auburn during the 1933 season, en route to a 6-3-1 campaign under head coach Billy Laval. In addition to the win over Auburn, they also defeated Clemson and Virginia Tech during that `33 season, but lost to Temple and Villanova. The tie was a scoreless duel with Furman.
BICENTENNIAL MAN: Last week’s win over FAU marked the 200th game as a collegiate head coach for Steve Spurrier. He owns a 152-46-2 mark through the first 200 contests. That’s a .765 winning clip. He ranks 9th among active coaches in both wins and winning pct.
SPURRIER VS. AUBURN: South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier owns a 10-4 lifetime record against the Auburn Tigers. He faced them every year from 1990 to 2001 as the head coach at Florida. He squared off with them twice in the 2000 campaign, winning in Gainesville during the regular season (38-7) and again in Atlanta in the SEC title game (28-6). The Tigers have gotten the better of it in each of the last two meetings (23-20 in 2001 and 48-7 in 2005), snapping Coach Spurrier’s seven-game winning streak over Auburn.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: Steve Spurrier and Tommy Tuberville have faced each other six times previously, with Coach Spurrier taking four of those six meetings, including one when Tuberville was the head coach at Ole Miss (1995).
SPURRIER AGAINST THE BEST: Steve Spurrier owns a 47-31-1 record when facing ranked opponents in his career, including wins in 13 of his last 18 opportunities. He has an 11-11 mark when facing teams ranked in the top five in the country. The last top-5 team he defeated was second-ranked Tennessee on Sept. 18, 1999 (23-21). He is 2-2 against nationally-ranked teams since taking over at Carolina, with wins over Tennessee and Florida and a pair of losses to Georgia.
PLAYING A RANKED OPPONENT: This is the second test of the season for the Gamecocks against a ranked opponent. They dropped an 18-0 decision to Georgia, who was ranked 12th in the country (AP) at that time. Last season, Carolina was 2-1 against ranked opponents, knocking off No. 23 Tennessee and No. 12 Florida after losing to No. 9 Georgia.
TOP FIVE FOES: Auburn is the first top-5 opponent to visit Williams-Brice Stadium since the third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs posted a 20-16 win here on Sept. 11, 2004. The Gamecocks have lost 19 straight games to top-5 teams, dating back to a 31-13 win over third-ranked North Carolina on Oct. 24, 1981. That game marks the highest-ranked team ever to fall to Carolina.
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: Brandon Cox threw for 245 yards and a touchdown and Auburn scored on five of its first seven possessions in a 48-7 win over South Carolina on Oct. 1, 2005 at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. The Tigers held the Gamecocks to seven first downs and shut the `Cocks out until Sidney Rice caught a 45-yard scoring pass from Antonio Heffner with 6:14 to play. Heffner was starting for the injured Blake Mitchell. The Tigers held a comfortable 31-0 lead at the intermission. Since that 41-point loss, the Gamecocks have rebounded to win eight of their last 11 games, including six of seven in the SEC.
SEASON-ENDERS: Safeties Brandon Isaac (left shoulder) and Nick Prochak (left shoulder), defensive tackle Marque Hall (left knee), offensive guard Kevin Young (left shoulder), offensive tackle Gurminder Thind (right foot) and defensive end Terrence Campbell (left knee) have been lost for the season due to injuries.
OTHER BUMPS & BRUISES: Tailback Cory Boyd missed last week’s game with a sprained right ankle and is questionable this week. Linebacker Cody Wells also sat out the FAU game with an ankle sprain but is probable this week. Offensive guard William Brown suffered a sprained left knee against FAU and has been ruled out for this week’s contest. Safety Chris Hampton sprained his left ankle against FAU and is questionable for the Auburn game. Safety Emanuel Cook missed the FAU game with a sprained left knee and will not play this week.
`BAMA BOYS: Carolina features six players, including Captain Munnerlyn (Mobile), Chris Smelley (Tuscaloosa), Darian Stewart (Huntsville), Jordin Lindsey (Mobile), Heath Batchelor (Haleyville) and Thomas Hooper (Montgomery), who have a “sweet home” in Alabama. Four of the six – Munnerlyn, Smelley, Stewart and Batchelor were signed in the spring of 2006 by Coach Spurrier and his staff.
FRESH FISH: Four players – tailback Taylor Rank, cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, defensive tackle Joel Reaves and linebacker Dakota Walker – all made their first collegiate start against FAU last Saturday. That comes on the heels of five players – offensive tackle Hutch Eckerson, offensive guard Garrett Anderson, linebacker Rodney Paulk tight end Jared Cook and offensive guard Seth Edwards – getting their first career start the previous week against Wofford.
The Gamecocks have started five true freshmen (Eckerson, Anderson, Paulk, Munnerlyn and safety Emanuel Cook) and two redshirt freshmen (Jared Cook and Rank) this season. Overall, 15 players have made their first collegiate start in 2006.
THE LAST TIME OUT: The Gamecocks had their best offensive outburst of the season in a 45-6 rout of Florida Atlantic last Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. The pitch-and-catch combination of Syvelle Newton to Sidney Rice worked in record proportion, as they hooked up for a school-record five touchdown strikes, connecting from 23, 21, 8, 41 and 19 yards out. The running back tandem of Taylor Rank (101 yards) and Mike Davis (92) helped USC grind out 200 yards on the ground, the most of the Steve Spurrier era at Carolina. After giving up a score on FAU’s first possession, the Gamecock defense settled in and held the Owls scoreless the rest of the way. They surrendered 80 yards on just four plays in the first series, then allowed just 163 on 56 plays (2.9 yards per play) the rest of the way.
OFFENSE STEPS UP: The USC offense generated 45 points and 492 total yards against the Owls on Saturday, including 200 yards on the ground. They entered the game having scored just 42 points and netting 890 total yards, including 281 rushing yards, through the first three games combined. The 72 plays and 492 yards of offense are both high marks at Carolina since Steve Spurrier took over the helm.
SOLID DEFENSE: The Gamecock defense surrendered a touchdown on FAU’s first possession, then forced eight punts, recovered a fumble, intercepted a pass and stopped the Owls once on downs the rest of the way. Carolina has allowed just four TDs and 44 points through four games, an average of 11.0 ppg, which ranks 13th in the nation. That’s just six more points than they surrendered in the final three quarters of the Independence Bowl loss to Missouri last December.
RE-WRITING THE RECORD BOOK: The Syvelle Newton to Sidney Rice combination hit paydirt a school record five times against FAU. Rice became the first player in South Carolina history to score five touchdowns in a game, surpassing the old mark of four, held by Mike Dingle (vs. Virginia Tech, 9-22-90) and Stanley Pritchett (vs. Mississippi State, 10-14-95). The previous school record for receiving touchdowns was three, set nine times previously, most recently by Rice against Vanderbilt last season. The five touchdown catches in a game also tied the SEC record, set by Carlos Carson of LSU against Rice in 1977. The 30-point scored by Rice ties for the fourth-highest single game total in SEC history. Newton’s five touchdown passes tied the school record, jointly held by Tommy Suggs, Jeff Grantz and Steve Taneyhill on two occasions.
NEWTON’S LAWS: Senior Syvelle Newton moved into the quarterback position for the Gamecocks against Wofford. It was his first start at that position since the final game of the 2004 campaign against Clemson. Newton started five games at quarterback that season, getting the nod against South Florida, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Florida and Clemson. He completed 12-of-18 passes for 196 yards in the win over the Terriers, then came back with a 216-yard passing day on 13-of-20 efficiency and five TDs against FAU. He owns a career mark of 4-3 record as a starter. For his career, Newton has completed 101-of-177 passes (57.1 percent) for 1,624 yards and 14 touchdowns. Since Coach Spurrier took over the program, Newton has completed 30-of-44 passes (68.2 percent) for 513 yards and eight touchdowns.
RARE TRIFECTA: Syvelle Newton has passed for 1,624 yards, rushed 152 times for 525 yards and has caught 59 passes for 644 yards. He has accounted for 23 touchdowns in his career – 14 passing, seven rushing and two receiving.
RICE HEATS UP: After being held to just five catches for 44 yards in the season’s first two games, All-America candidate Sidney Rice has turned it up a notch in wins over Wofford and FAU. Rice caught seven passes for a 151 yards, against the Terriers, then caught nine passes for 161 yards and five touchdowns in just over a half against the Owls. Rice has gone over the century mark in receiving yards in eight of his last 11 games. Only Sterling Sharpe (10) has more 100-yard receiving games in school history. Here are his 100-yard performances: Rice’s 100-Yard Receiving Games Date Opponent Rec. Yards TD 12/31/05 Missouri 12 191 1 09/23/06 Florida Atlantic 9 161 5 09/16/06 Wofford 7 151 0 10/21/05 Vanderbilt 8 132 3 10/07/05 Kentucky 8 125 2 11/25/05 Clemson 7 122 0 10/28/05 Tennessee 8 112 2 11/11/05 Florida 5 112 0
MORE RICE PLEASE: Sidney Rice set the school’s single-season record for receiving yards (1,143) and touchdown catches (13) in 2005. He has caught a touchdown pass in 10 of his 15 career games. After just 15 games, he is quickly moving up the USC charts:
Carolina Career Receptions Leaders No. Player Years Rec. 1. Sterling Sharpe 1983, 85-87 169 2. Zola Davis 1995-98 164 3. Robert Brooks 1988-91 156 4. Jermale Kelly 1997-00 153 5. Fred Zeigler 1967-69 146 6. Stanley Pritchett 1992-95 116 7. Brandon Bennett 1991-94 111 8. Ryan Brewer 1999-02 107 9. Philip Logan 1974-77 105 10. Harold Green 1986-89 94 11. Brian Scott 1998-02 93 12. Troy Williamson 2002-04 91 Sidney Rice 2005-06 91
Carolina Career Receiving Yards Leaders No. Player Years Yards 1. Sterling Sharpe 1983, 85-87 2,497 2. Zola Davis 1995-98 2,354 3. Robert Brooks 1988-91 2,211 4. Jermale Kelly 1997-00 2,181 5. Philip Logan 1974-77 2,063 6. Fred Zeigler 1967-69 1,876 7. Troy Williamson 2002-04 1,754 8. Ira Hillary 1981-84 1,566 9. Brian Scott 1999-01 1,506 10. Sidney Rice 2005-06 1,499
Carolina Career Receiving Touchdown Leaders No. Player Years TDs 1. Robert Brooks 1988-91 19 Jermale Kelly 1997-00 19 3. Sidney Rice 2005-06 18 4. Sterling Sharpe 1983, 1985-87 17 Zola Davis 1995-98 17
NOTHING RANK ABOUT TAYLOR’S DAY: Redshirt freshman Taylor Rank took advantage of an injury to Cory Boyd to make a name for himself against FAU. Getting his first starting assignment and working in the backfield for the first time in his career (his only previous action was on special teams), Rank rumbled for 101 yards on 15 carries against the Owls. Included was a 44-yard burst, the longest by a Carolina player from scrimmage since the 2004 season. It was the Gamecocks’ first 100-yard rushing day of the year.
DUELING DUO: Taylor Rank was not the only Gamecock tailback who took advantage of Cory Boyd’s injury. Sophomore Mike Davis rushed 15 times for a season-high 92 yards against Florida Atlantic. Davis, who finished the 2005 season with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games against Clemson and Missouri, had been held to just 36 yards on 18 carries through the season’s first three games before breaking through against the Owls.
BOYD SETS MARK: Tailback Cory Boyd, starting for the first time since the 2004 season, scored three rushing touchdowns in USC’s 27-20 win over Wofford. In finding paydirt from 10, 1 and 40 yards out, Boyd tied the school record (set many times previously) with three rushing TDs. The last player to do so was Dondrial Pinkins versus Vanderbilt on Oct. 25, 2003.
MORE BOYD BITS: Cory Boyd rushed for 74 yards and the three touchdowns before injuring his right ankle against Wofford. They were the first three rushing TDs for USC this season. The 40-yard burst was the longest run of his career. He had his first multi-touchdown game and scored a rushing touchdown for the first time since Sept. 25, 2004 against Troy. He now has nine career rushing TDs – three each in 2003, 2004 and 2006.
MAYBE BY LAND, BUT NOT BY AIR: The Gamecock defense has been stout against the pass this season. Opponents have completed just 31-of-81 passes (38.2 percent) for 443 yards (110.8 yards per game) with six interceptions through four games. Here’s where the Gamecocks rank nationally in both pass defense and pass defense efficiency: PASS DEFENSE Rk. Team YPG 1. Wyoming 101.00 2. LSU 102.75 3. South Carolina 110.75 4. Tulsa 113.50 5. Oregon State 124.33
PASS DEFENSE EFFICIENCY Rk. Team Rating 1. LSU 61.28 2. South Carolina 77.57 3. UConn 78.81 4. Texas A&M 79.91 5. Oregon State 83.50
PICK SIX: The Gamecocks have recorded six interceptions in the first four games. Fred Bennett and Chris Hampton lead the way with two apiece. Carolina intercepted 12 passes in the 2005 campaign. The school single-season record is 23 interceptions, accomplished in 1981, 1984 and 1987.
BREAKING DOWN BENNETT: All-America cornerback candidate Fred Bennett serves as the leader on the defense. With 25 starts under his belt, Bennett has made more starts than the next two defensive players (Stanley Doughty and Jordin Lindsey with 10 each) have combined. In fact, the other 10 starters on defense in the season opener combined for just 13 starts on that side of the ball (Hampton-5; Hall-4; Wells-2; Brown-1; Sapp-1) entering the 2006 season. Of the four returning defensive starters, Bennett is the lone starter this year. Mike West has moved to receiver, while Doughty and Lindsey are working with the second team.
NEXT IN LINE: Fred Bennett has two interceptions this season. The senior from Manning, S.C. who picked off three passes a year ago has nine career interceptions. With a big year, he could push for the school record of 14 career interceptions, held by Bo Davies (1969-71). Bennett is looking to follow in the footsteps of other recent standout USC defensive backs, including Dunta Robinson, Sheldon Brown, Ko Simpson and Johnathan Joseph, who took their skills to the NFL.
TWIN KILLINGS: The Brinkley brothers, linebacker Jasper and defensive end Casper, have made their presence felt this season. Jasper is the team leader with 28 tackles, including 23 solo stops, while Casper is tied for third on the squad with 15 tackles, including seven solos. They have combined for 43 tackles. Both are junior college transfers from Georgia Military College. Jasper arrived at South Carolina in January, while Casper was a summer arrival.
SUCCOP SUCCESS: Sophomore punter Ryan Succop has proven to be a worthy weapon in the special teams arena. He is averaging 45.6 yards per punt, with four of his 14 punts inside the 20. The Gamecocks lead the nation in net punting, averaging 43.14 yards per punt. Succop owns a long punt of 58 yards.
MORE SUCCOP SUCCESS: Ryan Succop also handles the placekicking chores for the Gamecocks. He has hit on 6-of-7 field goal attempts, missing only from 51 yards when he bounced it off the left upright against Georgia. His career long is from 47 yards out. He was named the SEC Special Teams Player of the Week following his effort in the season-opening win at Mississippi State.
NEWCOMERS: The Gamecocks have played 10 of the 18 true freshmen scholarship players who joined the team in the fall. Those who have seen action include: Garrett Anderson (2 starts), Moe Brown, Emanuel Cook (3 starts), Hutch Eckerson (2 starts), Chris Hail, Captain Munnerlyn (1 start), Eric Norwood, Rodney Paulk (2 starts), Chris Smelley and Darian Stewart. Those who appear headed for a redshirt include Pierre Andrews, Heath Batchelor, Seaver Brown, Terrence Campbell, Kenrick Ellis, Nick Prochak, Vandaral Shackleford and Kevin Young.
NO AARP CARDS NEEDED HERE: The Gamecocks have just six seniors on the squad that came into the program as scholarship players. Only two – center Chris White and tight end Andy Boyd – are in their fifth-year in the program. The four-year players are quarterback Syvelle Newton, wide receiver Noah Whiteside and cornerback Fred Bennett, while safety Brandon Isaac came to USC via the junior college route.
NEW DECADE, DIFFERENT RESULTS: The Gamecocks have posted a 43-32 record since the calendar turned to 2000. The 43 wins from 2000-2006 is two more than the 41 victories posted in the entire decade of the `90s. Carolina’s most victories in any decade is 63, set from 1980-89.
PLAYING OT: The Gamecocks have played just one overtime game in its history, falling to Tennessee by a 23-20 margin in Knoxville on Sept. 27, 2003. Every other SEC team has played at least three overtime games since the rule was established in 1996. EARNING THEIR KEEP: Prior to the start of the season, Head Coach Steve Spurrier placed five former walk-ons on scholarship. They include quarterback Brett Nichols, short snapper Scott Morgan, offensive guard Thomas Coleman, offensive guard Seth Edwards and linebacker Greg Wright. Over the past two seasons, Coach Spurrier has rewarded nine walk-on players with scholarships.
WE’LL TAKE THE BALL: Since Head Coach Steve Spurrier took over at South Carolina, the Gamecocks have opened the game on offense in all but one contest. In only the Alabama game of 2005 did USC win the toss and defer to the second half. The Crimson Tide scored a touchdown on that opening possession. The Gamecocks have started each of the last 13 games and 15 of the last 16 on offense. They have scored on the opening drive three times – putting seven points on the board via touchdown passes versus Central Florida and against Missouri in 2005 and against Florida Atlantic in 2006.
BETTER OF LATE: After the 1998 and `99 seasons saw South Carolina win just once in 22 tries, the Gamecocks have turned the corner. Since the start of the 2000 season, USC has logged an overall record of 43-32. The 40 wins from 2000-2005 was just one win shy of the best six-year stretch in school history. The Gamecocks won 41 times from 1979-1984.
A LITTLE HISTORY: This is the 113th season of college football at the University of South Carolina, dating back to 1892. The university did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. This is the 100th consecutive year in which USC has competed on the gridiron. Carolina owns an all-time record of 510-513-44. The school’s only league title came in 1969 when it posted a 6-0 record to win the ACC crown in Paul Dietzel’s fourth year.
GAME CAPTAINS: Seniors Chris White (center), Thomas Coleman (right guard) and Fred Bennett (cornerback) served as team captains in the opening game at Mississippi State. Cory Boyd (tailback), Jasper Brinkley (linebacker) and Scott Morgan (deep snapper) served as captains against Georgia. Syvelle Newton (quarterback), Ryan Brown (linebacker) and Ryan Succop (kicker) earned the nod against Wofford. Sidney Rice (wide receiver), Casper Brinkley (defensive end) and Yvan Banag (safety) were the captains for the FAU tilt.
BIG CHECK: Head Coach Steve Spurrier announced just prior to the start of the season that he and his wife, Jerri, would pledge $250,000 over the next five years to help the Carolina athletic department’s capital campaign. The Athletics Department is working on a master plan of facilities expected to be unveiled in October. The silent phase of a capital campaign is underway. The proceeds from the campaign will help underwrite new and improved facilities for the entire department.
UP NEXT: The Gamecocks go on the road for the first time since the season opener at Mississippi State on Aug. 31 when they travel to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats. South Carolina holds a 10-6-1 advantage in the all-time series with UK, including a 44-16 win in Columbia last season. USC has won six of the nine previous meetings in the Commonwealth state and has won the last six contests overall. Kentucky’s last win over Carolina came by a 30-10 score in the 1999 season. Game time is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
