Sept. 26, 2008

South Carolina vs. UAB

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The South Carolina Gamecocks (2-2, 0-2 SEC) play their third non-conference game of the 2008 season this week as they host the UAB Blazers (1-3, 0-1 Conference USA) at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia. Game time is set for 7 p.m. and the contest will be televised throughout the Palmetto State on a pay-per-view basis and on ESPN’s GamePlan package. The Gamecocks have sandwiched a pair of non-conference wins over NC State and Wofford around back-to-back SEC seven-point losses at Vanderbilt and to second-ranked Georgia. The Blazers got on the winning track last week with a 45-10 win over Alabama State after opening the season with three consecutive losses to Tulsa, Florida Atlantic and SEC foe Tennessee.

`COCKS AND BLAZERS

This is the second meeting on the gridiron between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the UAB Blazers. Carolina won the only previous contest between the two schools, posting a 42-10 triumph on Sept. 20, 2003 in a game played in Columbia. The teams are not currently scheduled to meet again following this week’s game.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

Running back Demetris Summers ran wild, totaling 161 yards and tying a USC record with three rushing touchdowns to lead Carolina to a 42-10 victory over visiting UAB on Sept. 20, 2003. Summers topped the century mark in the first quarter, as he had a 21-yard touchdown run and a 54-yard scoring scamper as the Gamecocks jumped out to an early 14-0 lead. He added his third score of the game early in the second quarter to extend the lead to 21. Dunta Robinson intercepted a Darrell Hackney pass and returned it 29 yards to put USC on top 28-0 at the intermission and they were never threatened in the second half. The Gamecocks piled up 422 yards of total offense while Dondrial Pinkins threw for 202 yards on a 13-for-19 effort. USC’s defense stifled the Blazers to just 87 yards and two first downs in the first half.

PLAYING CONFERENCE USA

The Gamecocks are 18-13 (.581) all-time against teams that currently comprise Conference USA. Fifteen of those 31 contests have come against East Carolina, with USC holding a 10-5 advantage in that series. The Gamecocks are 3-0 against Central Florida, 10-5 against East Carolina, 1-2 versus Houston, 0-1 versus Marshall, 2-2 against Memphis, 0-3 when playing Tulane, 1-0 against Tulsa and 1-0 versus UAB. The Gamecocks are 2-0 against teams from C-USA in the Steve Spurrier Era, defeating Central Florida by a 24-15 count on Sept. 1, 2005, then topping Houston, 44-36 in the 2006 Liberty Bowl.

PLAYING SHORTHANDED

The Gamecocks could be without as many as four starters for this week’s non-conference game against UAB. Wide receiver Kenny McKinley is still listed as doubtful this week with a right hamstring injury that he suffered in the Vanderbilt contest. He did not play against either Georgia or Wofford. Tailback Mike Davis, offensive guard Heath Batchelor and defensive end Jordin Lindsey are scheduled to sit out this week while serving a one-game athletics department suspension.

THE LAST TIME OUT

South Carolina stepped out of conference action last week when they hosted in-state rival Wofford out of the Southern Conference. As was the case two years ago when South Carolina held off the Terriers by a 27-20 score, this one was hard-fought to the end, with Carolina pulling out a 23-13 victory. The Gamecocks rolled up 30 first downs, a season-high 376 total yards of offense and did not punt, but struggled to put the ball into the end zone and turned it over three times while not forcing a Terrier turnover. Ryan Succop kicked three field goals, matching his career high, and a late touchdown pass from Chris Smelley to Dion Lecorn sealed the victory. Wofford had 285 yards of offense, but 102 ot those came on two plays. They averaged just under 3.4 yards on their other 54 plays from scrimmage.

FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME

The Gamecocks had several “firsts” in last week’s game against Wofford. Sophomore wide receiver Joe Hills caught his first collegiate pass. He ended the day with two receptions for 23 yards. Sophomore tailback Brian Maddox scored his first career touchdown, reaching paydirt on a seven-yard scamper midway through the second quarter. Freshman tailback Eric Baker had his first carries from scrimmage. He finished the day with 11 carries for 49 yards.

LONG DRIVE CONTEST

The Gamecocks and Terriers put together a long drive contest last week. South Carolina put together three of its longest scoring drives of the season. They went on an 18-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 7:38 in the first half, resulting in a Ryan Succop field goal, went 13 plays covering 51 yards and 5:26 in the third quarter with the result being another Succop field goal, then went another 13 plays, 70 yards and 5:52 on the clock in their final touchdown drive. Wofford countered with a 16-play, 51-yard, 7:38 drive that resulted in a missed field goal in the first quarter and a 14-play, 57-yard, 7:06 drive that led to their final field goal in the fourth quarter.

FIRST DOWNS

The Gamecocks rolled up a season-high 30 first downs against Wofford. That represented the second-highest total accumulated in the Steve Spurrier Era at South Carolina, topped only by the 31 in the overtime loss at Tennessee last October. The Gamecocks are tops among the SEC in first downs this season, totaling 88 through the first four games, an average of 22.0 first downs per game.

GROUND EXPRESS

The Gamecocks had 42 rushes for 172 yards in the win over Wofford. The 42 carries tied for the most in the Steve Spurrier Era at South Carolina. Three players: Brian Maddox (12), Eric Baker (11) and Mike Davis (10) had 10 or more carries in the contest. They also had 42 rushes in the season opener against NC State.

23 SKIDOO

Chris Smelley has completed exactly 23 passes in each of his last three starts. It took him just 33 attempts to complete those 23 passes against Wofford after throwing 39 times in both the Vanderbilt and Georgia contests.

THE FORGOTTEN MAN

The Gamecocks never called upon the services of punter Spencer Lanning in the win over Wofford. The sophomore never got on the field as five of the Gamecocks nine drives ended with a score, three others were stopped by a turnover and the final drive of the game ran out the clock. The Gamecocks punted just one time when they defeated Wofford in 2006. The last time they played a game without a punt was the 52-7 win over Middle Tennessee on November 18, 2006.

IT’S NOT OVER

The Gamecocks are 0-2 in league play after suffering setbacks at Vanderbilt and to No. 2 Georgia, but history would indicate that they still have hope. The last time they opened the conference slate with back-to-back losses was in 2005 when they dropped their first three decisions to Georgia, Alabama and Auburn before bouncing back with five straight SEC wins, topping Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida in succession.

UNDER COACH SPURRIER

Head coach Steve Spurrier is 23-18 in his fourth season in Columbia. He recorded the most wins by a Carolina head coach in his first three seasons (21), topping Joe Morrison’s mark of 20 from 1983-85. The most wins for a South Carolina coach in his first four seasons with the program is 25, recorded by Warren Giese from 1956-59 (7, 5, 7 and 6 wins).

MATCHING BRAD

The win over Wofford was a bit of a milestone win for head coach Steve Spurrier. It represented his 23rd victory at South Carolina, matching Brad Scott for 10th place on the school’s all-time wins list. He has coached just 41 games at South Carolina, while it took Scott 56 games to record 23 wins. Coach Spurrier’s next win will tie Sparky Woods’s total of 24 for ninth place.

FOR STARTERS

The Gamecocks officially return 18 starters from the 2007 squad (six on offense, 10 on defense and one specialist). The returning offensive starters are OG Seaver Brown, OG Lemuel Jeanpierre, WR Dion Lecorn, WR Kenny McKinley, OT Jamon Meredith and OT Justin Sorensen. The returning defensive starters include DT Ladi Ajiboye, S Emanuel Cook, DT Marque Hall, LB Cliff Matthews, CB Captain Munnerlyn, DE Eric Norwood, LB Rodney Paulk, LB Marvin Sapp, FS Darian Stewart, and CB Carlos Thomas. Senior Ryan Succop is the returning punter and placekicker. The list does not include middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley, who started all 13 games in 2006 and the first four games of the 2007 season before suffering a season-ending knee injury, or defensive tackle Nathan Pepper, who started 12 games in 2006 and each of the first three games in 2007 before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

NEW STARTERS

Six Gamecocks have made their first collegiate start this season. Redshirt junior quarterback Tommy Beecher and sophomore fullback Patrick DiMarco, made their first start in the season-opening win over NC State. Sophomore left tackle Jarriel King earned his first collegiate start at Vanderbilt. Sophomore wide receiver Joe Hills made his first collegiate start against Georgia. Sophomore tight end Weslye Saunders and sophomore offensive guard Terrence Campbell each made his first collegiate start against Wofford.

SLOW STARTS

The scoreboard has been pretty much silent in the first quarter of games this season. South Carolina has tallied just one first quarter score – a touchdown pass at Vanderbilt – in four games, while the Gamecock defense has pitched a shutout in the first quarter in each of the first four games. Oddly, in 2007, the first quarter was the highest scoring quarter for both South Carolina (100 points) and for its opponents (95 points).

DID YOU KNOW?

The Gamecocks defeated three teams in 2007 that went on to win its bowl games. Carolina knocked off Georgia by a 16-12 score, Mississippi State by a 38-21 margin and Kentucky by a 38-23 advantage. Georgia routed Hawaii 41-10 in the Sugar Bowl, Mississippi State defeated UCF, 10-3 in the Liberty Bowl, and Kentucky defeated Florida State, 35-28 in the Music City Bowl.

TOUGH TIMES AHEAD

The Gamecocks will face four of the top nine teams in the country in 2008, according to the preseason polls. Georgia was the top-ranked team in both polls. The Bulldogs stopped the Gamecocks, 14-7, on September 13 in a nationally-televised CBS contest. Florida entered the season ranked fifth in both polls. Carolina will travel to The Swamp on Nov. 15. LSU was seventh in the AP poll and sixth in the USA Today poll. The Bayou Bengals will visit Columbia on Oct. 18. Clemson began the season ranked ninth in both polls. The Tigers will host the Gamecocks in the final regular-season game of the `08 campaign on Nov. 29. In addition, the Gamecocks will play Tennessee, ranked 18th in both preseason polls. The Vols come to Williams-Brice Stadium on Nov. 1.

WINNING MORE OFTEN

The Gamecocks have posted four consecutive seasons of at least a .500 record, going 6-5 in 2004, 7-5 in 2005, 8-5 in 2006 and 6-6 in 2007. It’s the first time they have accomplished that feat since 1987-90 (8-4, 8-4, 6-4-1, 6-5). The last time they went five or more consecutive seasons with a .500 record or better was from 1928-34.

WORKING OVERTIME

The Gamecocks have played just two overtime games in their history, both at Tennessee. They dropped a 23-20 decision in Knoxville on Sept. 27, 2003, then fell by a 27-24 score on Oct. 27, 2007, also at Neyland Stadium. Every other SEC team has played at least three overtime games since the rule was established in 1996.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks return to SEC action next Saturday when they travel to Oxford to take on the Ole Miss Rebels. The Gamecocks and Rebels have met 13 times previously with Ole Miss winning eight of those contests, including the last five in a row. The teams have not met since the 2004 campaign, a 31-28 Ole Miss win in Columbia.