USC running game is a priority

USC running game is a priority
Miles, Anderson want USC's ground game to get more attention

By CHRIS DEARING
Special to The State

Much has been made about South Carolina having to stop the Connecticut rushing attack in the Papajohns.com Bowl on Saturday.

Little has been made about the Huskies having to stop a USC rushing attack that grounded out 223 yards in the victory over Clemson.

The Gamecocks are 6-1 when they rush for more than 100 yards in a game this season. Connecticut allows 137 yards rushing per game.

"We need to continue to try and run the ball," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said Tuesday after the team's final practice in Columbia. "They are pretty good against the run. They've given up some pass yards throughout the year but we still got to run the ball."

Redshirt freshman Kenny Miles (team-high 602 yards) has taken it as a personal challenge when comparing the USC running backs to UConn's duo of Jordan Todman and Andre Dixon.

Todman finished with 1,152 yards while Dixon chipped in with 967 yards.

"You always can't wait for the game to see how the other running back does and see how he does so you can compete," Miles said. "Running backs always compete against each other in games wither they say it or not. You always want to do better than the other team's running backs."

Senior offensive lineman Garrett Anderson would like to see the Gamecocks continue how they played against Clemson.

"After the Clemson game a bunch of people said the line played better and that's something we definitely we want them to say after the bowl game," Anderson said. "We want them to say the line even improved more since the last game."

Fun in Birmingham. Spurrier wants his team to enjoy the activities surrounding the bowl, but he also wants them to remember the reason for being in Birmingham.

There are several team activities planned. The two teams will have a Welcome Dinner tonight at the StarDome Comedy Club. On Thursday morning there is an FCA breakfast at the Sheraton Birmingham hotel. That evening there is a team Bowling and BBQ Challenge.

But Spurrier has the Gamecocks on a short lease. Last night and tonight there will be a midnight curfew in place followed by 11 p.m. the two nights before the game.

"We're going to have controlled fun and don't get out of hand," Spurrier said. "We've got midnight curfew a couple of nights. That's plenty for our guys."

Help on the way. Spurrier said USC's special teams awareness may be handled differently next year. USC allowed three kickoff returns for touchdowns so far this season.

"We're going to give (special teams coordinator) Coach (Shane) Beamer a little more help hopefully next year by getting our very best players on special teams," Spurrier said. "I think we've sort of given our players a rest where as all the starters need to be on special teams."

More on bowl opponent, Ellis Johnson

A couple of items on a sunny Thursday in the capital city:

Some of you have not been too excited about going to Birmingham. Would a matchup against a top-25 team make the trip more tempting?

The Birmingham News’ Jon Solomon, former State sports writer and unofficial Papajohns.com Bowl historian, reports on his blog today that No. 15 Pittsburgh remains in the running for the Big East’s bid in Birmingham.

If Pitt loses to Cincy this weekend in what amounts to the Big East championship game, the Panthers look like they could be USC’s opponent Jan. 2 at Legion Field. If Pitt upsets the Bearcats and gets the conference’s automatic BCS berth, the South Florida-UConn winner likely would be the choice for the Papajohns.com.

–There have been a couple of online reports today saying Ellis Johnson is a candidate for the defensive coordinator openings at Florida State and Georgia.

It’s not surprising schools would be interested in Johnson, who has added to his already impressive resume during his two years in Columbia.

And while Johnson certainly will listen if other schools call, I’d be surprised if he were to leave. Johnson, a Winnsboro native whose wife is from Columbia, cited a desire to be closer to home and log more time in the South Carolina state retirement system when he left Arkansas after just a few weeks to join Steve Spurrier’s staff in January 2008.

Now, depending on what Georgia and Florida State are paying – Monte Kiffin money? – the salary increase might outweigh the retirement benefits.

Johnson has two years left on his deal that pays him $350,000 a year, the most among Gamecock assistants.

Even before Johnson’s name was mentioned in connection with the FSU and Georgia openings, Spurrier said earlier this week he wanted to get more money for his assistant coaches.

My guess is Johnson stays in Columbia, and gets an extension and a raise.

Gamecocks bound for Birmingham

Barring last-minute changes, team appears headed to Papajohns.com Bowl

By JOSEPH PERSON
jperson@thestate.com

South Carolina fans hoping to follow the Gamecocks to the Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta will have to keep trucking west on I-20 to reach USC's bowl destination.

Barring any last-minute maneuvering - which occurred Tuesday when the Outback went with Auburn instead of Tennessee - the Gamecocks will face a Big East team in Birmingham in the Papajohns.com Bowl on Jan. 2.

An official announcement is not expected until Sunday, but the SEC's bowl lineup took shape Tuesday with reports that Auburn was headed to Tampa and the Chick-fil-A Bowl planned to take Tennessee.

"We don't know for sure how it's going to work out," USC coach Steve Spurrier said. "But if it is Birmingham, that's certainly fine with all of us."

An official with the Independence Bowl, which picks ahead of the Papajohns.com, said the bowl is considering Georgia and USC. But most bowl insiders believe the Independence will go with Georgia, which has not played in the Shreveport, La., bowl since 1991.

The Gamecocks lost to Missouri 38-31 in the Independence in 2005 in Spurrier's first season.

Spurrier coached his final game with Duke at Legion Field, site of the Papajohns.com Bowl, in the 1989 All-American Bowl. Spurrier took his Florida team to Legion Field to face Alabama in the first two SEC championship games.

ESPN owns the Papajohns.com Bowl, which is in its fourth year. This will be the first time an SEC team has played in the game. The conference was affiliated with the Papajohns.com last year, but did not have enough teams qualify for a bowl.

The winner of Saturday's Connecticut-South Florida game could get the Big East's spot in Birmingham.

South Carolina 34,Clemson 17

It was over when... Stephen Garcia hooked up with Weslye Saunders on a TD pass to end Clemson's comeback bid.
Gameball goes to... South Carolina's defense, which dominated Clemson's offense throughout the game.
Stat of the game... 7. C.J. Spiller set an NCAA record with his seventh career kickoff return for a touchdown.
Complete Top 25 Overview
Team Stat Comparison

1st Downs 14 21
Total Yards 260 388
Passing 212 165
Rushing 48 223
Penalties 2-20 4-39
3rd Down Conversions 3-13 6-16
4th Down Conversions 0-1 1-1
Turnovers 3 2
Possession 23:29 36:31
Air/Ground Leaders
Clemson Passing
C/ATT YDS TD INT
Parker 22/42 212 1 1

South Carolina Passing
C/ATT YDS TD INT
Garcia 10/21 126 3 1
Gilmore 1/1 39 0 0
Clemson Rushing
CAR YDS TD LG
Spiller 9 18 0 5
Parker 4 13 0 19

South Carolina Rushing
CAR YDS TD LG
Miles 17 114 0 22
Garcia 14 46 0 18
Clemson Receiving
REC YDS TD LG
Palmer 8 106 1 26
Ford 5 49 0 23

South Carolina Receiving
REC YDS TD LG
Jeffery 4 65 0 39
Gurley 2 50 1 36
Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER CLEM SCAR
TD 14:41 C.J. Spiller 88 Yd Kickoff Return (Richard Jackson Kick) 7 0
TD 05:21 Brian Maddox 1 Yd Run (Spencer Lanning Kick) 7 7
TD 02:01 Weslye Saunders 9 Yd Pass From Stephen Garcia (Spencer Lanning Kick) 7 14
SECOND QUARTER CLEM SCAR
FG 10:44 Spencer Lanning 47 Yd 7 17
THIRD QUARTER CLEM SCAR
TD 07:47 Tori Gurley 14 Yd Pass From Stephen Garcia (Spencer Lanning Kick) 7 24
FOURTH QUARTER CLEM SCAR
FG 11:23 Richard Jackson 45 Yd 10 24
FG 05:22 Spencer Lanning 38 Yd 10 27
TD 03:46 Michael Palmer 22 Yd Pass From Kyle Parker (Richard Jackson Kick) 17 27
TD 02:40 Weslye Saunders 1 Yd Pass From Stephen Garcia (Spencer Lanning Kick) 17 34
Photo Wire

South Carolina's Weslye Saunders (88) scores a touchdown, while Clemson's DeAndre McDaniel (2) picks himself up...
(AP Photo/Richard Shiro)
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Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier still has a few of those Heisman Trophy moves.

Gamecocks captain Moe Brown and fellow senior Garrett Anderson chased an elusive Spurrier, the 1966 Heisman winner at Florida, with a water bucket and eventually doused their coach after beating rival Clemson (No. 18 ESPN/USA Today, No. 15 AP) on Saturday 34-17.

Spurrier's rule is save such showers for championships. Even the head ball coach had to smile when Brown pointed out the Gamecocks won the Palmetto State title.

Fast Facts

• South Carolina ended a two-game losing streak against the Tigers and three-game overall losing streak.

• The Gamecocks are 6-1 at home this season, their best record since 1988. It also marked the second win over a ranked opponent for South Carolina this season.

• C.J. Spiller returned the opening kickoff for a TD, setting a FBS record with his seventh career kickoff TD return and became the fifth person in FBS history to go over 7,000 all-purpose yards.

• Clemson is 9-4 vs. South Carolina when the game is played the Saturday after Thanksgiving or on Thanksgiving Day.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

"I figured I only got one game left, he can't be too mad at me," Brown said. "We said we won the state championship and he gave me a hug."

"That was a big win," Brown said. "We needed it."

Besides short-circuiting another late-season swoon, the Gamecocks (7-5) most likely earned a bid to one of the Southeastern Conference's mid-tier bowls like the Music City or Chick-fil-A.

"It was a wonderful win," Spurrier said.

And it came mostly because South Carolina's defense slowed a Tigers attack that had averaged more than 40 points and 415 yards during its six-game win streak.

Clemson's run brought it an ACC Atlantic Division crown and a spot in next week's league title game against Georgia Tech. The Tigers (8-4) had few answers for South Carolina's rested and raring-to-go defenders.

Clemson star C.J. Spiller had his NCAA record-setting seventh career kickoff return touchdown to start the game. He managed only 18 yards on the ground after that.

Spiller battled an illness throughout, saying he felt sick to his stomach. Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said Spiller "tweaked" his groin but should be fine by next week.

By the end, backups Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper did most of the backfield work.

"It's better for another guy to be out there than for me to be out there not giving it my all," Spiller said.

Stephen Garcia threw three touchdown passes as South Carolina put a temporary halt to Clemson's series dominance.

Clemson had won two straight, six out of seven and 10 of 12 against the Gamecocks, who had only one victory over the Tigers in the last 10 games at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Clemson had just 260 yards of offense. Spiller finished with 18 yards rushing and 19 receiving.

South Carolina fans chanted "S-E-C" as the outcome became clear.

The Tigers head into next week's championship with several questions to answer. No. 1 among them: What happened to the offense?

Swinney says the team will respond with character and hard work.

"Our next goal is to try and win the ACC," Swinney said. "We will turn the page."

After Spiller struck for his 88-yard kickoff return just 20 seconds in -- it was his fourth such score this season -- the orange-clad fans among the 80,574 in the stands had little reason to doubt it'd be another day to celebrate.

But the Tigers had only 138 yards through three quarters.

There were interceptions, fumbles and penalties galore that helped South Carolina score 17 points in the opening half, more than it had in any of its last five games.

"We were moving the ball down the field and moving on their defense and then we would kill ourselves," Clemson tight end Michael Palmer said.

South Carolina made the Tigers pay.

Jamie Harper's fumble turned into a 1-yard touchdown run by Brian Maddox to tie things.

Kyle Parker's first interception in three games followed on Clemson's next drive, with freshman DeVonte Holloman returning it 54 yards to the Tigers 11. Garcia connected with tight end Weslye Saunders for the go-ahead score from 9 yards out.

If you needed proof this was the Gamecocks' day, it came a series later.

Ricky Sapp had a roughing penalty on a punt to keep another Gamecocks drive going. That one ended with Spencer Lanning clanging a 47-yard field goal off the right upright.

Garcia clinched things in the third quarter with a 14-yard touchdown throw to a wide-open Tori Gurley.

Spiller fumbled on the Tigers' first possession of the second half, and Clemson got just one first down its next three series.

The victory ended what looked like another late-season swoon in Spurrier's fifth year as Gamecocks coach.

In 2007, South Carolina opened 6-1 and lost its last five. A year ago, a 7-3 start was ruined by three straight defeats down the stretch.

The Gamecocks were 6-2 a month ago after beating Vanderbilt 14-10. Losses to Tennessee, Arkansas and top-ranked Florida had Spurrier fielding uncomfortable questions about playcalling and his future.

Spurrier, testily at times, preached patience and reminded critics his team's best days were down the road. That showed against the Tigers.

Hollomon's game-changing interception was the first of his career. Defensive back Stephon Gilmore, Holloman's teammate at South Pointe High last fall, was used successfully in a wildcat look that set up Maddox's tying touchdown.

Senior linebacker Eric Norwood reminded everyone how important it is to beat your rival.

"It feels good," Norwood said, smiling. "It feels like we're 10-0."