GAMECOCKS SPANK OWLS 45-6
COLUMBIA, S.C.
(AP) -- Sidney Rice caught a school record five touchdown passes from Syvelle
Newton as South Carolina beat Florida Atlantic 45-6 on Saturday night.
With No. 2 Auburn coming to town Thursday
night, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier wanted to use this game as a tuneup
for his sputtering offense, which started the evening ranked 90th in the
country.
The Gamecocks (3-1) rolled up 492 total
yards. Rice had nine catches for 161 yards, while Newton was 13-for-20 for 216
yards. His five TDs tied a school record. Freshman Taylor Rank, playing for
the first time, led the rushers with 101 yards on 15 carries, while Mike Davis
ran 15 times for 92 yards,
The loss to South Carolina ended a brutal
stretch in which Florida Atlantic (0-4) lost by a combined 192-20 at Clemson,
Kansas State, Oklahoma State and South Carolina.
Rice had been held largely in check in 2006.
An All-Southeastern Conference receiver last year as a freshman, he had just
12 catches and no touchdowns in the Gamecocks' first three games.
But Rice put on a clinic playing against the
Owls' secondary, which had no one to stop him. He sold a fake, then dashed
past the confused defender to catch his first score, a 23-yarder. Rice set the
school record with his fourth receiving TD by catching a deflection off one of
four defenders and dashing the last few yards for a 41-yard score. On his
fifth touchdown pass, Rice outjumped the defender in the end zone to haul in a
19-yarder.
The five passing touchdowns Saturday weren't
bad for a team that came into the game with just one score through the air all
year - thrown by Newton on a trick play in which he lined up at receiver.
It also wasn't bad for Newton, who usually
finds himself running when he lines up behind center. The senior came into the
game with nine career passing touchdowns.
Quarterback Blake Mitchell, whom Spurrier
suspended one game for being in a bar fight, had a rough return, fumbling on
his first play in the second quarter. But with the Gamecocks comfortably in
the lead, Mitchell came back in the third quarter, finishing 5-for-11 for 75
yards.
One of the few highlights for Florida
Atlantic was a four-play 80-yard drive that gave the Owls their first
touchdown in the first half this season. It included a 47-yard run on
third-and-7 by quarterback Sean Clayton and a 25-yard TD pass from Clayton to
Jason Harmon on the next play. But holder Mike O'Neill bobbled the snap on the
extra point and his desperate pass was broken up.
Clayton led the Owls with 68 yards on five
carries. Charles Pierre ran 10 times for 58 yards and Clayton and Rusty Smith
combined to go 8-for-25 for 105 yards and an interception.
Saturday night's game featured coaches on
both sides with national titles - Spurrier won his in 1996 at Florida, while
Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger won his championship in 1983 at
Miami.
NEXT GAME
2nd-ranked
Auburn will travel to Columbia to take on South Carolina in a Thursday night
matchup. ESPN will broadcast the action in high definition with kickoff at
7:30 p.m. ET.
THE GOOD
Former
Gamecock and now Auburn's running back Kenny Irons doesn't have any ill
feelings toward SouthCarolina. Irons was miffed when Holtz fulfilled a promise
made in recruiting to Summers and allowed him to carry the ball on USC's first
play of the 2003 season.
"No, I don't wish (Lou) was over there," Irons contended. "He's
moved on and he's doing his thing on television now. Anything that happened in
the past is in the past. Everybody's moved on with their lives. I have nothing
bad to say or anything. That's just life."
THE
BAD
Auburn maintained
its No. 2 ranking in the AP Poll and No. 3 ranking in the USA Today Coaches'
Poll this week but that hasn't quieted the debate on who is the nation's
second-best team.
Ohio State currently has a firm hold of the top spot but depending on who you
ask, Auburn, USC or Michigan are all strong candidates for the No. 2 slot.
While the voters in both polls are torn between Auburn and USC, Michigan is
sixth. But that hasn't stopped ESPN from promoting the Big Ten school.
At the conclusion of Saturday's games, ESPN's college football analysts list
their personal Top 5 and for the past two weeks most have had USC and Michigan
ranked above the Tigers. One even had AU fifth, below West Virginia.
At times it seems that ESPN's so-called experts spend much of the day Saturday
talking up teams like Ohio State, USC, Michigan and Notre Dame (the Irish have
given up 84 points the last two games) while downplaying Auburn's 4-0 record
and recent win over then-No. 6 LSU.
The snub hasn't gone unnoticed by Auburn's players.
THE UGLY
Last
year's drubbing at the hands of the Auburn Tigers was easily the Gamecocks
ugliest game of the season in terms of offense, defense, special teams, and
coaching. However, win or lose, South Carolina should be able to exceed last
year's results.
