Holtz has lifted Gamecocks up enough that he can talk them down

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

"Hold the presses. I've got a scoop for you. South Carolina's got problems. But they aren't anything that can't be solved. We could surprise people this year."
-- South Carolina Coach Lou Holtz on July 26 at SEC Media Days

FAYETTEVILLE -- Hold the presses indeed.
The scoop is that South Carolina (5-1) is the most surprising team in the country this season and Holtz -- the Mr. Fix-it of college football -- has solved more problems in the state capital of Columbia than the whole legislature.
The Gamecocks came into this season carrying a 21-game losing streak, but if they beat Arkansas on Saturday in Williams-Brice Stadium, South Carolina will be eligible to be the sixth school Holtz has taken to a bowl game.
South Carolina, tied with Florida for the SEC East lead at 3-1 and ranked No. 24 nationally, now looks so good that Holtz has to poor-mouth about the Gamecocks the same way he did about the Irish when he was at Notre Dame.
"We're not bowl-eligible yet, we haven't even really talked about that," said Holtz, 63, who has taken William & Mary, North Carolina State, Arkansas, Minnesota and Notre Dame to a combined 21 bowl games since 1970. "People say we've won five games, but then I look and see Arkansas, and I know how they manhandled us last year.
"I mean, they just flat annihilated us [48-14]. And then we've got to play Vanderbilt and they beat us last year [11-10], and then we play Tennessee at home and Florida down there and Clemson up there.
"So, we may not win another game. ... We could wind up 5-6."
Before the season, South Carolina fans would have taken that record in a heartbeat. The team was coming off an 0-11 record and victories didn't figure to come easily this year.
But the Gamecocks have orchestrated a remarkable recovery, beginning with a 31-0 victory over New Mexico State in the season opener.
That's the same school Holtz beat for his first victory at Arkansas in 1977. It wasn't a big deal when the Razorbacks beat the Aggies, but South Carolina fans tore down the goal posts after the Gamecocks beat New Mexico State and their domination in the game seemed to signal a turning point.
"We knew we had this in us all along," Gamecocks senior wide receiver Jermale Kelly said after the game. "It was just a matter of proving it to everybody.
"We said we were going to put last season behind us and we did."
South Carolina has built this dream season against a tough schedule, including victories over No. 14 Georgia and No. 15 Mississippi State.
When the Gamecocks beat Georgia 21-10 they intercepted Bulldogs quarterback Quincy Carter five times.
The scheme of mixed blitzes and coverages devised by South Carolina defensive coordinator Charlie Strong, a Batesville native and former Central Arkansas player, left Carter and the Bulldogs dazed and confused.
Against Mississippi State, the Gamecocks rallied to win 23-19 when sophomore backup quarterback Erik Kimrey came off the bench to replace injured starter Phil Petty on fourth-and-10 and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Kelly.
"It's just a fairy tale," said Kimrey's roommate, reserve offensive lineman Philip Jones.
While Jones was talking about Kimrey, he could have been talking about the Gamecocks' season.
"Sometimes you have got to be a little lucky, and they also are a whole lot better than they were last year," Arkansas Coach Houston Nutt said of the Gamecocks. "Now they believe. That is the biggest thing, the mind-set of believing."
Holtz said before the season that South Carolina's biggest problem wasn't a lack of talent or work ethic, but a lack of togetherness.
To bring the Gamecocks closer during preseason practice, Holtz had players get up and speak before their teammates and offer personal experiences about their lives. He also had the players with cars turn in their keys for two-a-days so everyone would have to ride buses together to and from practices.
"If you can change their habits, if you can change their beliefs, if you can change the way they react to situations ... I think you also can change the football team," Holtz said. "It's just not changing a football team, but a whole philosophy of life."
On the field, Holtz has changed the offense by using more one-back formations to spread the field.
Sophomore Derek Watson has found more running room and is averaging an SEC-best 176 all-purpose yards per game.
The Gamecocks have stayed healthy on the offensive line, which was a disaster area last season when injuries forced the team to play 16 offensive linemen, including switching some players from defense.
South Carolina played six quarterbacks last year as injuries piled up, but Petty has been able to start five of six games this season and has completed 90 of 166 passes for 1,165 yards and 4 touchdowns with 3 interceptions.
Six players have caught 13 or more passes, led by Kelly, who has 24 receptions for 358 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Defense was a strength for the Gamecocks last season, when they ranked 20th nationally in total defense (307.7 yards per game).
Despite losing three defensive players who were on NFL opening day rosters -- linebacker John Abraham (New York Jets) and defensive backs Arturo Freeman (Miami Dolphins) and Ray Green (Carolina Panthers) -- South Carolina has improved this season and ranks 12th nationally in total defense (276 yards per game).
The Gamecocks' defensive leaders are senior linebacker Andre Offing (52 tackles), senior nose guard Cleveland Pickney (18 tackles), junior cornerback Sheldon Brown (four interceptions, 34 tackles), sophomore safety Rashad Faison (49 tackles, three sacks) and senior tackle Cecil Caldwell (five tackles for losses totaling 44 yards).
At Kentucky on Saturday, the defense shut out the Wildcats in the second half and South Carolina rallied for a 20-17 victory.
"It was ugly," Pickney said. "It was like a fight and you've got two black eyes and you're looking for that lucky punch to end it. We got that last punch."
It was the Gamecocks' first road victory since 1997, when they beat Arkansas 39-13 at Little Rock.
About 200 South Carolina fans showed up at the Columbia airport at 2:30 a.m. Sunday to greet the Gamecocks when they returned from Kentucky.
"The first thing I thought was, 'Good Lord knows I hope the police don't check them for drinking,' " Holtz said. "Why in the world would anybody be there at 2:30 in the morning?
"But the crowd was tremendous. As I've mentioned so many times, we have unbelievable fans."
While going winless last season, South Carolina averaged 78,273 fans for its six home games to rank seventh in the SEC and 14th nationally.
This season, the Gamecocks are averaging 81,323 at home, and there will be another sellout crowd Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Besides playing in a hostile environment for the first time this season, Nutt said Arkansas will play "a totally different" South Carolina team than the one the Razorbacks beat up in Little Rock last season.
"Last year, Petty was out and they couldn't even get a center-quarterback exchange," Nutt said. "It was just ridiculous.
"Now you have a team that thinks they are going to win every game. They've got the ball bouncing their way."
Maybe Holtz saw it all coming at SEC Media Days when he spoke three months ago in Birmingham, Ala.
"Everything that could go wrong did go wrong last year," Holtz said at that time. "If everything that can go right does go right this year, it will be an interesting year."

SOUTH CAROLINA (5-1, 3-1)
DATE OPPONENT RESULT/TIME
Sept. 2 New Mexico W, 31-0
Sept. 9 Georgia* W, 21-10
Sept. 16 Eastern Michigan W, 41-6
Sept. 23 Mississippi State* W, 23-19
Sept. 30 at Alabama* L, 27-17
Oct. 7 at Kentucky* W, 20-17
Oct. 14 Arkansas* 11:30 a.m.
Oct. 21 at Vanderbilt* 1 p.m.
Oct. 28 Tennessee* noon
Nov. 11 at Florida* noon
Nov. 18 at Clemson noon
*SEC game
All times Central and subject to change

This article was published on Tuesday, October 10, 2000

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