USC hopes to build momentum against Tigers

By Joseph Person - The (Columbia) State

COLUMBIA -- The bad thing about losing before an open date, as Steve Spurrier noted Sunday, is your team has two weeks to think about the loss.

That's nothing.

If South Carolina can't figure out a way to slay the Orange beast from the Upstate on Thanksgiving weekend, the Gamecocks and their fans will have 35 weeks before preseason practices start in August to dwell on another season gone south.

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Not long after USC's 24-14 loss to No. 1 Florida, thoughts quickly turned to Clemson.

There was no reason for USC players to spout the “one game at a time” mantra. There is no scheduled game beyond Nov. 28. This is it, as far as the regular season, anyway.

Gamecocks quarterback Stephen Garcia channeled his inner Yogi when discussing the importance of the rivalry game.

“It's going to be the same as any other game, except it's Clemson,” Garcia said. “So everybody's going to be a lot more juiced up.”

It's going to be the same as any other week. Only it's not.

Win, and the Gamecocks (6-5) are guaranteed a winning record and have a shot at an attractive bowl locale, which is not to say a “warm weather” locale. They also spare their fans a year of hazing for what would be the 11th time in 13 seasons.

Lose, and there will be a lot of unsold bowl tickets from USC's allotment for Shreveport or Birmingham.

The Gamecocks can wipe the slate clean with a win against Clemson, which USC players were calling their “second season” in the locker room after the Florida loss.

Let the record state that Garcia was the first to put the Clemson game in the “must-win” category for the Gamecocks.

“Being 7-5 as opposed to 6-6 would be huge for us,” he said. “It should have been a little bit better record. But it didn't work out that way. This is a huge game for us.”

As has been the case in previous Novembers, USC and Clemson seem to be heading in opposite directions. The Gamecocks have scored a total of 63 points in dropping four of their past five games.

No. 18 Clemson (7-3) has put up at least 38 points every game during its current five-game win streak. The Tigers have a defense that has picked off 19 passes, and a Heisman Trophy candidate in tailback C.J. Spiller, who had a touchdown trifecta — one each throwing, running and receiving — in a win over N.C. State.

USC's defensive staff will have two weeks to prepare for Spiller, while devising some way to start creating turnovers. The Gamecocks have gone four games without creating one.

A win would be nice, too — for bowl positioning, recruiting momentum, and most importantly, peace of mind for the next 35 weeks.

“We're trying to regroup,” Spurrier said. “We've got a good bunch of guys. Nobody's pointing fingers. We're a team. Win or lose as a team. I believe we'll get great effort this last game.”