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Notebook: Chick-fil-A Bowl press conference
A sign urging the Gamecocks to put their 56-17 loss to Auburn behind them sits outside the players' weight room.
The sign hung just outside the doors of South Carolina’s weight room.
“Let’s get back on the horse and back to [Atlanta] on a mission to get 10 wins.”
The sign – complete with a picture of the famous racehorse Secretariat – is a fitting one for the Gamecocks.
They’ll go back to the Georgia Dome in less than four weeks in the hopes of ending their season on a positive note. It was in that same city just six days ago that South Carolina was dominated 56-17 at the hands of the Auburn Tigers in the SEC Championship Game.
“We’re excited. We didn’t play our best last time in the Georgia Dome,” coach Steve Spurrier said Tuesday at the Chick-fil-A Bowl press conference. “We’re going to try and compete and look like a first class team.”
Thankfully for Spurrier, the Gamecocks’ latest challenge in the Georgia Dome will be a team not nearly as talented as the club he faced Dec. 4. The Tigers are preparing for their first BCS National Championship Game against Oregon in Glendale, Ariz.
It’s Florida State this time around, a team that’s had an eerily similar season compared to the Gamecocks.
The Seminoles went 9-4 (like USC), went 5-3 in conference play (like USC), and lost in their conference championship game (like USC).
“They are a good team. I also read where they lead the nation in sacks. I think we’re third our fourth,” Spurrier said. “Good defensive line; a lot of good athletes on that Florida State team. I don’t know the status of their quarterback. [Christian] Ponder had some fluid in his elbow that bothered him.”
The matchup – set for a primetime kickoff on New Year’s Eve on ESPN – is one Chick-fil-A Bowl officials are thrilled to have.
“Because the players at South Carolina played so well this year, won the division in the [SEC] East, we thought they deserved to be in our game and that’s why we protected them to play Florida State,” President Gary Stokan said.
It marks South Carolina first appearance in the bowl since it won the ACC Championship in 1969.
“That was our second bowl game ever. And we’re glad to have them back this year,” Stokan said. “We hope it’s not another 30 years before we get them back next time.”
It’s a matchup embraced by South Carolina’s athletics department as well, as the Gamecocks’ ticket allotment is nearly gone.
“We’ve got less than 1500 tickets left. We’ve been selling 400-500 per day,” athletics director Eric Hyman said. “There’s not going to be any tickets left over.
“Our fans have really embraced the tickets and we’ll have Gamecock Nation down there. We’ll paint the town garnet.”
Players file draft inquiries: Spurrier confirmed that two South Carolina football players – wide receiver Tori Gurley and offensive lineman Rokevious Watkins – have filed paperwork to find out where they might be drafted in the 2011 NFL Draft.
“They know how we feel. If you’re not projected as a first rounder, you shouldn’t go out,” Spurrier said. “But some of our players in the past think, ‘I’m going to be a first or second rounder.’”
Spurrier called out former defensive tackle Clifton Geathers for making that mistake last season. Geathers was a mid-round selection and has bounced around with several teams in his short time in the NFL. He was picked up by Dallas earlier this week.
“When they get drafted in the seventh round [they’re surprised], like Clifton Geathers,” Spurrier said. “He should have come back. But he wanted to go. If they want to go, we can’t stop them.”
Despite that, Spurrier remained staunch in his opinion that should a player want to leave, he’ll gladly show them the door.
“A lot of times, players don’t listen to coaches. They think, ‘I’m going to be an early pick,’” Spurrier said. “There’s nothing we can do to keep them here. We just try to educate them. But if they don’t want to stay, that’s okay with us, too.”
Spurrier reacts to Meyer: Spurrier, Florida’s all-time coaching wins leader, wasn’t surprised when he heard the news that Gator coach Urban Meyer had announced his retirement for the second consecutive year.
“He did it last year. He was sort of stressed out a bit,” Spurrier said. “He’s ready to take a few years off. I really think he’ll come in in three to four years. I think he will. He just needed to hang it up.”
Spurrier still took the time, however, to share a funny anecdote about Meyer and the lucrative contract he was walking away from.
“It was funny, I was sitting there watching it. I told my wife Jerri, ‘It’s hard to walk away from four million bucks a year, isn’t it?’ Know what she said? She said, ‘You walked away from five [million].”
As for him? Spurrier was asked how long he plans on coaching and gave his usual explanation: four to five more years.
“I always say four or five. Three, four or five,” he said. “Marcus [Lattimore] is a freshman. We’ve got some good recruits coming in we think. And we think we’re going to get some others. We believe we’ve got an up-and-coming team here.
“Like I said all this year, I don’t think this is the best team we’re going to field. I think we can field a stronger team in the future.”
New bowl preparations: While Spurrier wouldn’t get into specifics, South Carolina’s football coach said the Gamecocks would prepare differently for this year’s Chick-fil-A Bowl than they have in previous seasons.
For good reason. The Gamecocks have been basic no-shows in each of their last two bowl games.
USC was blasted 31-14 by Iowa in the 2008 Outback Bowl before stumbling in a head-scratching 20-7 loss to Connecticut in last season’s PapaJohns.com Bowl.
“You can’t practice too much and you don’t want to practice too little. You want to try and find the right balance,” Spurrier said. “We’ll practice on and off…and do it a little like I’ve done in the past. But we’ll do things a little bit different as far as bowl preparations.
“Obviously whatever we’ve done hasn’t worked too well over the last two years. I think I know why but we’ll do some things differently.”
But he remained mum on what exactly the Gamecocks would do different.
“It will just be different. Let’s put it that way,” Spurrier said. “There will be some different stuff.”
By the numbers: Some interesting figures to chew on when it comes to the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl:
-The bowl, now in its 43rd year, will pay out 6.7 million dollars this year, breaking 100 million in total for the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
-The bowl is expected to have its 14th consecutive sellout. President Gary Stoken said that as of Friday afternoon, only about 50 tickets remained. He expected those to be gone by the end of the day. It’s the third longest streak of bowl sellouts, behind only the Rose and Fiesta Bowls.
-The Chick-fil-A Bowl, largely due to being the sole game in primetime on New Year’s Eve, has three of the top 10 broadcasts ever on ESPN for college football. Over 7.5 million viewers tuned in for last season’s game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
-The ACC and SEC have competed in the bowl for 18 consecutive years. The tell-tale sign of a competitive game? This year’s winner will break a nine-all tie between the two conferences in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
USC 85, Radford 56: The Spinella Show
Stephen Spinella scored the most points of his career on Tuesday night.
On Friday night, he not only did it again, but he outscored everybody else in the building for good measure. Read more…
Kratch’s New Top 25
1. Oregon
2. TCU
3. Auburn
4. Boise State
5. Stanford
6. LSU
7. Wisconsin
8. Ohio State
9. Nebraska
10. Oklahoma State
11. Utah
12. Alabama
13. Arkansas
14. Iowa
15. Michigan State
16. Arizona
17. Mississippi State
18. Missouri
19. Oklahoma
20. Virginia Tech
21. Nevada
22. Central Florida
23. San Diego State
24. Southern Cal
25. Baylor
Carolina tops LSU in PKs, advances to second straight SEC title game
There’s just something about these matchups between South Carolina and LSU.
In a game eerily similar to the last three showdowns between these two – as well as Thursday’s quarter-final victory over Kentucky – No. 20 Carolina prevailed in penalty kicks once again, playing the Tigers to a 1-1 draw before outscoring them 4-3 in its third straight shootout at Orange Beach, Ala. The win sets up a rematch with No. 7 Florida in the title game on Sunday afternoon
“I don’t know if I can take much more of these games,” coach Shelley Smith said, jokingly. “I’m proud of how we stepped up under pressure and did what we needed to do to advance today.”
Despite playing in blistering wind once again and coming off a 110-minute match the day before, Carolina came out strong early against an LSU team recovering from similar strain. The Gamecocks managed a 6-4 shot advantage in the first half and nearly took the lead in the eighth minute when senior forward Brooke Jacobs had a 12-yard shot blocked.
In the 29th minute, however, junior forward and Hermann Trophy candidate Kayla Grimsley found a seam in the defense and capitalized. Overcoming man-coverage from LSU defender Reyna Lubin, Grimsley fired a shot past keeper Megan Kinneman to give Carolina a 1-0 lead.
“She’s the player of the year in the conference,” Smith said. “She’s well-deserving obviously from her performance here at SEC’s and all season. We can count on her to be a threat at all times. She’ll look to score goals and set up others. She knows how to carry a team on her back and always be a threat up top.”
Besides being her 12th of the season, Grimsley’s strike earned her yet another milestone. With 34 points on the season, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year is tied with Jennie Ondo for USC’s single-season record, one that has stood for 15 years.
“It’s an honor,” Grimsley said. “That individual honor was incredible. She’s held that for a long time and it’s awesome to tie her. It would be great to pass it, but the only thing right now is to win Sunday, bring Columbia another ring and to host the NCAA Tournament.”
From there, the Gamecocks retained the lead as the match moved into the second half, keeping the LSU offense at bay and leading considerably in the shot count. That changed in minute 78, however. Fielding a cross from forward Addie Eggleston, LSU’s Carlie Banks managed to knock one past senior goalkeeper Mollie Patton, tying it up at 1-1.
“We were disappointed in ourselves to give up that late goal,” Smith said. “We had control a lot of the game, but great credit to LSU to do what they needed to do.”
Carolina came close on a number of occasions to regain the lead – including a cross from sophomore defender Christine Watts that was grabbed out of the air by Kinneman before junior forward Maria Petroni could get a head on it – but after 90 minutes, the score remained tied and the match proceeded into extra time.
The Gamecocks maintained the advantage in both overtime periods, outshooting the Tigers 6-1 and nearly earning the win on a long shot from junior midfielder Kira Campbell. No goals came, however, and the matchup moved to PKs for the second time in two years.
LSU’s Mo Isom and junior midfielder Kortney Rhoades each managed to score in the first round, followed by a pair of saves from Kinneman and Patton in the second. The third round saw the score remain tied when forward Danielle Murphy and freshman midfielder Kelsey Barr converted their attempts, but after the Tigers failed to score on a high shot from forward Courtney Alexander, senior defender Brittiny Rhoades put the Gamecocks ahead 3-2 heading into the final round.
LSU managed to tie it up once again on a goal from Kinneman on the opening shot of the round, putting Grimsley in position to win it for the second consecutive day. The Lakeland, Fla., native rose to the occasion, sending a laser past Kinneman to put Carolina in the championship game for the second year in a row.
“It was a battle. Every time we play a team like LSU it’s a battle,” Grimsley said. “Even in the regular season we only beat them 1-0 and it was a battle. We came in and scored a decent goal. We had the run of play for most of the game and outshot them. We had one little mistake and let it go in. We just fought back and said we weren’t going to lose.”
Carolina advances to semi-finals of SEC Tournament
A shootout in Orange Beach, Ala., appears to be a winning combination for the Gamecocks.
Faced with a rematch against Kentucky (10-7-3, 4-5-3) in the opening round of the SEC Tournament, No. 20 South Carolina (14-4-3, 8-2-2) managed to avoid the upset by knocking off the Wildcats in penalty kicks after playing 110 minutes in a 1-1 draw. The win advances the Gamecocks to the semi-final round to take on LSU.
The match was a long-awaited one for both teams. Slated to be played Wednesday, the game was delayed due to inclement weather. Although heavy winds continued to be an issue Thursday, conditions were good enough for the match to get the green light.
Carolina brought the offensive pressure early on in the match, recording 10 shots in the first half with the wind at its back, and in the 10th minute, managed to jump out to an early lead. Receiving a pass in the box from junior forward Kayla Grimsley, freshman midfielder Danielle Au crossed the ball to senior forward Brooke Jacobs, who fired it in the top corner to give the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead.
“It was a great feeling to come back [and score]. I feel like I’m back in the game,” Jacobs said in reference to recovering from a hamstring injury. “It was a great feeling for our team to put us up one.”
The assist on the play was Grimsley’s tenth of the year, making her the first player in program history to earn 10 goals, 10 assists and 30 points in a single season.
“It’s awesome,” Grimsley said. “Like I said before, I was only one assist away from someone else doing their job. Today, Danielle got herself open on a very calm Kentucky defense and Brooke was in the perfect position. Danielle played a perfect ball and we scored. It’s just incredible the build up that we had. We were calm and composed. The wind out here was crazy. It’s just good to get that.”
The score remained 1-0 as the match moved into the 85th minute and the Gamecocks appeared to be on their way to their second victory over the Wildcats in 2010. After earning a corner kick, however, UK forward Alyssa Telang managed to bend the kick into the goal, tying the score at 1-1 and sending the game into extra time.
Recovering quickly from Kentucky’s equalizer, Carolina retained the advantage in overtime, outshooting UK 6-1. Neither team managed to score, however, so the match advanced to penalty kicks.
“It was too bad we gave up one with five minutes left, but we did well under that circumstance to get chances and keep the ball under that pressure of not being able to play forward a lot,” coach Shelley Smith said. “The momentum changes when you go down a goal. To come back and fight through another 10 minutes of having the wind against you, a lot of people played a role today.”
Playing in a shootout in Orange Beach for the second straight game, Carolina quickly jumped ahead of UK. The Wildcats missed each of their first two attempts, while Jacobs and freshman midfielder Kelsey Barr managed to knock their shots in to give the Gamecocks a 2-0 advantage.
Kentucky managed to convert its next two, however, and after senior defender Brittiny Rhoades and junior midfielder Kortney Rhoades hit the crossbar and post, respectively, on Carolina’s next two attempts, both teams advanced to their final shooter with the score tied 2-2.
After UK failed to score on its final attempt, Grimsley fired her shot past keeper Sydney Hiance to send the Gamecocks into the semi-final round for the third time in four seasons.
“I was more confident this game, I think. I was amped. I was ready to play,” Grimsley said. “Our girls did their jobs and Mollie did her job. I said that I was going to put this in. I had to. There was a lot riding on this game. It was either this or go home. Last time we made it far and made it to the finals, so I wasn’t as amped as the last time to take it. I was just calmer this time, and I knew I had to put it in in order for us to stay here and advance. That was the only thing in my mind, to put it in and not let the team down.”
Men’s soccer triumphant on Senior Day
by Isabelle Khurshudyan
With one of the most storied senior classes being honored, a win over Memphis for the USC men’s soccer was about more than just conference standings and tournament seeds. Read more…
Gamecocks fall in four sets to Ole Miss
by Allie Chapman
Kratch’s New Top 25
1. Oregon
2. TCU
3. Auburn
4. Boise State
5. Utah
6. Alabama
7. Stanford
8. Wisconsin
9. Ohio State
10. LSU
11. Missouri
12. Oklahoma
13. Nebraska
14. Arkansas
15. Arizona
16. South Carolina
17. Iowa
18. Michigan State
19. Mississippi State
20. Baylor
21. Oklahoma State
22. Syracuse
23. Virginia Tech
24. N.C. State
25. Florida State
First half goal downs Carolina in title game
The Gamecocks just can’t seem to catch a break with buzzer beaters.
Nearly a year after falling to Wake Forest in the NCAA Tournament on a header in the final second, No. 17 South Carolina was the victim once again in Friday’s 1-0 loss in the SEC Championship to No. 8 Florida.
With 10 seconds remaining in the first half, junior defender Ellen Fahey was whistled for a foul at the top of the USC box. As the Gators rushed to get the free kick off before time expired, Gamecock defenders crowded in front of the ball. Rather than requesting a 10-yard cushion, Florida put the ball into play and was quickly stifled by the Carolina defense to seemingly end the half.
As the clock ticked down, however, the official whistled the Gamecocks for obstruction of the play and allowed the Gators to take the kick with time stopped at two seconds. This allowed Florida to have all the time and space they needed to set up the play, and defender Nicky Kit capitalized by firing a rocket into the top-right corner to put her team on top at halftime and eventually for good.
“He said we were in front of the ball and intentionally delaying, which is true,” coach Shelley Smith said. “We’re not just going to drop off on a kick with 10 seconds left, but they didn’t ask for 10 [yards]. They played the ball and at that point, it shouldn’t be stopped. That’s what I had a problem with.”
The goal was the lone blemish in what was another sound performance from Carolina’s defense. Facing the SEC’s best offense, which entered the night averaging 2.6 goals and 16.3 shots per game, the Gamecocks held the Gators to nine shots, marking the 12th consecutive game they’ve held opponents to 10 shots or less.
“That’s very encouraging,” Smith said. “I knew it was going to be a battle. We’ve had stats leading the conference in defending and that’s why. To shut down Florida like that, that says a lot. They are very good offensively and I thought we limited them.”
Senior goalkeeper Mollie Patton also provided one of her strongest performances, totaling five saves on the evening, the biggest coming in the 80th minute. Taking a rebound from a deflected shot, Florida’s leading scorer Tahnai Annis sent what would’ve been a match-sealing goal past the USC defense. Diving to her right, Patton stopped the shot just as it touched the line, keeping Carolina’s hopes alive as time ticked down.
“We’re confident. We played really well today,” Patton said. “Florida’s a great team; I wouldn’t take that away from them. They had great chances and it could’ve gone either way. It just stinks that the ref stood in the way. We’re a great team and we’re leaving here with our heads high. We didn’t win, but we’re still happy.”
On the offensive side, the Gamecocks sputtered a bit in the opening minutes, but managed to create a number of close opportunities as the match went on. Junior forward and Hermann Trophy candidate Kayla Grimsley finished the night with three shots, including one in the 39th minute on a one-on-one play with keeper Katie Fraine that missed wide right.
Carolina went on to finish with seven shots and eight corner kicks, but couldn’t put one past the Florida defense.
“They’ve got a smart defense,” Grimsley said. “They might not be the best because they give the ball away a lot, but they’ve got a smart defense. They’ve got some fast girls back there and communicate well, so I think compared to other teams, they’re smart. They play smart and knew what they had to do. They knew the people they had to neutralize and got the job done, regardless of their mistakes.”
The Gamecocks came close to getting the equalizer in the closing minutes, with freshman midfielder Elizabeth Sinclair sending their final shot wide left in the 88th minute, but the Gators held on to claim their fifth straight regular season title.
“It was a battle from beginning to end like everybody knew it was going to be,” Grimsley said. “I think we had the run of play for most of the game. We started off a little rough, but without that one controversial call, the game could’ve gone either way. Five more minutes is all I think we needed to put one in the back of the net. We pounded them the last 20 minutes, just in their end the whole time. It’s tough to go out like that.”
