Holtz doesn't understand boos
PETE IACOBELLI
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina coach Lou Holtz heard something last Saturday he never expected at Williams-Brice Stadium - boos.

The boos came several times Saturday night during the Gamecocks 14-7 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette, most notably when the Ragin' Cajuns returned a blocked field goal 89 yards for a game-tying touchdown as the first half ended.

"The booing, the tie game, just before the half when it should've been 14 to nothing at worst," Holtz said Monday when asked about it. "But we came out the second half and found a way to win. We picked ourselves up, and we'll continue to do that."

It was the first time Holtz has been anything but in flat-out awe of Gamecock fans, generally considered some of the loyalist in college football.

"My only thought was the fans paid. I know they want the Gamecocks to win. I know they love the Gamecocks. I can understand their frustration. We were frustrated as well," said Holtz, starting his fifth season.

Not that his team - remember the 0-11 season in 1999 - hasn't deserved it at times. The fans were patient through the early struggles, then rewarded with two of the best seasons in school history as the Gamecocks won a record 17 games and two Outback Bowls on New Year's Day. Last year, the success looked to continue, but the Gamecocks crumbled with five consecutive losses to fall from bowl contention.

The opener with Louisiana-Lafayette was supposed to be a feel-good whuppin' with South Carolina favored by more than three touchdowns. Instead, the 82,227 fans at sold-out Williams-Brice saw a game in doubt until the very end.

South Carolina quarterback Dondrial Pinkins heard the boos, but wasn't sure what they were for. As he thought about it, though, "I couldn't blame them, the way we performed in the first half. I probably would've been booing as well," he said.

Holtz sounded edgy about the catcalls.

"I say this to people and talk to our team: Oh it's easy to jump on people when they're down," Holtz said. "Man, you jump all over them and criticize them and boo them, that takes great courage."

The Gamecocks have a home game with No. 15 Virginia (1-0) on Saturday.

Holtz says he admires Arkansas' crowd - where he went 60-21-2 from 1977-83 - which drowns out the opposition's offensive calls then stays quiet when the Razorbacks have the ball. "I'd like to see Virginia play at Arkansas in Little Rock," Holtz said. "I want to hear them hear."

It isn't the first time a Gamecock head coach has been critical of the crowd this year. In January, basketball coach Dave Odom said after beating Ole Miss that those who showed up seemed to quietly expect the team to lose instead of pulling out a close one.

"If we want a basketball team here, we've got to give, and giving is not buying tickets and drinking beer up in the (luxury) suites, that ain't what we're talking about," Odom said after the Jan. 8 game.

Odom later expressed regrets for the way he delivered the message.

While Odom's comments were unsolicited in his postgame talk with media, Holtz was responding to a question about the boos.

South Carolina cornerback Dunta Robinson says you can't control what fans do in the stands. "The fans aren't on the field," he said. "We just have to go out and play football."

Holtz and his players will make do with whatever fan support they receive. "It'll be great if you have the fans," he said. "But if we don't have them, we aren't going to fall over and die. We're going to continue to plug, we're going to continue to persist all the way."
 

Holtz Doubts Gamecocks Will Beat Virginia
PETE IACOBELLI
Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina coach Lou Holtz took a long pause when asked the chances of his Gamecocks beating No. 15 Virginia this week.

"Comparable," he began slowly, "to the stripper that's running for governor in California."

Anyone who watched the Gamecocks (1-0) struggle to defeat Louisiana-Lafayette 14-7 at home Saturday has to wonder if the odds are that good.

Virginia (1-0) overcame the loss of star quarterback Matt Schaub to manhandle Duke, 27-0, and move up three spots in the latest AP poll - giving Holtz another reason to lose sleep this week.

"It's not good," Holtz said. "I'm only being realistic."

The Gamecocks faced problems against the Ragin' Cajuns - a team expected to be little more than opening-game fodder before critical upcoming games against the Cavaliers and Georgia.

South Carolina's offensive line, a suspected strength, could not adequately deal with Louisiana-Lafayette's eight-man front.

Gamecocks receivers dropped 10 passes from quarterback Dondrial Pinkins. The kicking game, a question even with regular Daniel Weaver, was a shambles with him not playing as the Cajuns blocked a field goal and ran it back 89 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 7 going into halftime.

Some of the crowd of more than 82,200 at Williams-Brice Stadium, hoping for a blowout, instead booed as the team headed to the locker room.

"It's just like in life, when people have the most difficulty is when they don't need to be chomped on," Holtz said. "It's when they need to be encouraged, when they need help."

Holtz planned to watch film - some from last week, some from last year's 34-21 loss to Virginia where the Gamecocks committed seven turnovers - with his team on Labor Day.

"One of two things is going to happen to this football team today," Holtz said. "They're going to come out here with a great resolve or they're going to come out here saying we don't have a chance."

Bank on the first one, says tight end Hart Turner.

"I don't have any doubt in the leadership on this team. I don't have any doubt of any of these players because they're all talented, they're all on scholarship and they're all here to play football," he said. "And if they're not here to play football, then they shouldn't be here."

Holtz would love to see his team storm out of the film session, toppling furniture and bursting through doors ready to hit the practice field. But it's early in the week and his glass is always much more than half empty.

"I say this from the bottom of my heart," he says. "Sitting here right now, I don't know if we can make this thing close. I don't know if we can make it close when I look at what we do and I look at what they do."

But Holtz holds out hope. As the week goes on, he'll watch his team practice and come up with what he and his coaches think are the answers. "I've got to be honest," Holtz said. "There's never been a game by Thursday I don't think we can win ... and by Friday, I've convinced myself there's no way we can lose."
 

ACC NOTES
Sep 04, 2003

TRY, TRY AGAIN: Maryland and Florida State meet for the 14th time Saturday in Tallahassee. The Seminoles lead the series 13-0 and since joining the ACC have outscored the Terrapins 559-160.

Will Maryland ever defeat FSU?

"It's going to happen one of these days," Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden said. "You just don't beat people forever."

The 11th-ranked Seminoles opened in impressive fashion, crushing North Carolina 37-0 in Chapel Hill last weekend. Maryland suffered a stunning defeat last Thursday, falling 20-13 at Northern Illinois.

Nonetheless, Terps coach Ralph Friedgen said, "I think this team has a lot of belief in itself, even after last week. I keep preaching to them that it's about heart, it's about determination, it's about perseverance."

OFF AND RUNNING: Friedgen, a former assistant with the San Diego Chargers, said that every "time we play Florida State, it reminds me of being back in the NFL. That's the kind of speed they have."

TRUE TO FORM: Two seasons ago, Wake Forest stormed back from a 24-0 deficit to beat North Carolina 32-31 in Chapel Hill. The Demon Deacons scored 20 fourth-quarter points Saturday and rallied to win 32-28 at Boston College.

Surprised? N.C. State coach Chuck Amato wasn't.

"They play 60 minutes of every game they're in," Amato said.

ANOTHER OPTION: Redshirt freshman Anthony Martinez will start at quarterback for Virginia on Saturday, but don't be surprised if sophomore Marques Hagans takes some snaps against South Carolina. U.Va. starter Matt Schaub separated his throwing shoulder in last weekend's opener against Duke.

"We hold out that option, and we might just do that," Cavaliers coach Al Groh said yesterday. "Obviously we'll have a Marques-specific package, both because of his different set of skills and the fact that he hasn't been at quarterback for a while."

Hagans, who backed up Schaub at quarterback last season, moved to wideout before spring practice. In Virginia's 27-0 win over Duke last weekend, Hagans had one reception for 27 yards and ran 14 yards for a touchdown after catching a pass from Martinez that was ruled a lateral. Hagans also gained 44 yards on five punt returns and completed a 9-yard pass to tight end Heath Miller for a first down on a fake punt.

In 2002, Hagans completed 14 of 25 passes for 143 yards and one touchdown. He was intercepted once.

SPIN CONTROL: Clemson has lost 12 of its past 26 games under coach Tommy Bowden. Asked yesterday what he'd tell prospective recruits who watched Georgia whip Clemson 30-0 last week, Bowden pointed out that it was 13-0 late in the third quarter.

"You tell them we're not as far [from Georgia] as the final score would indicate," Bowden said. "We just need a couple pieces to put this puzzle together."

SPLIT LOYALTIES: Georgia Tech (0-1) plays host Saturday to Auburn (0-1). Patrick Nix, who coaches the Yellow Jackets' quarterbacks and coordinates their running game, is a former Auburn QB. He left Auburn as the school's career leader in passing efficiency.

"The hardest part will be pregame when you hear the band and the fans," Nix told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Once the game starts, you have a job to do and you do it."

CHANGE OF FORTUNE: A season ago, Dan Orner kicked field goals of 51, 52 and a school-record 55 yards to help North Carolina upset Syracuse 30-22 at the Carrier Dome. Last weekend, Orner missed both of his field-goal attempts against Florida State.

- Jeff White

 

Virginia's Schaub May Return by End of Month
Quarterback, Out With Separated Shoulder, Could Play Against Wake Forest on Sept. 27
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, September 4, 2003; Page D05

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Sept. 3 -- Virginia quarterback Matt Schaub likely will miss only two more games because of his shoulder injury, his high school coach said today. Schaub will not play this weekend at South Carolina but should be back for the Cavaliers' Sept. 27 game against Wake Forest, which follows a bye week.

Joe Carroll, who coached Schaub at East High School in West Chester, Pa., and talked with Schaub and his parents Monday and Tuesday, said the fifth-year quarterback might even play next week at Western Michigan.

When the swelling goes down in the next few days, the Cavaliers will know "how much range of motion he has for the next week," said Carroll, who sat with the Schaub family when Schaub suffered the injury during Saturday's season opener against Duke. "And if he has very little, I think they would hold him out of Western Michigan. Then they have the bye week, [after which] he probably should be in real good shape. . . . Hopefully Matt will be 100 percent in two weeks."

"His range of motion has improved a little bit from Sunday to [Tuesday] morning. He feels pretty good about what they're doing. They have plenty of doctors talking to him."

Schaub, the reigning ACC player of the year, separated his right (throwing) shoulder when he was sacked on Virginia's first possession in a 27-0 win over Duke. Redshirt freshman Anthony Martinez, who took over on the Cavaliers' next possession and played the rest of the game, is set to start this week against the Gamecocks, though sophomore quarterback-wide receiver Marques Hagans probably will take snaps as well.

Schaub will travel with the team, but Virginia Coach Al Groh declined to "tip [his] hand" when asked if that was any indication he was close to returning to the field. "He's the captain of the team. That's where he belongs," Groh said.

For now, the Cavaliers will go with Martinez, a 6-foot-3 pocket passer who wasn't flawless Saturday in his first college game but helped lead his team to 24 points and a 27-0 win. Hagans has been a wide receiver for the past seven months after playing quarterback, punt returner, receiver and tailback last season.

The division of playing time "kind of depends upon how things go in the ballgame," Groh said. "Obviously we will have a Marques-specific package, both because of his different type of skills and the fact that he hasn't been a full-time quarterback here for a while."

Last season, South Carolina prepared for Schaub and Hagans before its game against Virginia, though Hagans played seven downs.

"The only reason Hagans is not the starting quarterback for a Division I, good, solid, bowl-bound football team is Schaub was player of the year in the ACC," Gamecocks Coach Lou Holtz said. Hagans "was an excellent quarterback. They did not move him away from quarterback because he couldn't play quarterback. Let's keep that in mind. So I definitely think we'll see both [Martinez and Hagans], but we definitely know we'll see Hagans."

Virginia's third-string quarterback will be freshman Kevin McCabe or little-used junior David de Laureal, who has taken over Schaub's duties as the holder for field goals and extra points. The Cavaliers also have freshman John Phillips, a recruited walk-on.
 

Holtz preparing for Cavs' Hagans

When Virginia lost quarterback Matt Schaub with a separated shoulder, it made for a longer week of preparations for USC. Gamecocks coach Lou Holtz is convinced the Cavaliers will turn to receiver Marques Hagans, a sophomore who saw action at quarterback last season against the Gamecocks.

"We were talking and I said, 'The good thing is we won't have to prepare for two quarterbacks like we did last year.' ‘.‘.‘. Lord knows, here we are again," Holtz said Wednesday. "I don't think there's any doubt they will play Hagans at quarterback exclusively this week."

Virginia coach Al Groh has indicated that redshirt freshman Anthony Martinez will start, but said Hagans will factor in the gameplan, too.

"Obviously, we'll have a Marques-specific package," Groh said, "both because of his different set of skills and the fact that he hasn't been at quarterback for a while."

Hagans is an option-style quarterback who completed a pass on a fake punt last week in a 27-0 win over Duke. Hagans, who also returns punts, led the Cavs with 88 all-purpose yards against the Blue Devils.

• Feeling the Rathe. Speaking of quarterbacks, USC quarterbacks coach Todd Fitch said he wanted to get backup Michael Rathe some work in last week's opener, but didn't want to disrupt starter Dondrial Pinkins' rhythm.

Fitch said Pinkins did not miss a single read or audible against Louisiana-Lafayette, and his only error came when he missed a signal from the sideline.

"You've got a new quarterback you're kind of in a groove . ‘. ‘. I didn't want to ruin that at that point," Fitch said. "On the other hand, you want to get Mike reps, too. If the opportunity presents itself and I feel comfortable in the game, it's something we'd like to do."

• Silas returns. Defensive end Charles Silas has returned to campus and will enroll at USC as a partial qualifier, recruiting coordinator Dave Roberts said Wednesday. Silas had left Columbia for nearly a week and was considering attending another school, according to Roberts.

Silas, a transfer from Georgia Military College, will have two years of eligibility remaining after sitting out this year, according to NCAA rules. USC sports information director Kerry Tharp said Silas would retain his scholarship and participate in all team activities other than the games.

Silas practiced for 14 days last month before school officials began an exhaustive review of his official transcripts, which led to his enrolling as a partial qualifier.

• Odds and ends. Guard Jeff Barnes said his father has returned home and is feeling better after suffering a stroke Monday. ‘.‘.‘. Pinkins said the quarterbacks now have to run "gassers" after poor practice passes. "We were doing push-ups for bad throws, but that started affecting our throws," he said. ‘.‘.‘. Trainer Rod Walters said defensive tackle Natron Scott (ankle) is doubtful this week and linebacker Ricardo Hurley (ankle) is questionable. Reserve offensive lineman Josh Malloy likely will have knee surgery at the end of the season.