Work in progress

Four Wildcat turnovers give Spurrier his first SEC victory at USC

By Kent Babb
The State
Published: October 8, 2005

Those expressions sure looked different.

Waiting for USC's marching band to play the school's alma mater, Gamecocks tackle Na'Shan Goddard smiled and jumped in front of a few teammates for a photo opportunity.

Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier entered the postgame media conference with a smile, sipping a soda and joking about first-half boos.

USC defensive end Orus Lambert talked about having fun and playing nearly an entire half, for once, with a lead.

So this is how the Gamecocks respond when preseason expectations of playing for Spurrier begin to look like reality. This is how they act after a 44-16 thrashing of Kentucky.

This is what it looks like for the Gamecocks (3-3 overall, 1-3) to get Spurrier's first SEC victory as USC's coach.

"The guys just believed," Lambert said. "We just buckled down and said, 'Hey, we're going to fight. We're going to win this game. And we're going to have fun doing it.' "

In an effort to restore energy and eliminate lethargy, Spurrier reminded the Gamecocks this past week that they had to play with intensity.

And with an open date next week and a home game against Vanderbilt the next, Spurrier's more pressing goal is to convince the Gamecocks that Saturday's second-half changes should be permanent.

In the beginning, the Gamecocks looked like the same team that was blown out last week by Auburn.

Before the Gamecocks ran their third play, USC called a timeout because it had 10 players on the field. The Gamecocks also were called for several penalties, en route to a nine-penalty effort, tying their season-high set last week.

Blake Mitchell's return as quarterback, however, made the difference. Two weeks removed from suffering a left high-ankle sprain, Mitchell shook off early rust, including several overthrown receivers, and completed 23 of 34 passes for 277 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The only time Mitchell's injury was evident was when he came up limping after being a fourth-quarter sack.

"The offense did OK, but we've still got to get better," said Mitchell, whose interception came in the fourth quarter. "(There are) times we should've scored; we can do good things, but we have to correct the mistakes."

That defense produced several good things in the second half - with a Little help.

Kentucky tailback and Anderson native Rafael Little, who rushed for 61 yards on 15 carries in the first half, fumbled on consecutive carries. He finished with a game-high 120 yards.

The turnovers were two of four by the Wildcats on four consecutive second-half series that all but squashed Kentucky's comeback hopes. Because of the turnovers, Kentucky produced six second-half points.

"We had to step it up," said rover Ko Simpson, who recovered a fumble and recorded his first interception. "It made the defense feel proud, made us feel good. The next couple games, we have to keep it up, try to do the same thing."

As for repetition, redshirt freshman receiver Sidney Rice kept his rhythm. He had a game-high seven catches for 123 yards. Rice also had two touchdowns, extending his scoring streak to five games. Both came after halftime.

"I'm proud of the effort in the second half," Spurrier said. "The defense really came alive in the second half. We're playing with effort, even though we're not playing all that super."

For the first time this season - at least for one half - that effort made Spurrier's work in progress look primed for finishing touches.

Reach Babb at (803) 771-8357 or kbabb@thestate.com.

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