South Carolina Gamecocks 38, South Carolina State Bulldogs 14

South Carolina State Bulldogs QB Malcolm Long scores first TD against FBC competition in 2nd quarter.

Long stays cool with the heat on

Malcolm Long has had his share of success at Williams-Brice Stadium, twice hoisting the Class 4A state championship trophy as the quarterback for Gaffney High School. But with South Carolina State 5 yards from the USC end zone, a place that had eluded the Bulldogs in their four prior meetings with FBS teams, even the 235-pound Long was shocked after being charged to chase down that feat, which he did. "I don't know what possessed him (coach Buddy Pough) to call that for me, but he did," said Long, who also rushed for 1-yard score to cap the scoring in the Bulldogs' 38-14 loss. "I'm not a speedy guy, but I have a lot of power behind me, where I can push for 10, maybe 15 yards."

And the Bulldogs gave the Gamecocks more than a playful shove during a closely contested first half. Much of that had to do with Long's pocket presence and his ability to avoid the pass rush. On four occasions, the junior escaped potential sacks, converting three consecutive third downs on a 75-yard scoring drive that cut USC's lead to 10-7. "I was just taking what the defense was giving me," Long said. "I was feeling good on that drive, and we were clicking as an offense."

Long scores first Bulldogs' touchdown against FBS school

COLUMBIA — Oddsmakers had South Carolina State listed as a 37½-point underdog Saturday night against the University of South Carolina. The odds were arguably even longer of Bulldog quarterback Malcolm Long using his legs to score the team’s first touchdown against a Division I school. Yet it’s exactly what happened with 17 seconds left in the first half when the Gaffney native once again wrote his name in the S.C. State history books with a 5-yard touchdown run. For Long, who won three state championships with the Indians in the same stadium – two as a starting quarterback – he found the achievement more surprising than how it was accomplished.
USC breaks free of SC State

COLUMBIA -- Steve Spurrier predicted a dogfight with South Carolina State. He was right. For a half. South Carolina turned a three-point halftime lead into a 38-14 rout Saturday night in front of a crowd of 77,066 at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Gamecocks scored 28 consecutive points against their FCS counterpart before the Bulldogs punched a second score in with four seconds left in the game. Spurrier had warned all that would listen that the Bulldogs weren't to be taken lightly.

"South Carolina State is a good team," Spurrier said. "They played with us. They played just as well as we did in the first half -- maybe a little bit better." Despite being down a field goal, the Bulldogs (3-1) did in fact outgain the Gamecocks (4-1) 159-149 through two quarters. The word used to describe the first half for the offense -- by both quarterback Stephen Garcia and running back Kenny Miles -- was flat.

South Carolina State University RB Will Ford rushes away from USC Gamecock defender.

South Carolina rolls past SC State, 38-14

COLUMBIA — Steve Spurrier predicted a “dogfight” with South Carolina State. He was right. For a half. The Gamecocks turned a three-point halftime lead into a 38-14 rout Saturday night in front of 77,066 at Williams-Brice Stadium. South Carolina scored 28 consecutive points against its FCS counterpart, until the Bulldogs punched a second score in with four seconds left in the game. Playing despite a bruised left side, Gamecocks quarterback Stephen Garcia was needed for a good portion of the evening.

And his throws - mostly to senior Moe Brown - made the difference in the team’s third-quarter push. Garcia found Brown for a 40-yard score that pushed the Gamecocks ahead 24-7 at the 5:22 mark of the third quarter. On the following drive, facing third-and-5 inside the S.C. State 10, Garcia lobbed the ball over a Bulldogs defender for a 9-yard touchdown that pushed the lead to 31-7. Garcia and Brown also hooked up for a 23-yard play earlier in that scoring drive.

Gillespie: Pough's gambling ways give game spark

SO WHO KNEW BUDDY Pough had so much riverboat gambler in his soul? Heck, the guy grew up in Orangeburg, a stone's throw from the South Carolina State campus where he now plies his trade as the Bulldogs' coach. Closest thing to "gambling" in his hometown back then was bingo on Wednesday nights - and that was the Episcopalians. But when you're coaching a lower-division team - even one coming in 3-0 and ranked No. 15 in the FCS - and going up against a South Carolina team fresh off a 16-10 manhandling of then-No. 4 Ole Miss, you figure: What have I got to lose?

So in the first half of Saturday night's 38-14 USC win, a game that all along figured to be a blowout - they don't do point-spreads for games involving FCS teams, but 35 points is a good number - Pough threw caution to the wind early and often. First, with S.C. State backed up on its own 2-yard line, quarterback Malcolm Long stepped back and heaved a 38-yard rainbow to receiver Tre Young, whose acrobatic catch got the Bulldogs out of the hole. In fact, "if (Long) puts more air under the ball, that's 99 yards for a touchdown, you know," Pough said. "It takes a pretty cool guy to stand in that end zone knowing he'd better hurry and get that sucker out of there."

Attendance: 77,066 @ William Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C.

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Touchdown Saturday: South Carolina State Bulldogs vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

Bulldogs brace for USC test

Winston-Salem State was a trap game. Now S.C. State is readying itself to enter a proverbial "hornet's nest" Saturday at South Carolina. That is how Bulldogs coach Buddy Pough is approaching the second meeting between the schools. While S.C. State (3-0) has the national ranking (No. 14 by the FCS coaches poll) and is seeking its first 4-0 start since 1997, the Gamecocks (3-1) are riding high following their 16-10 win over previously fourth-ranked Mississippi. That goes without mentioning the adjustment the Bulldogs face in playing at raucous Williams-Brice Stadium. "But at the same time, we'd like to try to get in there and try to run it down their throat and control the ball for 40 minutes, said Pough. "

Bulldogs turn attention to game against South Carolina

A weary Malcolm Long would have rather put off a day talking about this Saturday’s nationally-televised game against the University of South Carolina. The Gaffney native and junior quarterback had just posted his best statistical game as a college player, throwing for 274 yards on 22 of 33 passing in a 27-10 victory over Winston-Salem State Saturday. Instead of just celebrating the win as the Palmetto State’s only undefeated team, he took rapid questions from the media about the second game in three years between the two in-state schools.

S.C. State Bulldogs best defense for the Gamecocks may be a punishing running game with RBs Travil Jamison (32) and speedster Will Ford.

South Carolina's best since Holtz

COLUMBIA -- Mississippi might have been the worst No. 4-ranked college football team in poll history, though the Rebels are probably at least the fourth-best team in the state of Mississippi. It was not even close to a sellout, though a hundred thousand more Gamecock fans will swear they were at Williams-Brice Stadium to see South Carolina's first-ever home win over a top 5 opponent. But this is Steve Spurrier's best South Carolina team and the soon-to-be-ranked Gamecocks proved it Thursday night with a 16-10 Southeastern Conference win. "Our fans needed this one," Spurrier said, "as well as all of us." C'mon, now. Admit it.

SC State hopes for glory in nationally-televised USC game

SC State is getting ready to make its second trip ever to Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday to play the Gamecocks. There are going to be plenty of eyeballs on this game since it's nationally-televised. The Bulldogs are excited about the big-time exposure. SC State's visit to Air Force in September 2007 was the program's first taste of division one football. These days, you can call the Bulldogs veterans. Over the past two seasons, they've traveled to UCF, Clemson and South Carolina, but Saturday's game against the Gamecocks has the added bonus of national airtime.

"I think it means a lot," said SC State Coach Buddy Pough. "I think if anytime you've got an opportunity to have that kind of publicity and notoriety around the whole world -- because that's what you deal with when you deal with the ESPN family of channels -- I think it's really, really special."

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Game Time: 7 pm ET, Columbia, S.C.
Saturday 10/3/09
TV: ESPN Classic
South Carolina State Bulldogs at South Carolina Gamecocks

Gamecocks turn to dominant ground game to run away from scrappy S.C. State

By KENT BABB, the State

Photo Gallery: SC vs. SCSU http://www.thestate.com/photo-galleries/gallery/175056.html

Neighborly knock-down

USC was in no rush to clinch victory against S.C. State. When the Gamecocks did, they rushed their way to a lopsided win.

After a sloppy first half in which both schools’ marching bands received louder ovations than the teams, tailbacks Cory Boyd and Mike Davis high-stepped their way into USC’s record book, carrying the No. 17 Gamecocks past S.C. State 38-3 and continuing a rhythm the pair started last week in an upset at Georgia.

That rhythm came after the Bulldogs sniffed out four interceptions against the Gamecocks’ struggling quarterbacks.

USC, which climbed into the top 25 this week, proved Saturday its two-man rushing unit also might be among the nation’s best.

Boyd and Davis each surpassed 100 yards rushing, the first time a pair of USC backs reached triple digits since Derek Watson (105) and Andrew Pinnock (106) did so against Vanderbilt on Oct. 20, 2001.

“It was a shocker tonight,” said Boyd, who had a game-high 132 yards rushing. “The game started falling in the running backs’ laps.”

The running backs took over and helped the Gamecocks pull away in the second half — USC scored 21 unanswered points after halftime — and that forced coach Steve Spurrier to re-assess his game planning.

“At halftime, obviously, we had to tell our guys, ‘We’re going to have to start running,’ ” Spurrier said.

That’s when the music started.

A one ...

The Gamecocks’ passing attack might be the centerpiece of Spurrier’s Cock ‘n’ Fire offense. But it took more than a half of watching quarterbacks Blake Mitchell and Tommy Beecher combine for six turnovers — Mitchell’s three interceptions and fumble and Beecher’s fumble and interception — to all but scrap his trademark strategy. When he turned Davis and Boyd loose, they were dazzling. Boyd, a fifth-year senior and the Gamecocks’ starter, finished averaging 12 yards per carry.

“We’ve got to re-evaluate our passing game and figure out if we can throw or not,” said Spurrier, who last coached a pair of 100-yard rushers in 1997 when Florida beat Central Michigan 82-6. “I’ve got to figure out whether to call those pass plays or call the old off-tackle play.”

A one, two ...

It was Davis, a junior, who came in late for Saturday’s duet. After rushing for 17 yards in the first half, Davis carried six times for 58 yards in a 10-play drive. He finished it by catching a Mitchell pass and dancing his way 9 yards into the end zone. Davis passed 100 yards rushing on his final carry, an 8-yarder, and finished with 102.

Davis and Boyd brightened a game that appeared to be headed in either direction at halftime. S.C. State’s Markee Hamlin intercepted Mitchell’s first pass, and the Bulldogs hit a 37-yard field goal.

“I guess this game, we kind of took it as, ‘It’s South Carolina State,’ ” freshman receiver Mark Barnes said. “It was probably an easy game or whatnot.”

S.C. State made it look like anything but an easy game. In forcing USC’s six turnovers, the Bulldogs looked far from intimidated by Spurrier’s offense or the Gamecocks, who might enter the nation’s top 15 when rankings are released today.

Ignoring a season-high 14 penalties, the Bulldogs appeared unfazed that administrators had ignored a USC-S.C. State matchup the past 100 years.

“I wanted them (S.C. State players) to come in here and play good, hard-nosed, clean football,” said coach Buddy Pough, a former USC assistant. “I was A-No. 1 for today, and I think we hit that right on the head.”

According to Spurrier, USC did not hit on their scoring potential.

The Gamecocks led 17-3 at halftime, a lead that Spurrier said was the confidence boost the team needed.

“We had a chance to score 60 or so,” Spurrier said, “but we didn’t do it.”

Such a questionable performance could not have come at a worse time. Despite the fact USC is 3-0 for the first time since 2001, the Gamecocks’ next SEC test is at No. 2 LSU, whose offense has proved it will not forgive mistakes. The Tigers’ defense is strong, and its offense is quick ... two things Spurrier is in no rush to think about.

“We’ll worry about that come Monday,” he said.

A one, two, three ...

The Gamecocks do, however, have something to be optimistic about — two running backs that proved they could be among the SEC’s best rushers. Together, they are among the nation’s best tandems.

If USC’s quarterbacks catch up with the team’s tailbacks, the Gamecocks might have something worth dancing about.

SCSU vs. South Carolina

SOUTH CAROLINA STATE (1-1, 1-0) at 17th-ranked UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA (2-0 1-0)

AT STAKE: It's the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs and Gamecocks. Both schools have played football for over 100 years and look to build on conference road victories from the previous week.

LAST OUTING: SCSU def. Bethune-Cookman 24-13 on Sept. 8 in Daytona Beach, Fla,. USC def. Georgia 16-12 on Sept. 8 in Athens, Ga.

LAST YEAR'S RECORDS: SCSU (7-4, 6-2 in the MEAC); Bethune-Cookman (8-5, 3-5 in the SEC)

ALL-TIME RECORDS: SCSU (371-240-28); USC (517-517-44)

FIRST SEASONS OF FOOTBALL: SCSU (1907): USC (1892)

HEAD COACHES & CAREER RECORDS: SCSU's Oliver "Buddy" Pough (41-18 overall, 30-10) 6th season; USC's Steve Spurrier (159-50-2 overall; 17-10 with the Gamecocks) 18 seasons overall, 3rd at USC

DID YOU KNOW: Oliver "Buddy" Pough led Fairfield-Central to a Class 3-A title in 1996. Steve Spurrier led the University of Florida to a national championship in 2000 and has won 7 SEC championships and one ACC championship...SCSU has three former players (Deacon Jones, Marion Motley and Harry Carson) inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, more than all the Palmetto State's Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Division and Division II programs combined. USC has the Palmetto State's lone Heisman Trophy winner in running back George Rogers (1980) and head coach won the award in 1966 as a quarterback at Florida...USC currently has 18 former players in the NFL, while Seattle Seahawks nose tackle Chartric Darby is the lone SCSU representative...Pough spent five seasons as a running backs coach at USC under both Brad Scott and Lou Holtz before returning to SCSU in 2001...Spurrier is 16-4 against schools from South Carolina...The last time USC lost to a Football Championship Subdivision School was 1992 against The Citadel...This is the second game in school history for SCSU against a Football Bowl Subdivision team, having opened the season against Air Force...SCSU offensive lineman Raymond Harrison and USC linebacker Rodney Paulk were teammates at Richland Northeast, while USC twin linebackers Jasper and Casper Brinkley and free safety Brandon Isaac of Blackville-Hilda played with SCSU reserve wide receiver Phillip Morris at Georgia Military...Lineman Xavier Littleberry (Clemson) and James Lee are the only SCSU players with previous playing experience against USC...Under Pough, the Bulldogs are 37-5 when leading or tied at halftime and 4-13 when trailing. In MEAC play, the record is 28-1 when ahead, 1-9 when trailing...

SHERIDAN BROADCASTING NETWORK

BLACK COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 10

1. Hampton

2. Alabama A&M

3. Delaware State

4. Tuskegee

5. Southern

6. South Carolina State

-Times and Democrat

SCSU must believe anything can happen

By T&D Sports Writer Travis Boland

When Appalachian State knocked off Michigan in the first week of the college football season, it gave other Football Championship Subdivision (Division I-AA) teams the thought that they could beat anybody. It also struck fear in the hearts of all Football Bowl Subdivision (Division I-A) teams, hoping they weren't going to be the next major upset to be splashed all over SportsCenter.

Now, South Carolina State gets its chance to pull its own major upset over an FBS team, but it's going to take a monumental effort, seeing as you can't sneak up on anyone this season.

The Bulldogs will have to play the perfect game to get the win. Here are a few things they can do to make it happen:

1. South Carolina State will have to spread the USC defense.

The Gamecocks struggled in their first game of the season against Louisiana-Lafayette because of the Ragin' Cajuns' spread-option attack and no-huddle offense. UL-L rushed for 252 yards and was able to control the clock against the defense.

Cleve McCoy and the Bulldogs will have to use the spread attack to their advantage, McCoy is quick enough to be able to run the misdirection plays that can confuse the Gamecocks. Gettting USC to over-commit will be the key.

The offensive line will have to protect against a defensive line that gave Georgia fits last week. Cleve needs to be able to run but not spend all night running for his life.

2. Score early, score often.

Appalachian State was able to beat Michigan by scoring early. They took the lead and were able to hold off a comeback. If the Gamecocks score the first points,

it could be a long night for the Bulldogs. But if State is able to open the game with a touchdown drive, it could set the tone. SCSU is not going to win a defensive struggle the likes of Carolina's win over Georgia, so the Bulldogs will have to put the ball in the end zone as often as possible. The longer SCSU hangs around, the better the chances of pulling the upset.

3. Empty the playbook.

If the Bulldogs can hang tough, then expect to see some razzle-dazzle from Buddy Pough. Why hold on to trick plays if they can lead to a win. Don't hold anything back in this game. Anything you're going to use will be good practice for later in the season. Fake punts, reverses, flea-flickers, whatever ... just use them.

I'm not saying the Bulldogs will beat the Gamecocks, but like we've already seen this season, anything can happen.

No hate in these rivals: Runager, Staley won't let allegiance hinder friendship

By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer

Frank Staley Jr. and Geb Runager have nothing but love for their college alma maters.

Runager earned his masters’ degree in education from the University of South Carolina and sent four of his five children there, including the school’s first-ever female trainer and NFL All-Pro punter Max Runager. Staley is a proud second-generation graduate of South Carolina State University whose father has a building named on campus in his honor and remains a fixture around the football team as one of its biggest fans.

Given Staley and Runager’s devout allegiances to USC and SCSU, Saturday’s first-ever meeting between the two in-state schools would seem like the time to put aside their longtime friendship. Instead of exchanging trash talk and ugly stares, however, it was all smiles between the two men at Thursday’s Orangeburg Touchdown Club meeting.

"I think it’s great," Runager said. "I think it’s long overdue and you can tell just from the Touchdown Club meeting today the excitement it’s been generating not only in this room, but the community and the entire state. So it’s long overdue as far as a football game is concerned and Coach Pough is not looking up so high to South Carolina, he’s looking at an equal level playing field and he’s anxious to find out how his players are going to go. So I think it’s long overdue."

"It’s long overdue and we’re going to be representative," Staley said. "We at South Carolina State with the Bulldogs, we go into a game and go in to win and hopefully, we can win this one."

Runager acknowledged most Gamecock fans see the game with the Bulldogs as a ‘breather’ before next week’s matchup against second-ranked LSU. At the same time, Runager’s personal ties to SCSU, dating back to Willie Jeffries, in working with the Bulldog kickers makes it difficult to develop a healthy ‘hatred’ entering Saturday’s game.

"(Punter and Saturday’s place-kicker) Aaron Haire is doing quite well as a punter and holder," Runager said. "He and I have been working together since he was in middle school. How am I going to pull against him. I cannot do anything but wish him the best."

The two men are also linked by their years of community service. From Runager’s work with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to Staley’s 30-plus years as a teacher at SCSU, their strong commitment to helping young people serves as a common bond between them.

"I think both of our backgrounds have involved working with kids," Staley said. "We’ve done that all of our lives and I guess we’re going to do that until we pass on to the Good Father.

"And that will transition itself into the game on Saturday due to the total respect we have for what the coaches do and how well they’re working with those kids and what it means to them to work with those kids because we’ve worked with kids all our professional lives and the kids are the same," Runager said. "That’s who it’s all about. It’s not about us. It’s about the kids.

"And these football players when they graduate from college, the majority of them aren’t going to be pros because there’s nothing but good players up there. What we’re doing is preparing them for life and what it is," Staley said.

Runager sees Saturday’s game as a chance to bring together two groups of fans who have more in common than they realize and will give fans statewide an unprecedented opportunity to see what SCSU is all about.

"The word is respect," Runager said. "That’s what it’s all about. That’s what this club is all about and I think our community has grown exponentially in that regard and in terms of respect for each other, no matter what your background or anything else and I think that’s what the game is going to do. It’s going to offer an opportunity to build respect because they’re going to look at a class program in South Carolina State University, which is coming in well-closed, well-played, the players are just really truly student-athletes and gentlemen and that level of respect just can’t help but increase remarkably in my view."

Staley holds Runager in equally high regard, stating he’s been someone who’s been a ‘father image’ for him for a long time. Regardless of the outcome, the two insists their friendship will endure.

"We’re going to be friends even after the game is over," Staley said. "We know he’s going to be rooting for Carolina because that’s where he’s had all his backing and I’m going to be rooting for the Bulldogs. I’ve been going around with Carolina because as a Boy Scout leader, I ushered up there for years. But Saturday, I’m a Bulldog!"

"No hate over here," Runager said. "We can’t work up a hate."

SCSU Pough on facing Carolina: 'It's not a life-or-death thing'

By Charles Bennett, The Post and Courier

S.C. State coach downplays schools' first meeting

The historical significance of the first-ever football game against South Carolina isn't lost on South Carolina State's players and coaches, but they say they're a little more focused on the game itself than their place in history.

"It means a lot to our university and to our community, and we feel like we're the standard bearers for that," said South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough. "As far as the game is concerned, it's a game. What we'd like to do is go out and relax and play well. Whether that will happen, who knows? I can tell you that it's not a life-or-death thing for us. We'd like to go out and put on a good show and make a good accounting for ourselves."

Saturday's game, which is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff at South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium, may mean more to South Carolina State's alumni. The Bulldogs easily sold their allotment of 4,300 tickets.

As one of the few remaining S.C. State alumni still in the NFL, Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Chartric "Chuck" Darby said he was shocked to learn that the Bulldogs and Gamecocks had never played.

"I always figured they'd played a long time ago," said Darby, who grew up in North, S.C.

"It's a game I wish I could have played in when I was at S.C. State. I know we would have loved to have gone up to Columbia and played them. I grew up a South Carolina fan, it's where I wanted to go, so it means a lot to me that they're finally playing."

Darby said he and Seattle linebacker Lance Laury, a former South Carolina standout have been talking trash to each other all week.

"You've got to take up for your school," Darby said laughing. "I'm not going to let Lance talk to me about my school. We've been giving each other a hard time all week. We've got a little lunch bet on the game. The loser has to take the winner out to lunch."

South Carolina has been playing football for 116 years, while the Bulldogs are celebrating their 100th year of football.

Even though the two schools are approximately 40 miles apart, Saturday's game between the Football Championship Subdivision Bulldogs and the 17th-ranked Gamecocks has been a long time coming.

Since South Carolina State is an historically black school, the segregation practices that gripped the country for the better part of the 20th century explains much about why the two schools have never played.

Over the last 40 years, there has been no real reason why the schools shouldn't have played — other than USC really made no effort to schedule the game.

"This game is long overdue. It's something that should have happened a long time ago if you ask me," Darby said. "Why we had to wait until 2007 to play this game is something I don't understand. This is a game they need to play every year."

The Gamecocks have played nearly every other football-playing school in the state, including other subdivision schools like Wofford, The Citadel, and Furman.

Current South Carolina athletic director Eric Hyman finally got the game on the schedule as part of an effort to schedule more in-state schools, a move that coach Steve Spurrier favors.

"They asked me, 'Do you want to play South Carolina State?' and I said, 'Sure, why not?' " Spurrier said. "I didn't realize at the time that they'd never played before. I didn't realize it was that big a deal. If I had been here, 10, 12 years ago, I certainly would have wanted to schedule the game.

"I think it's a good game. Instead of bringing Louisiana-Lafayette or one of those teams in, bring South Carolina State, Wofford, and Furman. If they beat us, they beat us."

Pough, who served as the Gamecocks running backs coach from 1999-2001 under former head coach Lou Holtz, said he has been working on scheduling South Carolina since he left USC to take over the South Carolina State program in 2002.

"There was nothing in writing when I left," Pough said. "We had kind of a gentleman's agreement. We'd tried to do it a couple of years ago, but it didn't work out. This was the first season we were able to get it done."

South Carolina State quarterback Cleve McCoy, who played at Baptist Hill High in Hollywood, says the game likely means more to the Bulldogs than the Gamecocks.

"It means a lot," McCoy said. "It might not be important to the players at South Carolina, but it's almost everything to us. We played ball with these guys, we talk to them all the time. We've always said, 'We wish we could play ya'll. Matter of fact, we're going to beat ya'll.' That's just talk, but it's a great opportunity."

The two teams will meet again in 2011, and Pough would like to see the game eventually contested on a semi-regular basis.

"I'd like to see it every other year, something of that nature," Pough said. "But you do what you can at the beginning and as you do, as the relationship develops, you get more of them. What is probably best is that we get South Carolina one year, we get Clemson one year eventually. We've got Georgia Tech down the road. Just kind of mix it in."

But there can be only one first meeting.

The current Bulldogs are excited to be a part of it — with one reservation.

"Well, it will be something to be proud of, but not if we go in there and lose 66-7," McCoy said. "Then I won't want to talk about it."

S.C. State-USC matchup about more than football

By Ken Burger, The Post and Courier

ORANGEBURG - This Saturday night, South Carolina State and South Carolina will play a football game for the ages. That's because the way you look at this game depends upon your age.
If you're young, like the group of students I talked to on campus Thursday, you no doubt see it as a big football game, a chance for the underdog Bulldogs to play the nationally ranked Gamecocks.

Few, however, understand the true significance of this first-ever meeting between the Palmetto State's flagship school and the predominantly black university just down the road.

"I personally hope that South Carolina State wins the game," said Donovan McDaniel, a James Island High School graduate "But I think South Carolina has upper hand."

Corey Frasier, a Military Magnet graduate who attends S.C. State, said, "I think it's going to be a great game with a former NFL coach like Steve Spurrier coaching in it. It'll be a challenge for the Bulldogs, but it will boost our ratings up if we do a good job."

Jamal Watkins, of Goose Creek, said, "USC is coming off a win over Georgia and State just beat Bethune-Cookman. So I think it's a game about who runs South Carolina. It's all about bragging rights."

That's pretty much the sentiment of most 19-year-olds. For some reason, they think it's about football.

100 years later

That these two state-supported schools have been playing college football 40 miles from each other for more than 100 years and never played each other is a remnant of our state's unresolved racial history.

Grace Beahm
The Post and Courier

Mary Jones, a South Carolina State University professor for more than 30 years, buys T-shirts at Orrick Dixon's stand Thursday outside the SCSU stadium as she and Veronica Mervin prepare for Saturday's football game against the University of South Carolina. 'Saturday is blue-and-white day,' Jones said as she picked out shirts.

Without delving too deep into the history books, suffice it to say it wasn't pretty, it wasn't fair and we all look back with regret.

"The game means nothing to these students as far as history is concerned," said S.C. State head coach Buddy Pough, who played for the Bulldogs in the bad old days. "I've had to educate them some. I even brought in coach Willie Jeffries who coached here before me, to give them a chance to understand some of the significance of it. But they don't know anything about segregation. All that kind of stuff was way behind them.

"But this is a big deal for all the South Carolina State constituency. All the friends and family and the community, it's big to them."

One of those people is Mary Jordan, an English professor who has been teaching at S.C. State for more than 30 years.

"I'm very excited to know that we are establishing a relationship," Jordan said as she purchased an S.C. State T-shirt for the weekend celebration. "I'm not so much concerned about who wins or who loses, but just to say that we have established a relationship with the university and that we can play sports and compete with each other."

A native of Orangeburg, Jordan said she has been encouraged to see S.C. State play The Citadel in recent years and for the Bulldogs to play their Palmetto Classic (against other black schools) in USC's stadium.

"But to actually play Carolina, that's historical," she said. "We need to get to be cooperative partners, because we're all working for the same goal."

Long overdue

As I walked around S.C. State Thursday it occurred to me how few of my white friends have ever set foot on this campus.

It might come as a surprise to many that these Bulldogs have been playing football for a century and sent more than their fair share of players to the pro ranks.

Names like Harry Carson (San Diego), Deacon Jones (L.A., San Diego, Washington) Donnie Shell (Pittsburgh), Barney Chavous (Denver), Jumpy Geathers (Buffalo), Chartric Darby (Baltimore, Tampa, Seattle), John Gilliam (New Orleans, St. Louis, Minnesota, Atlanta) and Robert Porcher (Detroit) to name only a handful of more than a hundred former Bulldogs who have played in the pros.

For decades this was where all the good, black players played. That was before the white-only colleges welcomed their talent with open arms and stole them away.

Now, the Bulldogs still attract some good players, but they play before home crowds of 20,000 or less, in the second-tier league formerly known as 1-AA, in places where television satellite trucks seldom show up.

That's part of the reason that this game with the Gamecocks is so important to S.C. State alums. It's a chance to bask underneath the bright lights of big-time football they seldom get to see.

The Bulldogs were given 600 complimentary tickets for staff members and 2,000 tickets to sell for this game. When those sold out so quickly, USC, to its credit, came up with another 1,700.

Still, S.C. State fans will be far outnumbered at Williams-Brice Saturday night, where 80,000 Gamecock fans will be in the majority. But that's OK. They're used to being outnumbered. They just want to be respected.

For State fans who can't get a ticket, the game will be televised on pay-per-view for $24.95. A small price to pay for a game so long overdue.

"There are a lot of things that need to be done to bridge the gap between these two schools and this game is a good start," said Laura Waters-Brown, a junior on the S.C. State volleyball team. "I think there may be some racial overtones to it, but I think that getting out on the football field where it will be a level playing field will help unite the state of South Carolina for the better."

Saturday is SCSU Bulldogs’ payday

Photo: S.C. State offensive linemen, from left, Earl Wilson, Chris Nelson, Derrell Pringle, Travis Ashford and Casey Fortune leave the field during practice Tuesday.

In-state visitors look forward to profiting from their first-ever Gamecocks contest.

GAMECOCKS VS. BULLDOGS
WHO: S.C. State (1-1) at USC (2-0)
WHEN: 7 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Williams-Brice Stadium
TV: Pay-per-view (Time Warner Cable, (866) 892-2701; DirecTV, (800) 531-5000; Dish Network, (800) 301-3744)
RADIO: WISW-AM 1320, WTCB-FM 106.7
TICKETS: Sold out

ORANGEBURG - ERIC HYMAN is a new favorite son of South Carolina State University athletics. The school might want to consider naming its proposed weight-room and locker-room renovations after the USC athletics director.

It was Hyman who conceived the idea of including S.C. State in a rotation of in-state schools that annually will play football against USC at Williams-Brice Stadium. Wofford, Furman and The Citadel are the others.

After expenses, S.C. State will add approximately $207,000 to its general athletic department budget for playing Saturday’s game, the first between the schools, which are located about 40 miles apart.

S.C. State cleared about $125,000 for its opening game this season at Air Force and expects to make about $250,000 from its second annual Low Country Classic game on Nov. 17 against North Carolina A&T in Charleston. That comes to $582,000 generated from three football games.

“That’s a nice little chunk of it right there,” S.C. State coach Buddy Pough says of his program’s $2 million budget.

Historically black colleges such as S.C. State have long played annual “classic” games at neutral sites as a way to generate revenue for their athletic programs. Grambling and Florida A&M once were the leaders in playing classic games, toting their teams and bands throughout the country.

Classic games began in the 1970s, and S.C. State was quick to jump on board, playing over the years in Charlotte, Atlanta, Columbia, Indianapolis and Birmingham, Ala.

Then, two years ago, the upper-division programs expanded their schedules to 12 games. Along with the expansion, upper-division schools were allowed to count one win per season against lower-division programs toward being bowl eligible (previously, they were able to count one win every third season).

That was sweet music to Football Championship Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-AA, schools.

“We still entertain classics, but certainly going this direction is beneficial as well,” S.C. State athletics director Charlene Johnson says.

She says S.C. State will continue to play one classic game a season and attempt to schedule one game each year against a Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division I-A, team. S.C. State opens the 2008 season at Central Florida and is close to a deal to play at Georgia Tech in 2010.

Not long after top-level programs were allowed to play a 12th game each season, USC’s Hyman began charting a strategy for scheduling. USC plays eight games each season against SEC opponents and one against Clemson. Hyman would like to play one other game against a “natural” rival, such as North Carolina, N.C. State or East Carolina.

That left two games, and Hyman did not like the idea of USC playing both against a no-name opponent from Florida or Louisiana, as it has done in the past. Instead, he proposed playing one game each season against an in-state school.

Hyman took the proposal to Steve Spurrier, and the USC coach liked the idea of keeping the guaranteed money to the visiting team in state. Spurrier was so enamored with the idea, he went on Pough’s TV show Sunday to help promote the game.

It helped also that the in-state games are less expensive for USC, which paid Louisiana-Lafayette $475,000 to play in Columbia two weeks ago. All the in-state schools are guaranteed $230,000 by USC, plus 300 complimentary tickets.

Because there is so much interest from S.C. State fans in Saturday’s game, USC modified the contract and granted S.C. State 600 complimentary tickets. After S.C. State quickly sold its allotment of 2,000 tickets, it was given 1,700 more, which also have been sold.

Most contracts for such games do not cover a team’s travel expenses. S.C. State spent approximately $100,000 of its $225,000 guarantee in travel expenses to Air Force. The Bulldogs will stay Friday night in a Columbia hotel and spend $23,000 of the $230,000 guarantee from USC.

Through most of S.C. State’s 100 years of football, segregation prevented it from playing USC. Then there was a time when S.C. State fans believed USC did not want to risk losing to the Bulldogs.

That might have been true during the early 1980s, when USC was going through difficult times and S.C. State was a small-college power. USC lost to Furman in 1982, the same season S.C. State defeated the Paladins in the first round of the Division I-AA playoffs. Two years earlier, S.C. State went 10-1 and sent eight players to the NFL.

Pough admits there exists a much greater disparity in talent today between his team and USC. He says Saturday’s game will give his team a chance to size itself up against a nationally ranked team in front of 70,000-plus fans.

“We’ll bring a little extra income into our family,” Pough says, “and for us, we get the added advantage of the competition factor. The positive for us is to have an opportunity to match up with a team of this sort. You’ve got the chance to play with arguably one of the top maybe 10 to 15 teams in the nation. I think it’s an honor and privilege to be out there with a team such as that.”

That honor and privilege will have worn off by Saturday evening, and by Monday, S.C. State’s athletics department bank account will be much fatter. Eventually, when S.C. State renovates its weight room and locker rooms and puts a new floor in the campus gymnasium, it will have Eric Hyman to thank.

SCSU Pough excited for return to Williams-Brice

By Lou Bezjak , SCnow.com

Buddy Pough knows this isn’t a normal game week.
With the extra media at his weekly press conference and practice, the S.C. State coach can sense the buildup for the Bulldogs’ first game in school history against No. 17 South Carolina on Saturday.

“It has been an unbelievable atmosphere,” Pough said Tuesday during the MEAC teleconference. “It’s neat that the kids can compete in a venue that is as exciting as Williams-Brice.”

S.C. State’s fans are sharing in the excitement. The school went through its allotted 3,000 tickets, given to them by South Carolina, very quickly. When the school received 1,500 more in August, they were scooped up in less than a week.
“It’s almost going to be like a home game for us with our fans coming there to see us,” Pough said.

Pough is no stranger to Williams-Brice Stadium. He was an assistant with the Gamecocks under Lou Holtz from 1999-2001. He was in charge of the running backs and coached Troy Hambrick and Derek Watson during his time there.

“It was an enjoyable time for me and my family to coach there,” Pough said. “I look forward to going back there this weekend.”

While Pough was at USC, the Gamecocks made back-to-back trips to the Outback Bowl and were close to competing for SEC titles both years.

Current coach Steve Spurrier, who is in his third year at USC, has said he believes he has a team that could contend for the school’s first SEC championship.
“I think so,” Pough said. “Spurrier has the best credibility and has been honest since he got there, and I think right now he believes he can do it.

“We were close, winning those two Outback Bowls. We had a shot. And when you get that close and you have been successful, it’s not a big stretch to think you can compete.”

Pough said he hopes his team can match up with the Bulldogs this weekend. S.C. State’s spread shotgun offense might give USC trouble like the team had in its opener against Louisiana-Lafayette.

The Ragin’ Cajuns racked up 315 yards of offense, including 252 on the ground. Quarterback Michael Desormeaux did most of the damage, rushing for 116 yards.
Bulldogs quarterback Cleveland McCoy is of the same mold, presenting a dual threat to the South Carolina defense. McCoy rushed for more than 400 yards and threw for more than 1,200 each of the past two seasons.

“We feel like we can go in and compete,” Pough said. “We might try and do some things that (Louisiana-Lafayette coach) Ricky Bustle did and were successful with.
“But we want to set up a scheme that will give us the best chance for success Saturday.”

Notes
Pough said safety Marshall McFadden is out for Saturday’s game. McFadden, a former Lamar standout, will miss two to three weeks after he hyperextended his knee Saturday against Bethune-Cookman. McFadden is tied for third on the team with 12 tackles. ... Pough said running back Will Ford is questionable for Saturday’s game. ... The Bulldogs will receive $230,000 from USC for playing the game. The teams will meet again in 2011.

SCSU 'X' Factor

Photo: SCSU defensive end Xavier Littleberry, a former Clemson Tiger, is looking forward to Saturday's game against the South Carolina Gamecocks.

By BRIAN LINDER, T&D Sports Editor

Remember 2004?

Xavier Littleberry does. In 2004, he was on Clemson’s sidelines when the Gamecocks and Tigers butted heads in a brawl that made national headlines. It was an ugly chapter in a rivalry that Littleberry was thrown into the middle of the second he signed on the dotted line to become a Tiger. It was a rivalry he counted on, and a rivalry that was taken away the day he was dismissed from Clemson’s team ... or so he thought.

Saturday, Littleberry, who had 1.5 sacks in last week’s 24-13 win over Bethune-Cookman, will take his first snaps against South Carolina when his South Carolina State Bulldogs take the short trip up I-26 to face the Gamecocks. If it was ever a secret that he’s not a Carolina fan, well, it isn’t anymore.

"I will tell coach (Buddy) Pough, he should know how I feel about this game," the Bulldogs’ defensive end said. "I told my position coach (David Blanchard) yesterday and my defensive coordinator (John Hendrick) ... I am ready.

"The brawl itself is a real good reason that I can’t wait for this weekend," he added. "When I first got here, I started figuring out there was a rivalry between them and South Carolina State too."

It doesn’t matter that this will be the first time the two schools have met on the football field, Littleberry said the close proximity makes it a rivalry nonetheless.

"I think (the distance) is why," he said. "And, then it’s a real big game for us. Nobody on our team likes South Carolina.

"Before I got here, they were telling me they were going to try to schedule South Carolina for this year, and I was happy about that," he continued. "I was transferring, and I had other (Division I) offers, but two of my coaches that coached me at Clemson wanted me to come here so I felt comfortable because they were here. They were telling me about South Carolina being on the schedule, and I felt real good about that because I was like, ‘Oh, I’m at Clemson now, and we don’t like them. If I go to South Carolina State, I’ll still have a chance to play them.’"

So, Saturday Littleberry will take his first snaps against South Carolina (he didn’t play in the brawl game, and sat out the 05 season), and he will take them with bad intentions.

"Saturday, I set a goal for at least four sacks," he said. "If I can go out there and get two or three sacks and maybe three tackles, that is a good game for me. I am 100 percent the whole game. I am a little messed up in my wrist, but I don’t care. As long as I beat up Blake Mitchell that is a perfect game for me. I want to shine and just put on a show.

"My true pass-rush skill is going to shine this game," he continued. "If (Mitchell) wants to have a big game, I don’t think he should hold the ball for more than three or four seconds because I am most definitely coming. I watched film on both of their tackles, I play right end, but their left tackle -- he looked athletic -- but he is still, my speed -- I am 260 pounds and I run a low 4.6 40. He is 300-something pounds, and I am going to try to make him work this game."

Bulletin board material, but Littleberry said he didn’t care about that. Everything that has happened over the past three years has built up into the perfect storm of emotion inside the former recruit from Camden Military. This was a game he was supposed to play in four times, not once. And, while he said he still has some Clemson blood running through his veins, he isn’t shy when it comes to talking about the sour taste his dismissal from the Tigers has left in his mouth.

"I am doing real good (at SC State)," he said. "I still think about what happened ... my last days at Clemson, and I don’t want to get into too much detail. But, the whole thing was a fluke. My thing was, if coach (Tommy) Bowden didn’t want me there all he had to do was tell me. I got into an incident in 04, and that kind of had some lean into him releasing me from the team, but the other incident was ‘BS’. People can think what they want and say what they want. But, unless they were actually there ... and, then all they have to do is read about what happened and pay attention."

Thankfully, that’s all behind him now and Saturday -- if things go the way he wants them to -- he could put a whole lot of "what might have beens" to rest.

"First of all, that feeling, I came from that environment," he said. "The feeling of going back to that environment ... it’s going to feel like I never left. We don’t have to worry about the options and the quarterback scrambling and all that stuff. I think my game is really going to come out.

"Everybody has been saying we could be the next App State," he added. "I really agree. I really feel like we can beat these cats."

Gamecocks not taking anything (SCSU) for granted

By THOMAS GRANT JR.. T&D Senior Sports Writer

In terms of favorable rankings, the South Carolina State football team and head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough enjoy a higher rating with Steve Spurrier these days than ESPN’s "College Gameday".

The University of South Carolina head football coach made a guest appearance on Pough’s highlight show Sunday, just six days prior to the two squaring off at Williams-Brice Stadium. On Tuesday, Spurrier said he was very much looking forward to the first-ever meeting between the two schools separated by only 40 miles.

"They’ve got a bunch of good athletes," he said. "They’ve got a bunch of guys who can play for us. I know that. And I’m sure they’re be excited to play their very best and do everything to beat us. But we’re really looking forward to the game too."

So much so that Spurrier said he would have scheduled the Bulldogs if he was Gamecocks’ head coach 10-12 years ago. Although fellow Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference school Florida A&M never faced the University of Florida teams during Spurrier’s 11-year tenure, he did face and defeat Palmetto State Football Championship Subdivision teams Furman (27-3 in 1990) and The Citadel (49-10 in 1993).

"I think it’s a good game," he said. "Instead of bringing in a team like (Lafayette-Louisiana), bring South Carolina State, Wofford. Do we play Furman in the next year or two? If they beat us, they beat us. I see a lot of coaches always worry about somebody beating you. Everyone of the schedule can beat you just about. So, it’s in-state. What’s the difference? It doesn’t bother me the way I read it bother some other coaches.

"I think it’s a good game. Buddy Pough said it’s wonderful for their program and, shoot, whatever we can do to financially maybe help those guys out, other Division I-AA schools, heck, we should do that I think."

While the oddsmakers may see the undefeated, 17th-ranked Gamecocks (2-0, 1-0) as capable of producing such a one-sided outcome against the Bulldogs (1-1, 1-0) enroute to next week’s showdown with second-ranked LSU, Spurrier cautioned about assuming his team has reached the level where it can overlook opponents.

"We’re not good enough to be overconfident," he said. "We’re not a big powerhouse here that think we can pick our opponents.

"Every win is precious to the South Carolina football team. We don’t take anything for granted, because none of them are for granted. We have to scratch and claw and make a few goal line stands and force field goals and all that kind of stuff so far. So we’ll be ready to play Saturday night. We’re looking forward to it. We’re not very happy with the way we played and the coaches aren’t very pleased with the way their players have performed either."

So displeased with his special teams’ play against Georgia that Spurrier said he plans to use starting running backs Mike Davis and Corey Boyd and even linebackers Jasper and Casper Brinkley as part of the kick return and coverage teams. Spurrier also voiced displeasure with his team’s mistake-prone play on both sides of the football.

He was particularly vocal about his offensive line’s struggles in pass protection and whether they can be effective against SCSU and the wide receivers’ inability to get open against man-to-man coverage.

"Georgia found out they could play man-to-man on us the whole game," he said. "The whole second half, they were just bump-and-run, man-to-man saying ‘you guys can’t get away from our guys’ and they were pretty much right. So, South Carolina State, their DBs may say ‘Hey, we can cover those dudes they got. Coach, let us have a go at that. So, that maybe the plan."

Spurrier did want to clarify critical comments regarding his defense attributed to him by ESPN College GameDay’s Chris Fowler. During Saturday’s telecast, Fowler quoted Spurrier as calling his defense ‘a bunch of average stiffs’.

"I don’t appreciate the guy misquoting what I say," Spurrier said. "If he can’t get it correct, then maybe he shouldn’t talk about South Carolina. Let him talk about all them other teams. But I never called a group of our players (that). I’d call our entire team a bunch of average stiffs."

A victory would move the Gamecocks (517-517-44) to the .500 mark in its 114-year history of football, but Spurrier knows the Bulldogs are motivated to pull off what would be the biggest win in the program’s 100-year history.

"We know they want to beat us," he said. "They want to beat us badly. This is a chance to create a memory of a lifetime if they come in here and beat us and they could beat us. They could beat us. Sometimes, the way we play we could lose to these guys. We know that."

FORMER HAWK MOVED

University of South Carolina strong safety Brandon Isaac of Blackville-Hilda will back up Saturday’s defensive hero, safety Darian Stewart against SCSU.

The sophomore safety Stewart had a team-high nine tackles and two pass breakups against Georgia. Isaac, who had a stellar game in the season-opener against Louisiana-Lafayette and is making a return from a shoulder injury which sidelined him last season, injured it again against Georgia but did return.

LS-WHO?

With exception to a hand-written 2007 schedule on the board behind him, Spurrier did his best not to give an impression his team was looking ahead to Sept. 22 against Louisiana State.

"Most of my guys don’t know who we’re playing next week," he said. "Go ask a few of them."

Both Boyd and linebacker Rodney Paulk, a former Richland Northeast teammate of SCSU center Raymond ‘Duck’ Harrison, just happened to be in attendance and stood by the same company line.

"We’re definitely trying to focus on this week," Boyd said. "We’re not focusing on LSU. That’s another week ahead. But we’re going to take the South Carolina State game and we’re going sit back and see exactly what they have to offer, what they’re going to bring to the table and we’re not going to overlook them. We’re going to play to the best of our ability. We’re not going to pay attention to the rankings right now because you can be in there one time and the next week, we can be out. So we’re going to let the pollsters do what they have to do and we’re going to control what we can do on the field."

"Don’t take any team lightly," Paulk said. "We’re still trying to work, get better each day. So we’re looking forward to playing them."