Gamecocks look for more pep

Published Nov. 2, 2009 at 5:01 a.m.
In the bowels of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium late Saturday night, South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia and receiver Moe Brown huddled to discuss what they could do to make sure this season does not go the way of the previous two.

Their solution: Pick up the practice pace.

Coming off the field Wednesday, defensive tackle Ladi Ajiboye volunteered that the Gamecocks had not had a great practice. He thought the execution was OK, but the tempo was lacking.

Did that lead to the sometimes lethargic effort in the 31-13 loss to Tennessee that dropped South Carolina out of the rankings?

The two fumbles in the first five offensive snaps probably took more air out of the balloon than anything that happened, or didn't happen, last week in practice.

But as the Gamecocks venture deeper into the Orange Crush portion of their schedule (Florida on Nov. 14 and Clemson on Nov. 28), Brown and Garcia plan to set a faster clip to keep the one-week funk from turning into something worse.

"We're going to make sure everybody's going to the ball, running to the ball, chasing the ball. Your practice translates to the field, and (Saturday) it showed," Brown said. "That's something we've got to address."

Garcia was responsible for the last two of the team's season-high four turnovers. But he completed 50 percent of his passes and, despite wet conditions, had his second consecutive 300-yard passing game.

Defensive end Cliff Matthews will miss at least one game after dislocating his shoulder against the Vols, sidelining one of the team's highest-energy players during a week when Brown and Garcia want to speed things up.

WAKE FOREST

Quarterback Riley Skinner is listed as questionable for the game at Georgia Tech on Saturday because of a slight concussion.

Skinner, a senior, suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of the Deacons' 28-27 loss to Miami Saturday when he was hit running for a first down and lost his helmet.

He had a CT scan and must be cleared by a doctor before he will be allowed to return to practice. The Deacons were off Sunday and will practice this evening.

If he is unable to play, he will be replaced by fifth-year senior Ryan McManus, who completed five of nine passes for 42 yards after replacing Skinner against Miami.

Skinner moved into second place in ACC history with 824 pass completions. He also became Wake Forest's all-time pass attempts leader.

The Wake Forest-Georgia Tech game will begin at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta. It will be shown on ABC and ESPN2.

The Deacons have lost six in a row on the road heading to Atlanta to face the ACC's top-ranked team.

"It will force us to get over (the Miami loss) quickly," defensive end John Russell said. "We'll find a way to get through it."

The Deacons are 4-5 overall but have lost to Baylor, Boston College, Navy and Miami with chances to win in the closing minutes.

"The only game we had no shot was against Clemson," Russell said. "If the ball bounced a few different ways we could easily be sitting here having lost only one game. The reality is we haven't." ron green jr.

DUKE

You couldn't find a Duke football player without a smile after the Blue Devils rallied for a 28-17 victory at Virginia on Saturday.

The visiting locker room at Scott Stadium thundered with the howls of a team that has happy feelings about its position as one of the ACC's hottest teams. The smiles also represented an understanding of what this beleaguered program has achieved in rebuilding under second-year coach David Cutcliffe.

"Finally," redshirt sophomore Charlie Hatcher said. "For the last two years we put in all this work and we finally get some results. We're in it at the end of the season. Going into November, we're in the fight."

By winning three consecutive conference games for the first time since 1994, the Blue Devils are two wins away from possibly securing a bowl bid for the first time since that same 1994-95 season.

The Blue Devils (5-3, 3-1) are second in the ACC's coastal division behind Georgia Tech (8-1, 5-1). They have four games left, with the next in Chapel Hill against North Carolina (5-3, 1-3).

Edward G. Robinson III

NORTH CAROLINA

Safety Deunta Williams said he can't ever remember ever having such a fun bus right home - and for good reason. North Carolina's 20-17 upset of then-No. 14 Virginia Tech on Thursday put the Tar Heels back in the postseason hunt.

With home games against Duke and Miami, and road games at Boston College and N.C. State, the Tar Heels must win two of their last four to become bowl eligible.

"Our kids gained confidence,'' coach Butch Davis said.

The Tar Heels had trouble gaining anything until their fourth offensive series, when backup tailback Ryan Houston entered the game and rushed up the middle for 17 yards.

When was the last time a Duke-North Carolina football game meant so much? Robbi Pickeral

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