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Practice report: Spurrier: No fashion gimmicks
Posted on 10.17.08
CommentsNews of the day
Steve Spurrier is not interested in staging a “blackout,” a “white-out” or any other sort of gimmick to fire up his USC team for its nationally televised game Saturday night against 13th-ranked and defending national-champion LSU.
“We’re trying to treat this as another football game – a big game, but not too big,” Spurrier said Thursday. “Maybe sometimes we’ve gone too big. It hasn’t worked out, so why not just treat it like another good, normal game. The defending champs are coming in, but we’re just trying to play better.”
LSU comes to Columbia fresh from a 51-21 pasting by Florida, the Tigers’ worst loss under Les Miles. The Tigers have not dropped back-to-back, regular-season games since 2001 and are 6-0 under Miles following a loss.
“This week at practice we’ve had some fire in our eyes. We’re looking forward to it,” Tigers quarterback Jarrett Lee said in a phone interview. “We’ve got that (Florida) game in the back of our minds because we never want that to happen again.”
Lee praised a Gamecocks’ defense that ranks first in the SEC against the pass and overall.
“They’re fast. They’re physical. Like all SEC teams, it’s going to be dogfight,” Lee said. “Watching film on them, they play smart, they get to the ball.”
Stock rising
Freshman tailback Eric Baker has just one carry the past two weeks. But with Brian Maddox injured and the running game sputtering, Baker is expected to get a few more touches behind starter Mike Davis.
Stock falling
Receiver Dion LeCorn fell down running a route at Kentucky, leading to a Chris Smelley interception and hastening LeCorn’s move to spur linebacker, Spurrier said on his call-in show. The move might be temporary.
“I would guess in a week or two, he may get the message and be back on offense,” Spurrier said.
Injury report
Tight end Jared Cook, the Gamecocks’ leading receiver, remains “a little gimpy” with a sprained right foot but is expected to play, Spurrier said. Freshman quarterback Aramis Hillary underwent surgery recently to have cartilage removed from his knee. Maddox will miss a couple of weeks with a sprained knee.
Quote of the day
“He likes to fake kicks. He’s done some things on fourth downs, to go for it unexpectedly. They have a lot of quick plays they do, too. They don’t huddle. They come up and there’s a lot of unusual formations. Just things that keep you from playing normal defense,” – defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson on LSU coach Les Miles.
Extra points
Right guard Lemuel Jeanpierre will return to the starting lineup in place of Terrence Campbell, who also is schedule to play. …
Freshman safety Antonio Allen has been excused from football activities the next several weeks to concentrate on academics, Johnson said. Allen, who attended Fork Union (Va.) Military last fall, has played in one game. …
The Gamecocks will wear garnet jerseys with white pants. After USC won two in a row on the road in all-white uniforms, some fans lobbied for the Gamecocks to wear white at home. …
Dave Brown, who played quarterback for Spurrier at Duke, stopped by Thursday’s practice while in Columbia on business.
Scouting report
LSU defensive tackle Ricky Jean-Francois, who missed last week’s Florida game with a groin injury, remains questionable. Miles told reporters in Louisiana on Wednesday he was uncertain whether Jean-Francois would make the trip to Columbia. Miles does not meet with the media on Thursdays.
-- Joseph Person
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