Holtz nutty with Georgia talk

COLUMBIA, S.C. - It's official, South Carolina coach Lou Holtz has lost his mind.

Holtz, one of college football's most quick-witted personalities, has said some way-out things before. But he sounded completely off his rocker this week when he talked about facing powerful Georgia (1-0) at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday.

``Bring it on,'' Holtz said. ``That's just the attitude I have.''

Bring it on? The third-ranked Bulldogs? The two Davids who've devastated the Gamecocks before and are supposed to lead Georgia to a national championship? Someone should check the man's food.

Then again, Holtz and the Gamecocks (1-0 Southeastern Conference) have seen this before. Just four years ago, South Carolina fans were content enough with their team snapping a 21-game win streak a week earlier when No. 9 Georgia came to town.

What happened next was a stunning a reversal in Gamecock football history. Bulldogs quarterback Quincy Carter threw five interceptions one fewer than all of 1999 as South Carolina ended a three-year SEC losing streak with a 21-10 victory.

``The zone blitz is not unique to football, but it was very unique to Quincy Carter,'' Holtz said, smiling.

The victory propelled South Carolina to a two-year run of success 17-7, two Outback Bowl wins unparalleled in school history. Georgia eventually changed coaches at the end of the season, bringing in Mark Richt to replace Jim Donnan.

Richt has gone a long way to ensuring such surprises don't ever occur again.

The offense is led by David Greene, a senior who has only once thrown as many as three interceptions in his 41 career starts.

Defensive end David Pollack, arguably the country's best, pulled off his own surprise at Williams-Brice two years ago with a stunning interception of South Carolina's Corey Jenkins in the end zone that was the decisive play in Georgia's 13-7 win. Pollack also recovered one of two goal line fumbles by Gamecocks runner Andrew Pinnock that evening.

``His motor never stops running,'' said South Carolina tight end Brian Brownlee, who expects to get the call on blocking Pollack on Saturday.

Holtz knows his players are in for a fight. A win over Georgia, and Holtz says the Gamecocks are talking about championships instead of just bowl games. ``I don't want to be overly optimistic and we know what a difficult challenge it is,'' he said. ``But by the same token, we're in this conference too.''

Holtz has spent a lot of time revamping the attitudes of South Carolina's players. He's also done a 180-degree turn of his own. Where the 67-year-old coach might be typically dour and downbeat, he's been positive and encouraging this fall.

Jonathan Alston, South Carolina offensive lineman, says Holtz's change has had a good effect on the team so far. The Gamecocks opened the year with a strong 31-6 victory at Vanderbilt, a game some worried might be too much for South Carolina.

Instead, the Gamecocks scored on their first three drives and built on the margin throughout.

Georgia left its opener with some questions answered and some remaining. Yes, the Bulldogs routed Division I-AA Georgia Southern 48-28. But gave up 294 yards rushing to the Eagles.

``To be where we want to be as a team, we know we are going to have to play at another level this week than we did last week,'' Georgia center Russ Tanner said. ``We are going to have to play a much better game with a team like South Carolina.''

Especially if Holtz has a feeling that good things are ahead. When Holtz liked his team's preparations in 2000 and 2001 leading into the Georgia game, the Gamecocks came out on top. When he saw practice problems only days before the 2003 game, the Bulldogs came out on top 31-7.

This time?

``I really like their comfortable attitude,'' Holtz said of his team. ``They have great respect for Georgia but they are ready to play.''

Maybe he's not so crazy after all.