Saban wants Tigers focused on South Carolina

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - LSU&#39;s victory over Florida last Saturday was the Tigers&#39; first defeat of the Gators since 1997 - long before Nick Saban took over as the Tigers&#39; coach. <br> <br> Saban still has a clear memory of what happened after that 1997 victory, however, and he&#39;s been reminding his team of it all week long. <br> <br> ``They lost the next week,&#39;&#39; Saban said. <br> <br> That&#39;s why as the players and the fans were whooping it up after this year&#39;s victory over Florida, Saban was already worrying about South Carolina as he walked off the field in Gainesville. <br> <br> ``We have a totally new challenge this week in terms of who we play, a very good team in South Carolina,&#39;&#39; Saban said. ``I think what everybody needs to understand - the media, fans, players, coaches and everybody that is associated with the game - is that you can&#39;t be selective about when you compete in this league or when you want to play hard and when you need to play well. Because every game you play is a real challenge and an important one. This is the biggest game of the year for us because it is the one we are having now.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> LSU (5-1, 2-0 Southeastern Conference) will have an even tougher challenge with starting quarterback Matt Mauck out with a foot injury. <br> <br> Mauck injured his right foot late in the Florida game and could miss the rest of the season. <br> <br> Sophomore backup Marcus Randall will start in place of Mauck against the Gamecocks. <br> <br> ``Matt&#39;s been coaching me up,&#39;&#39; Randall said. ``I feel real comfortable with all the checks and reads. It&#39;s a defense we&#39;ve faced before.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> South Carolina (5-2, 3-1) hits Baton Rouge familiar with the expectations of fans and the problems with injuries. <br> <br> ``The injury report here reads like a team roster,&#39;&#39; South Carolina coach Lou Holtz said. <br> <br> Injuries aside, South Carolina takes a four-game winning streak into Baton Rouge on Saturday. That includes last week&#39;s come-from-behind 16-12 victory over Kentucky. <br> <br> ``I was really proud of our team the way they kept their poise, the way they competed, the way they came back, the way we executed in the second half,&#39;&#39; Holtz said. ``Kentucky had had an open date and was well prepared, did some things that we had not anticipated, threw the ball down field a lot more than they had previously.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Under Holtz, Gamecocks fans have grown used to winning. After going 0-11 in Holtz&#39;s first season, South Carolina posted 8-4 and 9-3 records with back-to-back wins over Ohio State in the Outback Bowl. He is the only coach in NCAA history to take six different programs to bowl games. <br> <br> ``I can&#39;t lower expectations, nor do I want to,&#39;&#39; Holtz said. ``What I try to do is temper them with realism.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Gamecocks still feel they can make it to the SEC title game, despite their loss to Georgia. To do that they need to beat LSU, however. <br> <br> After two losses South Carolina players have come together. Four straight victories have renewed their confidence said Cornerback Dunta Robinson. <br> <br> There were doubts early on,&#39;&#39; Robinson said. ``But now we all believe in each other.&#39;&#39;

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