South Carolina gets well against Temple

Posted 8:34AM on Sunday 22nd September 2002 ( 22 years ago )

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Coach Lou Holtz promised he would get some new players on the field to shake things up for South Carolina. Led by Corey Jenkins, the senior who just got the starting nod this year, the new blood delivered as the Gamecocks (2-2) beat Temple 42-21 on Saturday night. Jenkins, who was 18-for-23 for 198 yards, threw two touchdowns to freshman receivers and ran for two more scores. After the game, he grinned when asked how the youngsters adjusted to playing before more than 80,000 people at Williams-Brice Stadium. ``They were excited. You should have seen them in warmups,'' Jenkins said. The Gamecocks also solved their turnover problem. After giving the ball away 12 times in their first three games, South Carolina had just one against Temple, while picking off two passes. ``If we don't stab ourselves by turning the ball over, it's going to be tough to beat us,'' Jenkins said. Temple (1-3) was led by Tanardo Spikes, who gained 143 yards on 21 carries. But he left the game at halftime with a broken tooth. ``Tanardo Sharps being out - looks like to me that was the turning point,'' Owls coach Bobby Wallace said. Senior fullback Andrew Pinnock, South Carolina's second-leading rusher behind Jenkins, never touched the ball Saturday after fumbling twice inside the 5-yard line last week. Instead, after what Jenkins called a solid week of practice, coach Lou Holtz handed the ball to freshmen Daccus Turman, who had 39 yards on six carries and a touchdown catch. Kenny Irons carried the ball nine times for 30 yards. Holtz said he planned to play Pinnock, but Turman was having too good of a game. ``Andrew Pinnock is an important part of this football team,'' the coach said. Two rookie receivers also had big impacts, as Troy Williamson had four catches for 75 yards and Kris Clark caught the ball twice for 36 yards. ``I feel like I can make something happen when I touch the ball,'' said Williamson, who rolled right with Jenkins in the third quarter to catch a 24-yard touchdown pass that put the Gamecocks ahead 35-14. It was part of a third quarter that saw South Carolina put the game away with nine first downs and 140 yards compared to Temple's 12 yards and one first down. ``We had a good week of practice,'' Jenkins said. ``We played with the intensity tonight that we had in practice.'' The Owls ran 29 more plays than the Gamecocks and had the ball close to 13 minutes longer than South Carolina. In the first quarter, Temple outgained South Carolina 146 to 78. But helped by a Deandre Eiland's 69-yard interception return, the Gamecocks were able to keep it tied at 14 after the first 15 minutes. Temple also had trouble finishing possessions. The Owls' biggest drives were a 19-play drive that ended in a 31-yard missed field goal by Cap Poklemba near halftime and a 17-play fourth quarter drive long after the game was decided. ``We beat them all day up front. It just comes down to making plays and we didn't do enough of that,'' said Temple quarterback Mike McGann, who was 9-for-23 for 78 yards. Zamir Cobb caught seven passes for 58 yards and two touchdowns for the Owls. Holtz said he didn't like the way his defensive line was pushed around and he wasn't happy with several defense miscues. ``The 10 penalties on defense put me in a bad mood,'' Holtz said. The Gamecocks play Vanderbilt next week, and Holtz was getting ready, calling the Commodores ``explosive and physical.'' ``I am not easy to please,'' Holtz said. ``I am very pleased to win because we beat a good football team. But we will have to get better."

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/9/189849