Holtz Has South Carolina Fans Spellbound

So, you’re going to say Nostradamus had this pegged too, right?

This weekend, South Carolina (4-0) plays at Alabama (1-3) in a game with national implications for the Gamecocks!

“What’s happened to the world?” South Carolina Athletic Director Mike McGee quipped on the phone this week.

We haven’t lost faith in all of our sporting curses. The Angels continue to hit liners into limbo, the Boston Red Sox can’t shake the Bambino trade, the Billy Goat Curse still holds the Chicago Cubs by the scruff and, only recently, Sports Illustrated put Ryan Leaf on the cover.

However, the dreaded “Chicken Curse,” one of sports’ most insidious hexes, is seriously being taken to task.

South Carolina claimed one bowl victory in the 20th century--the 1995 Carquest--and some followers have pinned the ineptitude on a spell cast in 1880s by U.S. Sen. “Pitchfork,” Ben Tillman, founder of rival Clemson University.

Is it time to put a pitchfork in the curse, or is part of being a Gamecock fan preparing for the inevitable fall?

“Nobody’s booking plane tickets for Miami yet,” Frank Eppes, a South Carolina law school graduate, said this week from his office in Greenville, S.C.

Miami is site of the Orange Bowl, this year’s national title game.

Eppes has made plans to attend Saturday’s game at Alabama, although he is, as always, cautiously pessimistic.

“The history of me is to expect the worst,” he said. “Disaster is just around the corner. When you start thinking it’s over, that’s when all hell breaks loose.”

The Alabama game?

“I’m terrified,” Eppes said, “because it’s Alabama and they can always beat the hell out of us. But this is pretty weird. The whole thing is surreal.”

If this continues, look for a Salvador Dali image to grace the cover of next year’s media guide.

Riding a 21-game losing streak into the season, South Carolina is 4-0 for the first time since 1988 and has already scored gigantic Southeastern Conference wins against then-No. 10 Georgia and No. 25 Mississippi State.

“Maybe the year 2000 brought an end to the Chicken Curse,” South Carolina center Phillip Jones told reporters after last Saturday’s 23-19 win over Mississippi State.

Maybe.

Once, all the breaks went against the boys.

Now we’re witnessing a cosmic flip-flop.

Trailing 19-13 in the fourth quarter, South Carolina quarterback Phil Petty was forced out of the game because of a sprained ankle.

Chicken Curse!

Not so fast. Backup Erik Kimrey, a walk-on, stepped in for Petty and, on fourth and 10, heaved the go-ahead scoring pass to Jermale Kelly with 4:41 left.

Not all Gamecock fans are doom and gloomers.

Chris Hill, a season ticket holder since 1990, has already declared the season a success.

“Everything from here on out is icing,” he said.

Hill won’t allow evil to penetrate his thoughts.

“I had lunch with a guy today and he said, ‘This is all going to catch up to us against Alabama,’ ” Hill said. “I said he was missing the point. This whole Chicken Curse, it hasn’t been bad luck, it hasn’t been a curse, it’s been bad coaching.”

Did we mention Lou Holtz is in charge now?

McGee, who as athletic director at L.A.’s USC tried to hire Holtz as Trojan coach before he settled on Larry Smith, was ecstatic when he lured Holtz out of retirement last year.

Even though Holtz opened with an 0-11 egg, McGee never doubted his choice.

“No, Lou was the right guy,” McGee said. “There was clearly going to be a year of grace. Had this been a repeat year, then there would have been some concerns expressed.”

Truth is, Holtz has a track record as a second-year turnaround artist.

After a 3-7 start at William & Mary in 1970, Holtz led the school to the Tangerine Bowl in 1971.

After a 4-7 first year at Minnesota in 1984, he led the Gophers to the Independence Bowl in 1985.

And, after going 5-6 in his first year at Notre Dame in 1986, Holtz led the Irish to the Cotton Bowl in 1987 and the national title in 1988.

McGee said he saw this year coming at South Carolina late last year, when the Gamecocks played tough in their final three losses against Florida, Tennessee and Clemson.

McGee, a former head coach at Duke, says he’s never seen a coach with Holtz’s unique skills.

“He is a master at relationships with young people,” McGee said.

Aside from beefing up recruiting, Holtz moved his players into on-campus dorms and, last spring, held bonding sessions in which players and coaches got up and talked openly about their lives.

McGee says once Holtz earned the team’s trust, it was easier for him to work them like dogs.

“If a player knows you love him, you can get away with a lot,” McGee said. “Lou is strong with them. He wants it done a certain way. He is a very clear communicator.”

Holtz, at 63, is reveling in his glory, back to poor-mouthing his team while touting the virtues of his exceptional opponents.

“If we’re No. 23, there’s a lot of bad teams in the country,” Holtz said this week.

And his chances against Alabama?

“I don’t know anybody in the country that wants to play Alabama, today,” Holtz said. “I feel like we lost, they had a lottery and we lost and have to go play Alabama.”

Fight on?

TAKE THE FIFTH

We can only guess the Big Ten officiating crew that botched two fumble calls in Saturday’s Illinois- Michigan game did so to commemorate the upcoming 10-year anniversary of one of the biggest officiating blunders in college football history.

On Oct. 6, 1990, Colorado scored the winning touchdown as time expired at Missouri on the now-infamous “fifth down” play. Actually, the Buffaloes received two second downs on the drive when the scoreboard and sideline markers did not change.

The tainted victory helped Colorado to a share of the national championship.

Michigan was on the lucky end of Saturday’s 35-31 victory over Illinois. With Illinois ahead, 31-28, officials incorrectly ruled Illini running back Rocky Harvey fumbled. Then, on the ensuing drive, the refs ruled Michigan back Anthony Thomas down by contact near the goal line when he had actually fumbled. Thomas proceeded to score the game-winning touchdown.

Instant replay?

Here’s a shocker: Illinois Coach Ron Turner favors implementation of an NFL-type replay system while Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr is vehemently opposed.

Turner: “I think it could work if enough people wanted it to.”

Carr: “We could spend that kind of money in much, much better ways than on electronic equipment for instant replay.”

Replay, in fact, is a dead issue.

Pacific 10 Conference Commissioner Tom Hansen said it can’t work in the college game because it is cost prohibitive.

“Since not all the games are televised, it wouldn’t be fair; therefore, it isn’t possible,” Hansen said.

Hansen does favor replay for the four Bowl Championship Series games because ABC has the technology to make it happen.

Hansen: “Philosophically, I favor any system that aids to make sure more calls are correct,” Hansen said.

HURRY-UP OFFENSE

Carr said he tried to talk Michigan redshirt sophomore Justin Fargas out of moving from tailback to safety, but “he made it clear this was a move he absolutely wanted to make,” Carr said.

Fargas and UCLA’s DeShaun Foster were Southern California’s top high school backs in 1998, but a broken leg cost Fargas the 1999 season and his playing time this season has been limited by the stellar play of senior Anthony Thomas and Chris Perry, a true freshman and a budding star. Before the position switch, Fargas had 85 yards in 18 carries with no touchdowns. Perry has 272 yards in 43 attempts, a 6.3 yards-per-carry average, with three touchdowns.

How is USC doing in the BCS computer rankings?

Pretty well. This week, in fact, South Carolina ranks No. 14 in the Matthews ratings, one spot ahead of the USC that plays at the Coliseum.

The first BCS standings, a four-pronged system used to determine the two national title participants, won’t be released until next month, but a quick temperature reading shows the computer index component may not be kind to our two local schools.

Although a top-10 school in the national polls, USC is only 20th in Jeff Sagarin’s ratings, 25th in Dunkel, 21st in Billingsley, 15th in Matthews and 14th in Massey.

UCLA’s computer strength is averaging in the 20s. You can likely thank Alabama’s collapse for the Bruins’ mediocre standing.

Get this: Long-suffering Temple, at 3-1, needs three victories to secure a bowl berth. Penn State, at 1-4, has to finish 6-1 to become bowl eligible.

Finally, we found this incredible succession of statements posted this week in a chat room on a South Carolina Internet site.

“Early bowl predictions have us in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1.”

“I think they have us in the Independence Bowl.”

“Hey, they got us in the Rose Bowl too.”