from gamecock central
The South Carolina secondary could be without two key players when they face Florida, No. 15 in the BCS standings, Saturday at Williams-Brice at 7:45 p.m. in a key SEC clash.
Cornerback Captain Munnerlyn and strong safety Emanuel Cook both suffered foot injuries in USC's 48-36 loss to Arkansas Saturday night and may be forced to sit out this week's game.
Neither player practiced Monday night during USC's 90-minute session on the Bluff Road practice fields.
"Hopefully they'll be ready to play (Saturday)," Spurrier said. "We just need to play ball and be competitive. We weren't very competitive the last game. We're looking forward to seeing if we can represent our team and our university a lot better than last week."
Munnerlyn (sprained foot) wore a boot on his left foot and required crutches to walk as he left the field. Preliminary X-rays taken shortly after the game were negative. He underwent a MRI Sunday and the sophomore from Mobile, Ala. is still awaiting the results.
Munnerlyn is set to be examined by team physicians on Tuesday to see if the cast can be removed.
Munnerlyn was injured while defending a two-point conversion following the final touchdown of the night by Arkansas with 8:04 remaining.
"When I caught the interception, the guy grabbed my ankle and kind of turned it," Munnerlyn said. "I think he was trying to tackle me from behind. I jumped for the ball and he just grabbed my foot. When I tried to get up, someone landed on it. I trued to get up and walk off the field. I guess everybody thought it was cramps. Hopefully, I'll be ready for Saturday."
Spurrier expects Cook (sprained foot), who said he should be able to return to practice on Wednesday, will be ready for the defending national champions on Saturday. Cook had his ankle "rolled on" in the loss at Arkansas and exited the contest late in the third quarter.
Cook has a team-leading 76 tackles this season.
Cook, a native of Riviera Beach, Fla., is anxious to return to practice and desperately wants to face the Gators, a team that gave him token attention in recruiting two years ago even though Cook was the Class 6-A Player of the Year and led his school to the state championship.
"(My ankle) is all right," Cook said. "I plan to play this week and to get back slowly. I was on the sideline praying to get back in, but I couldn't. I didn't want to hurt the team."
None of the so-called "Big Three" schools in the Sunshine State recruited Cook hard. Florida head coach Urban Meyer visited Cook at his school but no offer was ever made.
"I was surprised a lot of schools (didn't recruit me harder)," Cook said. "I wanted to play in front of family every weekend. But I came to South Carolina and felt a whole lot better. Last year, I was ready to get out there (against Florida) and get some action. This year, I'm definitely (ready). I'm injured right now and feeling a little bad but I'm ready to get out there."
Cook collided with Arkansas running back Darren McFadden and forced a fumble, but the Razorbacks recovered and ended up gaining an additional 12 yards on the play. They scored a touchdown shortly thereafter.
"It was the hardest I've ever hit anybody," Cook said. "It was amazing, but we still didn't recover the fumble. They probably did take a little bit of our confidence. I haven't been around the guys a lot today to see how they are acting, but I know we will pull each other up and get back into the mood of playing."
Spurrier is confident the Gamecock defense will improve significantly from its performance against Arkansas, when it surrendered 650 total yards, 541 on the ground.
"Coach Nix and those (defensive) coaches will get them ready to play," Spurrier said. "That was the first really lousy defensive game we've had all year. We'll find out when Arkansas plays against Tennessee. If they can't run against Tennessee, it's all us. They didn't run far against Auburn but maybe they have a lot tougher defense than most people."
IMPORTANT WEEK FOR THE DEFENSE: After watching his defense get physically whipped by the Arkansas offense, USC defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix says this week is critical for his unit.
"Basically, (Arkansas) was doing whatever they wanted to do running the football," Nix said. "They out-coached our defensive coaches. I think their (offensive) players out-competed our defensive players. Basically, they just whipped us. They knocked our guys backwards. It was embarrassing. It was sad."
Nix vowed to determine what's wrong with the defense and fix it in time for Saturday's game.
"We have plenty of time. We don't play again until Saturday," Nix said. "We'll see (if USC can recover). I'm going to compete as hard as I can. All I can do is encourage the other guys. We don't have a choice, do we? We can't make it an open week, so we're going to see. We're going to do the best we can."
Arkansas had success with the Wild Hog formation where McFadden takes the shotgun snap from center and either runs with it or he passes. McFadden lofted a TD pass to Robert Johnson on one play and Arkansas threw a reverse pass to an open receiver for another TD in the second quarter.
What was particularly disappointing to Nix was that some of USC's leaders on defense didn't increase their level of play to meet the challenge posed by the Arkansas defense.
"You'd think some of our leaders would rise up and make a play," Nix said. "I didn't see that happen. I didn't see any of our playmakers or the guys we assume are playmakers make a play."
MCKINLEY WANTS COMPLETE GAME: Wide receiver Kenny McKinley hopes the loss to Arkansas has a positive effect on the Gamecocks as it prepares this week for Saturday's nationally televised showdown with Florida.
"Hopefully, it make us tougher in practice and get us ready to go," McKinley said. "We have to keep winning. The defense had a tough task (against Arkansas). I know those guys will bounce back next week. We just can't get both (units) going at the same time. But I can't be mad at any of the defensive players. They were hard to stop."
While McKinley caught seven passes for 72 yards on Saturday night, it was one that got away that dominated the post-game talk. McKinley barely missed catching a pass from QB Blake Mitchell in the end zone on a corner route.
"I didn't try to think about it," McKinley said. "I know I should have caught that ball. Nine times out of 10 I will make that play. But I didn't make it. I'm going to go back and work harder. I was down at first but the guys told me I had made too many good plays to harp on that one. After that, I really didn't think about it anymore."
FLORIDA REPORT: Florida is coming off an impressive 49-22 victory over Vanderbilt last Saturday in which Percy Harvin became the first player in school history to surpass 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game. Harvin had 11 carries for 113 yards with two touchdowns and nine receptions for 110 yards,
"(That's) hard to imagine considering all of the great players who have played here," Florida head coach Urban Meyer said. "I thought he had a tremendous day. He graded out at over 100 percent because you get double positives for big plays and he had plenty of those."
QB Tim Tebow established a new SEC record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a season with 14, tying Emmitt Smith and Buford Long for the school record for most rushing touchdowns in a season. Tebow completed 22 of 27 passes for 281 yards and three touchdowns in the victory over Vanderbilt. He also rushed for 35 yards on six carries with two touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver Andre Caldwell contributed to the win with a career-high nine receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns. Florida is still in contention for the SEC East Championship with a 4-3 conference mark. But the Gators need Georgia to lose twice and Tennessee to lose at least once to a conference foe to get back to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game.
"Our goal is to compete for the SEC East championship in November and we are doing that," Meyer said. "The first year we failed and last year we succeeded. I can promise you (that) we will have a great week of practice. It's going to be high energy and this is our last SEC game of the season. It is an unusual year where teams kind of beat each other up, but we still have a great opportunity ahead of us and our guys are excited about it."
Florida fell to USC, 30-22, two years ago in the last meeting in Columbia between the two schools. The Gators needed a blocked field goal as time expired to escape with a 17-16 victory over the Gamecocks in Gainesville last season.
Of course, whenever USC and Florida meet on the gridiron, some of the focus will be fixated on USC head coach Steve Spurrier and his highly successful 12-year run as UF head coach.
"There are a lot of things that make his teams so good," Meyer said. "They play with great confidence. They are hard to defend. Every week you find yourself on the defensive when you play them. The thing I'm impressed with is all three phases of their game are solid. I think that's what makes him a good coach."
Both parents of Tebow, who grew up in Jacksonville, are Florida alumni and he understands well the impact Spurrier had on the history of Florida football.
"Steve Spurrier is a great coach and is someone who has done a lot of great things for college football and the University of Florida," Tebow said. "He is doing a great job with South Carolina and, hopefully, he won't do that great against us. I think a lot of him. He carries his program with him everywhere he goes. He gets his guys to compete and win. He really knows football."
NOTES:
-- DE Eric Norwood said the USC defense entered the Arkansas knowing the Razorback offense was capable of putting up a lot of yards, the Gamecock players felt they could stop them. "We know we're a good enough team. We just messed up at crucial times," Norwood said. "Their backs are very fast.
-- Not surprisingly, running back Darren McFadden of Arkansas was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for 321 yards and one touchdown on 34 carries in Arkansas' 48-36 victory over USC in Fayetteville. McFadden was initially credited with 323 yards, but a video review reduced his total by two yards. Arkansas guard Mitch Petrus was honored as the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.
-- Florida DL Jermaine Cunningham was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after finishing with five tackles and an interception against Vanderbilt.
-- USC has attempted over 50 passes in each of its last two games. Spurrier said the large numbers of passes was necessary because USC fell behind early in both games. "We had to throw more than we probably needed to," Spurrier said. "Teams that throw 50 times very seldom win."
-- Spurrier said Florida's defensive isn't much different than last season despite the considerable turnover in players. "They have their scheme and they don't make many mistakes," Spurrier said. "It's whole different bunch. But they play hard and they play smart. They love to play and they're well coached."