Gameday Misc. Notes

New Mouth of the South

For a guy who has managed to offend an entire community in Florida to the SEC's officials, Tennessee first-year coach Lane Kiffin was surprisingly quiet this week on USC wideout Alshon Jeffery, whom he told would pump gas for the rest of his life if he signed with the Gamecocks. Likewise, Steve Spurrier said nothing about Kiffin. The more relevant matchup will be Spurrier's ability to find gaps in Monte Kiffin's Tampa-2 defense.

Has USC caught Tennessee?

With a win tonight, the Gamecocks will be threatening to move past UT into the top half of the SEC East. USC enters the game with an 18-19 conference record in four-plus seasons under Spurrier, while the Vols have an 18-18 mark during that span. After Lou Holtz was 0-6 against UT, Spurrier is 2-2 against his home-state school.

Double trouble

Spurrier has been looking for a way to get Jeffery and Tori Gurley on the field at the same time. The two tall targets - Jeffery is 6-3, Gurley 6-5 - have combined for 45 receptions for 761 yards and five touchdowns, but play the same wideout spot. Jeffery missed a practice this week with a stomach bug, but should be fine for his first trip to Rocky Top.

Bring the 'wood

Gamecocks linebacker Eric Norwood is the SEC sack leader with six, but has gone four weeks without a sack. USC wants to force Tennessee into throwing downs, so the Gamecocks can go after Vols quarterback Jonathan Crompton (10 interceptions) and try to force him into mistakes. Norwood has been drawing his share of double-team blocks, but has to put his stamp on this game.

By a foot in Knoxville

USC's past two games at Tennessee have been decided by a field goal. Josh Brown made a game-winner for the Gamecocks in 2005, while Ryan Succop missed a 40-yarder in overtime in 2007 after the Vols' Daniel Lincoln connected from 27 yards. Lincoln is coming off a rough game at Alabama, where he had two field goals blocked and was short on another.

Game Within The Game

QB Stephen Garcia vs. S Eric Berry

About Garcia: The redshirt sophomore has exceeded expectations in his first full season as a starter. Garcia is second in the SEC in total offense (236.6 yards a game) and has done a good job limiting turnovers with one notable exception - an interception on his first pass at Alabama that Mark Barron returned 77 yards for a touchdown.

How he'll win:

Garcia will have to be mindful of where Berry is on the field and be sure not to telegraph his throws. Steve Spurrier will try to help Garcia by sending in audibles from the sideline after seeing where Berry aligns. It falls on Garcia to protect the ball, look off Berry and make plays against a Tennessee pass defense ranked sixth in the country.

Key number:

4, interceptions thrown by Garcia, who had eight in eight games last season.

About Berry:

Berry is the NCAA's active interception leader with 13 picks and is closing in on Terrell Buckley's NCAA record for career interception return yards. Berry picked off Garcia in last year's game in Columbia and returned it 45 yards before Kenny McKinley corralled him around midfield.

How he'll win:

Because of Berry's coverage and run-stopping skills, the Vols often will bring him closer to the line of scrimmage to give offenses a different look in Monte Kiffin's Tampa-2 scheme. Other times, Berry will align deeper and try to get a jump on Garcia's downfield throws.

Key number:

7.9, Berry's average tackles per game, which ranks eighth in the SEC. He is the only defensive bank among the conference's top 17 tacklers