Battling for respect in the SEC

— Here’s No. 12 South Carolina’s chance to take another step out of Florida’s shadow in the SEC East. And perhaps No. 17 Auburn can make a little noise in the SEC West and share some of the glory with that other team in the state.

Both league hopefuls have a chance to continue their bids for national respect and stamp themselves as legitimate contenders in the divisional hunt when they meet tonight in a overshadowed top 25 SEC clash.

Auburn (3-0, 1-0 SEC) tried to make some headway with an overtime escape against Clemson last weekend, but instead dropped a spot in the rankings.

“I really don’t pay attention to the polls. I really don’t understand it,” Tigers defensive end Antoine Carter said. “It’s just another chance for us to go out and prove ourselves. We’ll stay under the radar for now. We don’t like to be the talk. We’d rather just go under the radar and prove ourselves on the field.”

The game lacks the national profile of No. 1 Alabama against No. 10 Arkansas, but there’s plenty at stake for an early outof-division SEC game.

“When you get this type of attention for this type of game, it’s really a statement game,” Auburn guard Byron Isom said.

South Carolina (3-0, 1-0) is seeking its first 4-0 start since 2001 and only the ninth in school history, which would beyet another step up the ladder for the program. Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks have lost their past five SEC road games.

“Obviously we have a huge, huge challenge in front of us, with the best football team we’ve played up to date,” Auburn Coach Gene Chizik said. “I don’t think there’s any question about that. They’re just a very sound, solid football team.”

The two teams have only met four times since South Carolina joined the SEC in 1992, and Auburn has won all four.

Spurrier said he is more worried about the mundane elements that help win games one at a time than the big picture. South Carolina already has respectable victories over Southern Miss and Georgia,but hasn’t played on the road yet.

“Well, we have been in loud places before,” Spurrier said. “We haven’t tested our new atthe-line, call the plays up there on the road yet and we haven’t used a silent count yet. Hopefully, we can pick up our foot and snap it, stay onside and things like that.”

The game pits the SEC’s best against the SEC’s best in one statistical category. Led by elusive, imposing quarterback Cam Newton, Auburn has the league’s No. 1 running team and three of its top 10 rushers.

But South Carolina hasn’t even come close to giving up Auburn’s 259-yard average through three games. The Gamecocks are allowing just 59.7 yards per game on theground - 179 total - without yielding a rushing touchdown.

The 11 sacks are proof South Carolina can get after quarterbacks, but the 6-6, 250-pound Newton is harder to chase down than most. He trails only Arkansas’ Ryan Mallett in the SEC in total offense and is the No. 5 rusher.

“We’ve definitely got to stay in coverage a little bit longer just in case he decides to throw it or scramble,” safety DeVonte Holloman said.

The game will also showcase probably the two top freshman tailbacks in the league.

South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore is the league’s No. 2 rusher and has more carries than any other SEC back. Auburn’s Michael Dyer (Little Rock Christian) hasn’t gotten nearly as many chances, but he took over the starting job against Clemson.

Despite the success running the ball, Chizik’s message this week to his team has been to play more physical on the front lines.

“Everything starts in the SEC on the line of scrimmage,” he said. “I’d say that anywhere in football starts at the line of scrimmage. Certainly in this league with so many great inside defensive linemen as well as defensive ends and the big, physical offensive lines that we face as a defense every week. [The Gamecocks] play on the other side of the line of scrimmage. There’s no question about that.”

Sports, Pages 29 on 09/25/2010

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