 "Photo: Photo courtesy of the University of Auburn")
If USC's football team didn't have enough things to worry about, then throw in 87,451 more.
The Gamecock football team has defeated the Auburn Tigers only once since it started playing the game. That was in 1933. To trump that, the Gamecocks have never won in Auburn.
USC coach Steve Spurrier has fared a little better than his new team. Spurrier has beaten the Tigers in 10 of the 13 times he has faced them, including a 4-2 record as the away team's coach.
This is a good sign for the Gamecocks, because playing outside Williams-Brice Stadium has proven tough in recent history. USC has a three-game losing streak on the road dating back to last year's game at Florida. Last season, Carolina had a 3-2 record on the road with wins against Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Alabama. In 2003, USC did not win a single game on the road, and the Gamecocks are 8-12 while playing as the visitor in the past five years.
However, the recent slide does not have the Gamecock players worried.
"I think when you go on the road, you have less distraction," junior long snapper Ike Crofoot said. "You have their fans cheering for them, and all we've got is ourselves."
It is not quite that easy playing SEC road games. Playing in the conference with one of the largest fan bases in all of college football, sometimes coaches prepare players in different ways.
"Sometimes we go in the stadium and listen to crowd noise," Crofoot said. "When we play Tennessee, we listen to the Rocky Top song blaring in the stadium so loud that we can't even hear each other talk. We do whatever it takes to get used to it."
Neyland Stadium in Tennessee is the largest stadium the Gamecocks will play in this season at a capacity of 104,079. The one road game they have already played was in front of a crowd approaching 92,000 in a close 17-15 loss at Georgia. Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium comes in with 87,451, and Arkansas' Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium can hold 71,000.
Before facing a hostile crowd like the one the Gamecocks will face at Auburn, coaches try to keep things routine all throughout the week and on game day. Unfortunately this will not be the case because of an injury to sophomore quarterback Blake Mitchell. Mitchell's high ankle sprain will give redshirt freshman Antonio Heffner the start at quarterback.
The only experience Heffner has in an away game is when he took one snap in the Georgia game and carried the ball for a 12-yard gain.
With Heffner's inexperience, crowd noise could be a problem while the team is on offense, but Spurrier does not see it that way.
"It doesn't matter how loud it is at Auburn," Spurrier said. "We're just going to get somebody loose and see what happens."
Heffner has confidence in himself and his team coming into his first start.
"We just prepare for the game," Heffner said. "We know what needs to be done, so we do it."
Spurrier said junior wide receiver Syvelle Newton "knows some of the plays and might be used in an emergency." Newton brings the same rushing threat Heffner brings to the quarterback position, and he knows what it is like to play in an intimidating environment. Last season, Newton came into the game as quarterback at Vanderbilt and Alabama, and he started at Florida and Clemson.
The Gamecocks will have to be ready to play from the moment the game starts until the game's end. Auburn is 3-1 on the season and has yet to play away from home. Their single loss came at Georgia Tech in their season opener. Concentration will be a key for USC.
"Freshman year it was a little bit nerve-racking," Crofoot said. "But now you just go out there and focus. I don't even look at the crowd when I run out of the tunnel."
With a three-game road losing streak on the line, the Gamecocks will be trying to win their first road game since October of last year. A win against Auburn would not only snap that streak but would keep Spurrier from losing three conference games in a row for the first time ever.
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