Spring Break
USC's football team has been here before, one win away from bowl eligibility heading into the final stretch of the season.
Mike Hold never had any intention of becoming a Gamecock. The Arizona native enrolled at Mason Junior College in Arizona with the intent of eventually becoming an Arizona State Sun Devil. In fact, Hold calls coming to USC a "fluke thing."
"I get to sit in the best venues and watch my Gamecocks play the best game in the best seat in the house," said Todd Ellis, in his 13th year as a commentator for USC football.
Heading into the 2004 season, Houston Nutt was a hot coaching commodity. He had been targeted by Nebraska to fill the coaching vacancy left by Frank Solich, a man who went 9-3 in his last season. Nutt pondered the move, but he eventually turned down the reported $2 million salary with the Cornhuskers to stay with his alma mater. Arkansas Athletics Director Frank Broyles rewarded Nutt for his loyalty with a massive contract extension, paying him a reported $1.5 million per year until 2011.
When Saturday afternoon's game against Arkansas rolls around, USC fans will be hoping that sophomore quarterback Blake Mitchell and freshman wide receiver Sidney Rice hook up early and often and lead the Gamecocks to their fourth consecutive victory.
The battle for the BCS championship is really starting to heat up as the 2005 campaign enters the final stretch of the regular season. Several top-ranked teams head into the weekend vying for a conference championship and a potential national title game invitation.
5 questions with Jake Broom.
