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By JAMAL THALJI
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 8, 2000
TAMPA -- The Outback Bowl is 25 days away, but Ohio State coach John Cooper and South Carolina coach Lou Holtz were in town Thursday in a heated struggle.
The two battled to sign the most autographs at Thursday night's ceremonial Outback Bowl contract signing party at Raymond James Stadium.
Cooper and Holtz signed caps, footballs, media guides and anything else the audience could find, all while greeting well-wishers, posing for pictures and giving interview after interview.
The most important signatures were the ones they put on the ceremonial placard to kick off festivities for the sold-out Jan. 1 game.
Cooper was affable, even when the subject of Michigan came up. Holtz entertained with witty anecdotes and homespun stories.
The Ohio State coach explained how his No. 19 Buckeyes (8-3) have been preparing for the Gamecocks (7-4).
"The secret is trying to figure out who to block," Cooper said. "They play an unusual defense. They give you a lot of different looks and a lot of different lineups. We need to spend a lot of time with our offensive linemen and our running backs and make sure they have a handle on everybody."
Holtz lauded Ohio State's talent.
"The thing we have to make sure is we're not intimidated by Ohio State," he said. "When we played Florida and we played Alabama, maybe we were a little bit intimidated.
"But we didn't win the lottery to get here. We did some things on the field to earn it."
No. 7 Florida's leading rusher, junior tailback Robert Gillespie, could miss the Sugar Bowl after arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage damage to his right knee. Doctors estimate recovery to take 3-6 weeks and said his status is "questionable" for the Jan. 2 game against No. 2 Miami. Gillespie rushed for 678 yards and five touchdowns. ... Receiver Jabar Gaffney was selected Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year by league coaches. Gaffney set league freshman records with 71 catches for 1,184 yards and 14 touchdowns. Quarterback Rex Grossman, linebacker Travis Harris and defensive lineman Clint Mitchell also made the team. (Complete list, 9C.) ... Sugar Bowl tickets are on sale to the general public through the Gator Ticket Office. Call (352) 384-3261.
CITRUS BOWL: The Jan. 1 game in Orlando has a new sponsor. Capital One, one of the nation's largest credit card issuers, will be the title co-sponsor of the game between No. 17 Michigan and No. 20 Auburn. The bowl lost its previous sponsor, OurHouse.com, several weeks ago. Headquartered in Falls Church, Va., Capital One Financial Corp. is a holding company with principal subsidiaries that have 29.4-million customers and $24.2-billion in managed loans outstanding as of Sept. 30.
CLEMSON: Two players and two university students have been indicted by a federal grand jury in what police say was a scheme to make counterfeit money. Freshman defensive tackle Paul White Jr. and junior wide receiver Eugene Koon were charged with conspiracy, a felony. Both have been suspended by coach Tommy Bowden.
LOUISVILLE: Reserve safety Justin Thomas was released from jail after his attorney entered a plea of innocent to charges stemming from a brawl that included assaulting a police officer. Sophomore linebacker B.J. Steele, freshman offensive lineman Jason Hilliard, sophomore linebacker Michael Brown, sophomore offensive lineman Antoine Sims and former player Xavier Burrell also face various charges after the Wednesday morning brawl at a Louisville nightclub.
NCAA: Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson wants to meet with NCAA officials to discuss what he says is an "unacceptable" lack of black coaches.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: Emporia State coach Jerry Kill was hired as head coach, replacing fired Jan Quarless.
TCU: Defensive coordinator Gary Patterson, the apparent choice to replace Dennis Franchione as head coach, prepared for the Mobile Alabama Bowl against Southern Mississippi while waiting for his likely promotion. Patterson met for 2 1/2 hours Wednesday with a search committee. "I haven't worried about it," he said, adding that his talk with the committee went well. "I figured they would take their time. I'm too busy to worry about it." Franchione left to coach Alabama.
UTAH: Coach Ron McBride said offensive coordinator Tommy Lee and running backs coach Sean McNabb resigned.
VANDERBILT: Junior linebacker Jamie Winborn, who led the SEC in tackles as a freshman and sophomore, will make himself eligible for the NFL draft.
-- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.