USC Coach Lou Holtz Compares Dantzler To Football Legend Roger Staubach

by Dan Scott - Correspondent - Fri Nov 16 18:36:18 GMT-04:00 2001

CLEMSON - When Woody Dantzler looks at the South Carolina defense, he sees an entire unit focused on one goal.

When USC coach Lou Holtz sees Dantzer, he's reminded of a football legend.

Carolina's defense vs. Woody Dantzler. It's a matchup that will go a long way toward deciding the outcome of Saturday's game.

"Woody Dantzler is one of the best I have ever seen," said Holtz, no stranger to throwing around a compliment. "I don’t think I have ever coached against a guy, since Roger Staubach, that gives you as much problems that Woody Dantzler gives you running and throwing."

Dantzler a Roger Staubach clone? He wouldn't know.

"I don't know too much about him," Dantzler said of the former Dallas Cowboys star.

What Dantzler does know about is South Carolina's defense. It's a unit which harassed him to no end a year ago, though he did fire what proved to be the most lethal shot in the battle at Death Valley.

With time winding down and Clemson behind 14-13, Dantzler rolled to his left, stopped abruptly, looked back right and heaved a pass downfield. Exactly 50 yards later, Rod Gardner made his now-infamous push/no push catch to set up the game-winning field goal with :03 to go.

Still, that was one play in a long, physical football game. Dantzler knows he'll see more of the same this year.

"They're 11 guys who play together," Dantzler said of the USC defense. "It's very hard to move the ball against a defense who plays together and plays very disciplined football."

But that's exactly what Dantzler will be asked to do Saturday.

It's a challenge he welcomes. As a senior, Dantzler has the rare opportunity to finish his career unbeaten against the Tigers' most hated rival.

But there's something just as important on the line for this senior:

Extending his career just one more game.

"Right now we need the sixth win to be bowl eligible," he said. "You don't want to be known as the team that didn't get to a bowl game. Right now that's our concentration. It just happens to be against a very, very good South Carolina team."