COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Lou Holtz has always been old school.

His great teams at Notre Dame were known more for pounding the football at opposing defenses than for wide-open Purdue-like schemes.

But that's changing. Thanks to some help from his son Skip, the assistant head coach, and a staff that features five others with head coaching or coordinator experience, Holtz has embraced the wide-open offense, and the results are staggering.

	Derek Watson and South Carolina are bowl bound for the first time in six years.

In just three games, South Carolina already has six more points than it did all of last year. And running back Derek Watson, the heart of the new-look offense, has 28 more yards than he did in 1999.

As a team, the Gamecocks rank first in the SEC in rushing offense and sixth in total offense. It's a drastic improvement from a team that was the worst in the nation offensively last year.

The idea for the changes came last year, when Lou Holtz walked into a staff meeting, explained what he wanted in a new offense, and told the group, "put it together." The staff started from scratch, brainstorming ideas from their different backgrounds. It formed quite a thick notebook.

"He basically said, 'OK, this is broke. How do we fix it?' " Skip said. "And to tell him that time will handle it is not an answer. He doesn't want to hear that. He wants to know what he can do, how we can change things. You can't tell him it's going to heal itself.

"Even on defense, where we were pretty good last year, we decided that if the offense isn't going to be great, we better change the defense too. We were 18th in the country already, so the question became how to get to second in the country. My Dad is just not one to let any grass grow under his feet."

The result of the long meetings and endless suggestions were an offense that features multiple diverse sets, though the base package uses four wide receivers. Quarterback Phil Petty typically starts in the shotgun and there's even a vast no-huddle package.

The diversity of the system was evident last Saturday against Eastern Michigan, when South Carolina lined up in the shotgun with four wideouts on 3rd and 1. But the element of surprise struck, as Petty kept the ball on a designed sneak for a ten-yard gain.

In the 41-6 win, South Carolina racked up 576 yards of total offense, including five "big plays" of 25 yards or more. It was the Gamecocks' highest offensive output since 1995.

"We've done a lot of good things thus far in the fall, but we're not where we need to be yet," Skip Holtz said. "It's not the type of offense we need to be able to win week in and week out in this league."

The defense has changed as well, switching from a 4-3 to a 3-3-5. South Carolina's personnel promotes diversity on this side of the ball as well, with blitzing cornerbacks, linebackers, and safeties and defensive ends that drop into pass coverage. The Gamecocks already have seven interceptions, one less than they had all of last year. As a group, the unit is ranked No. 1 in the country is scoring defense and No. 3 in the country in total defense.

"To a certain extent, yes, I guess I've modernized," Lou Holtz said. "But there wasn't much of a choice."

That's because when Carolina was on offense, the opposition was stacking the offensive line with 8- and 9-man fronts and bump and run coverage on the wideouts. Now, by splitting everybody out, opposing defense needs those extra safeties in coverage, which pulls them away from run support.

So far, it's opened up the running game to perfection. By moving the safeties and doing more screen blocking at the line, Watson has had ample time to shake, juke, and plow his way to large chunks of yardage. Last year, he needed a magnifying glass to find any open holes.

In 2000, his seven touchdowns is tied with Deuce McAllister of Ole Miss for the SEC lead, while his 422 yards is second in the conference. Not bad for a sophomore who gained 394 yards and failed to score in 1999.

"People have chosen after our first game to defend the pass against us and make us run the football," Lou Holtz said. "This week against Mississippi State, well, they do both. So it should be quite a challenge for us. But I like the offense. It's fun to watch and the players enjoy playing in it."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer at ESPN.com.