South Carolina opened its SEC schedule on the road by defeating Georgia 45-42.
Breaking it Down…1st Quarter…For the second consecutive week, South Carolina received the opening kick off, and for a second consecutive week, South Carolina didn’t score in the first quarter. The Gamecocks moved the ball for a first down on their first drive and had two first downs on their second drive but ultimately punted both times. Georgia had to punt on their first drive, but they were able to get a field goal on their second drive to go up 3-0. They extended their lead to 6-0 after a second field goal was set up by a Stephen Garcia interception….
2nd Quarter…Georgia had to settle for a third field goal attempt on their first possession of the second quarter, but they missed it wide right. Two possessions later, South Carolina finally got on the board from 34 yards out. Stephen Garcia scrambled from the pocket and rolled right to extend a play, and in doing so, he allowed Alshon Jeffrey to get open for the touchdown in the end zone. The Jay Wooten extra point gave the Gamecocks their first lead 7-6. That lead wouldn’t last for long because the Bulldogs came right back down the field and scored their first touchdown to lead 13-7. South Carolina went three plays without a first down, and on 4th and 7 at their own 32, they brought out the punting unit. The Gamecocks direct snapped to Melvin Ingram, one of the up men, who proceeded to take the ball 68 yards for the touchdown. The score at the half was 14-13, South Carolina.
3rd Quarter…Georgia scored on their second possession of the second half on a screen pass to Isaiah Crowell from 17 yards away to lead 20-14. The Gamecocks couldn’t pick up a first down, and after punting the ball away, it looked like UGa was going to take control of the game. After a Stephon Gilmore pass interference penalty gave the Bulldogs a first down at the Gamecocks 42 yard line, Gilmore picked up a Crowell fumble and weaved 56 yards to the Georgia 5 yard line. Stephen Garcia took the ball in himself two plays later to regain the lead 21-20. On the next series, Antonio Allen stepped in front of an Aaron Murray pass and returned it 25 yards for the touchdown to extend the lead to 28-20…
4th Quarter…The scoring really increased in the final frame. Georgia scored and completed the two point conversion to tie the game at 28 on their first possession of the quarter. South Carolina responded with a 10 play, 49 yard drive. Kicker Jay Wooten attempted and made his first field goal of the year from 49 yards to take the lead back 31-28. Georgia quickly came back down the field through the air and scored again to go up 35-31. USC turned to Marcus Lattimore. On a 6 play, 79 yard drive, Lattimore touched the ball on 5 plays. Ace Sanders had a not insignificant 30 yard reception in the midst of Lattimore’s touches, but it was Marcus who carried across the goal line for a 38-35 lead. It appeared that South Carolina’s defense couldn’t stop Georgia when they took the field again. On first down, Jadeveon Clowney sacked Aaron Murray and forced a fumble. Melvin Ingram picked it up and scored to push South Carolina’s lead to 45-35. Georgia quickly came down and scored to pull within 3, but Melvin Ingram recovered the on side kick and Marcus Lattimore got the last first down to seal the game.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| South Carolina | 0 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 45 |
| Georgia | 6 | 7 | 7 | 22 | 42 |
Stars of the Game…Melvin Ingram…1 rush 68 yards, TD, 1 fumble recovery and return for TD, 1 on side kick recovered…Marcus Lattimore…27 rushes for 176 yards, TD…Alshon Jeffrey…5 receptions for 85 yards, TD…Antonio Allen…6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT returned for TD…Jadeveon Clowney…2 sacks, 1 forced fumble…
What to Take from the Weekend…It’s so hard to have any perspective on this game without knowing more context about Georgia. Is this 0-2 Georgia team bad? If the answer is yes, then we should be happy about a road SEC win and hope to improve in many areas. Is Georgia a pretty good team? They have two losses to the #4 and #11 teams. If they’re pretty good, then this might be best seen as a great SEC road win.
Wins in Athens don’t just happen every day. This Georgia team is talented, and they were playing with a purpose. South Carolina had many opportunities to let the game get away from them, but they battled back each time and made big plays to put themselves ahead. There is certainly room for improvement, especially in the passing game on both sides of the ball, and the Gamecocks have a good opportunity to improve in both areas in the next four home games.
Many people picked Georgia to win the East. They now have to find a way to essentially make up two games on us because we hold the tie breaker. That won’t be easy. In that context, the win was essential to accomplishing the goals this team has laid out for itself.
This and That…South Carolina improves to 2-0, 1-0. Georgia is now 0-2, 0-1… The Gamecocks are ranked #11 in both polls…3rd Down Conversions: SC 4/14, GA 5/12…Total Yards: SC 395; GA 436…45 points was the 4th highest point total for 3 things: under Steve Spurrier, against Georgia and for an opponent in Sanford Stadium…Lattimore now had 288 yards and 4 TDs on the season…Against Georgia he now has 358 yards in two games…Antonio Allen has now scored a defensive touchdown in three consecutive regular season games: 37 yd INT v Clemson; 25 yd fumble v East Carolina; 25 yd INT v Georgia…
Up next…South Carolina finally opens Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday at 6 pm against Navy. The game will be on ESPN2.
