South Carolina defeated Navy 24-21 at home on Saturday night.
Breaking it Down…1st Quarter…Navy won the toss and elected to receive. They couldn’t move the ball very far and punted. The Gamecocks moved the ball some, but they were unable to convert on fourth down and gave the ball back. Navy then scored to take a 7-0 lead. The Navy attack featured mostly running plays and mostly the option. South Carolina quickly answered with a Lattimore touchdown to tie the game at 7.
Read more after the jump.
2nd Quarter…The Midshipmen completed a 12 play, 77 yard drive with a touchdown to retake the lead 14-7. The Gamecocks again responded with a second Marcus Lattimore touchdown to cap a 10 play, 80 yard drive. Navy moved the ball more on their next possession but turned the ball over on downs at the Gamecock 38 yard line. USC moved the ball into field goal range, and Jay Wooten made the kick from 48 yards as the half expired.
3rd Quarter…South Carolina received the second half kick off, and moved the ball into the red zone before Stephen Garcia was intercepted. Navy then went back to the option, picked up three first downs and scored a touchdown to retake the lead 21-17.
4th Quarter…South Carolina responded to the second half deficit by grinding a long, 15 play, 79 yard drive that culminated in a third Lattimore touchdown run. The Gamecock defense stopped Navy on their next possession. The offense tried to put the game away. Facing fourth and two from the Navy 5, they elected to go for the first down or touchdown, but they didn’t get it. Navy managed two first downs on the next drive, but with time running low, they felt the need to throw the ball more. South Carolina was able to defend the Navy aerial attack easier than their ground game, and Antonio Allen intercepted a fourth down pass to end the threat and secure the game.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Navy | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Carolina | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
Stars of the Game…Marcus Lattimore…246 yards rushing, 3 TD…Antonio Allen…10 tackles, INT…Jason Barnes…4 receptions for 48 yards…Nick Jones…3 receptions for 52 yards…Jay Wooten…48 yard FG, 3 XP…
What to take away from this Game…Survive and advance. Playing option teams always creates problems for South Carolina. It doesn’t mean that USC wasn’t trying or that they aren’t good or that they are being undisciplined. It means that in a typical season you usually only play 1 game against a unique offense like this. That’s not much time to prepare for something unique. Because of that, you try to stop the opponent, but you understand that a rational expectation is that Navy may have some success.
This kind of game can only bring bad things for South Carolina. In a worst case scenario a loss would have marred the rest of the season. In a best case scenario a blowout of the Naval Academy isn’t going to strengthen the resume much. The most USC could hope for is to win the game without any injuries. That happened, so the game was a success.
This and That…South Carolina improves to 3-0 for the third time in the Steve Spurrier era…The Gamecocks are now ranked #12 in the AP and #10 in the Coaches’ Poll…Prior to the game Navy was 24-0 in games it held a lead going to the fourth quarter…USC held Navy to 274 yards rushing, 126 yards below their season average…Antonio Allen now has a take away (fumble recovery or interception) in four straight regular season games…The Gamecocks didn’t punt all night…
Up Next…South Carolina hosts undefeated Vanderbilt at 7pm at home on either ESPN or ESPN2.
