USC Freshman running back Marcus Lattimore
From GamecockCentral.com
COLUMBIA -- True freshman Marcus Lattimore rushed for 182 yards on 37 carries to lead South Carolina to possibly the biggest victory of the Steve Spurrier Era, a dominating 17-6 win over Georgia Saturday afternoon before a sold-out crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium.
It was the first win over Georgia in Columbia since 2000 and snapped a two-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
Lattimore put the Gamecocks on his shoulders and they happily obliged in letting the impressive freshman carry them to a 2-0 record for the first time since 2007.
Stephen Garcia completed 12 of 17 passes for 165 yards in his second straight solid outing.
Trailing 14-3, Georgia took the second-half kickoff and drove midway into USC territory with Murray, feeling little pressure from USC's pass rushers, completing his first three passes.
UGA converted a 3rd-and-9 on a pass to Kris Durham, improving the Bulldogs to 3-of-3 on third downs in the drive. But on the fourth attempt on third down, Murray was buried under a gang of Gamecock tacklers.
The Bulldogs settled for a 26-yard field goal by Blair Walsh with 8:17 left in the third quarter, capping a 12-play, 64-yard drive. The kick cut USC's lead to 14-6.
After an off-sides gave USC a first-down, Garcia completed a long pass to Alshon Jeffery down the middle of the field. But moments later, Garcia took several steps forward after feeling pressure and fumbled the football.
Georgia recovered at the 24 yard line. It was USC's second turnover of the season in seven quarters.
Strong safety DeVonte Holloman bit on a fake and allowed a 55-yard completion to Durham.
But USC got a major break when Ealey fumbled inside the 5-yard line. Gilmore scooped it up and ran out of bounds at the 14-yard line.
The play was reviewed but the fumble call was upheld, giving USC a key stop.
After USC drove out to the 36, Lattimore ripped off a 9-yard gain to the 45.
The third quarter ended with USC near midfield and holding a 14-6 lead.
Lattimore ended the third quarter with 126 yards rushing on 28 attempts. Garcia was 11-of-15 for 161 yards throwing the football through the first 45 minutes.
Garcia was sacked on third down for a loss of nine yards. The UGA punt returner, though, went back wards on the return and was brought down at the UGA 10.
But the defense stopped UGA cold, forcing another three-and-out. Gilmore caught the punt and was driven out of bounds at midfield.
Unfortunately, the Gamecocks couldn't take advantage of the good field position as Garcia was sacked for a huge loss on second down.
But a block in the back penalty on the punt return drove UGA back to the 9-yard line. The Gamecock defense stood tall again, forcing yet another three-and-out.
Lattimore promptly ripped off a 16-yard gain and then bounced off several would-be UGA tacklers for another long gain to the UGA 37. By that point, the UGA defense had to be shaken its head wondering what they had to do.
Showing no signs of tiring, Lattimore gained 24 more yards on first down all the way to the UGA 13. A couple more carries and he picked up a precious first down at the UGA 2.
USC smartly ran a couple more play to run the clock down to 2:05 remaining before calling a timeout.
Following a false start penalty, Lanning calmly booted a 23-yard field goal to give USC a 17-6 lead with 1:12 left.
USC dominated the opening 30 minutes, outgaining UGA by a wide margin, 228-73. USC had 121 rushing yards compared to 41 for Georgia.
USC held the ball for 19:18 of the first half and picked up 15 first downs to four for UGA.
USC is looking to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2007, as well as snapping a two-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
If USC is able to hold on in the second half, the win would be just their third over UGA in the last nine meetings.
Stephen Garcia completed nine for 13 passes for 107 yards in the first half. UGA quarterback Aaron Murray finished the first half 4-for-8 for 32 yards.
USC took the opening kickoff and promptly commence one of the more impressive drives in recent memory, a 16-play, 79 yard drive for a touchdown.
It was the second longest opening drive in the Steve Spurrier Era.
Lattimore carried it 10 times for 50 yards on the drive as the freshman wasted no time putting his stamp on the game.
Early in the drive, Lattimore ripped off a 16-yard gain for a first down on a 3rd-and-12 play from the 19-yard line, a gutsy play call from Spurrier and a testament to the freshman's unique abilities.
It appeared USC had scored a touchdown when Alshon Jeffery caught a short pass, fumbled around the 2-yard line and Tory Gurley alertly picked it up and stepped into the end zone.
But a replay review showed Jeffery's knee hit the ground before he fumbled.
No matter. Lattimore scored from two yards out on the ensuing play to give USC a 7-0 lead with 6:58 left in the first quarter.
As expected, Georgia turned to the ground game early before Murray, well protected by his offensive line, hit a pair of third-down passes for a fresh set of downs.
The drive stalled at the USC 10 when another third down pass fell short and the Bulldogs settled for a 30-yard field goal by Blair Walsh - a chip shot for him - to give Georgia their first points of the day.
USC opened its second possession of the game in the waning moments of the first quarter. Quickly, the Gamecocks faced a 3rd-and-7 situation and picked up just enough yardage for a first down on a pass to tight end Justice Cunningham.
The play seemed to energize the USC offense, which quickly moved to the UGA 33, where Garcia barely overthrew Jason Barnes.
The play loomed large seconds later when Garcia fumbled the snap and fell forward for a short gain on third down.
Lanning came out and with the wind not a factor, attempted a 51-yard field goal. But the kick fell several yards short, keeping USC's lead at 7-3.
USC forced a three-and-out from the UGA offense as Devin Taylor sacked Murray on 3rd-and-2 when the Bulldogs surprisingly lined up in the shotgun.
The Gamecocks ended up with good field possession at the USC 33 when the punt from Drew Butler bounced several yards towards the UGA end zone.
Lattimore went to work again on second down, powering ahead for 11 yards on 2nd-and-12. He picked up the first down with a six-yard gain out towards midfield.
But the drive stalled there and the Gamecocks were forced to punt for the first time. Lanning's 54-yard punt sailed into the end zone.
The USC swarmed around Ealey on 3rd-and-2 and tackled him a yard short of the field down.
USC continued to ride the back of Lattimore. His 18th carry of the first half registered a first down at the USC 48.
When USC faced a 3rd-and-2, Garcia connected with Jeffery on a screen pass and the sophomore from Calhoun County went to work, racing to the UGA 21 before he was driven out of bounds.
Back-to-back time outs with 2:47 left preceded USC's first-down play. Garcia rolled right and found Lattimore over the middle for a 16-yard gain to the UGA 5.
Two plays later, Lattimore powered over from two yards out to give USC a 14-3 lead with 1:34 left in the second quarter. When the scoring play ended, Lattimore had 103 yards rushing in 30 minutes of football and four touchdowns in his first two games.
When Joey Scribner-Howard booted the ball out of bounds, giving UGA possession at the 40, the USC rose up and forced another three-and-out.
Maddox entered the game for the first time and ran up the middle twice for 13 yards the run out the clock in the first half with USC leading 14-3.
SCORING SUMMARY:
1Q - USC, Lattimore 2 yard run (Xpt Good)(USC 7-0)
1Q - UGA, Walsh 27 yd FG, 00:38 (USC 7-3)
2Q - USC, Lattimore 2 yd run (Xpt Good), 1:34 (USC 14-3)
2Q - UGA, Walsh, 26 yd FG, 8:17 (USC 14-6)
4Q - USC, Lanning, 23 yd FG, 1:15 (USC 17-6).
