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GAMECOCKS FALL 41-30 TO GEORGIA
Athens, Ga. –A back and
forth affair, “Between the Hedges,” went to the No. 11/12 Georgia
Bulldogs (1-1, 1-0 SEC) as the No. 6/7 South Carolina Gamecocks (1-1,
0-1 SEC) fell 41-30 in front of sellout crowd of 92,746 fans at
Sanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon. South Carolina sophomore
tailback Mike Davis rushed 16 times for career-high 149 yards and a
touchdown and senior quarterback Connor Shaw was 16-for-25 in the air
for 228 yards and two touchdowns in the loss for the Gamecocks.
It
was a day for the offense as the Gamecocks and Bulldogs combined for
1,090 total yards. South Carolina rushed for 226 with 228 in the
air while Georgia rushed for 227 and passed for 309 in the contest.
Davis
had an impressive 198 all-purpose yard performance that saw him with
also four receptions for 49 yards. Junior wide receiver Nick
Jones also had a career day for the Gamecocks as he caught six passes
for 97 yards and a pair of touchdowns, all career-highs as well.
Shaw added 75 rushing yards also.
Georgia was led by senior
quarterback Aaron Murray’s 17-for-23 day in the air for 309 yards and
four touchdowns. Georgia sophomore tailback Todd Gurley carried
30 times for 32 yards and a touchdown with Justin Scott-Wesley the
leading receiver with three catches for 116 yards and a touchdown.
South
Carolina took the opening drive 57 yards to set up for a 36-yard field
goal by Elliot Fry to take an early 3-0 lead. The Gamecocks mixed
the pass with the run including a pair of third down conversions that
featured a 14-yard pass completion by Shaw to Nick Jones and a 21-yard
rush by Mike Davis.
Georgia answered the Gamecocks on its
opening drive that was capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass by quarterback
Murray to tight end Arthur Lynch. The Bulldogs drove deep into South
Carolina territory on a 32-yard pass completion from Murray to Michael
Bennett and a 19-yard rush by Gurley. With 2nd & goal on the
3, Murray play faked and found Lynch in the end zone to give the
Bulldogs a 7-3 lead.
The Bulldogs showed some trickery following
the touchdown as they went with an onside kick that was recovered by
cornerback Blake Sailors to give Georgia another possession on their
own 48-yard line. The Bulldogs made its way into Carolina
territory for a second consecutive possession and went into the red
zone after a 4th & 13 completion from Murray to Scott-Wesley.
Inside the Gamecocks’ 10-yard line, Carolina held tough and UGA settled
for a Patrick Beless 22-yard field goal to extend the advantage to 10-3.
After
South Carolina went 3-and-out on its next possession, the Bulldogs went
seven plays and 69 yards to increase the lead to 17-3 on a 6-yard
touchdown pass from Murray to Keith Marshall. After Jadeveon
Clowney netted his first sack of the season, the Bulldogs made up for
the 10-yard loss with a 16-yard rush by Marshall followed by a 15-yard
face mask penalty on the Gamecock defense.
South Carolina responded
with a 12 play 84-yard drive to answer the Bulldogs and cut the deficit
to seven points. Sophomore tailback Mike Davis was key for the
Gamecocks as he picked up 42 all-purpose yards including a 23-yard rush
to begin the drive and a 3-yard carry on 4th & 2 at the UGA 11 to
keep the drive going. The Gamecocks would punch it in the end
zone on a 7-yard carry by Brandon Wilds.
The Gamecock defense
forced a 3-and-out for the Bulldogs on the next possession. South
Carolina then caught a break as punter Collin Barber mishandled the
snap allowing the Gamecocks to recover on the UGA 18-yard line.
South
Carolina rode the momentum of the punt mishap and responded quickly to
tie it up at 17 as Shaw found Jones in the corner of the end zone on
the first play for an 18-yard touchdown.
The pendulum swung to
Georgia as the Bulldogs went 11 plays in 70 yards in the ensuing drive
to reclaim a 24-17 lead. Gurley again was a focal point for
Georgia with 7 carries for 46 yards including a 2-yard touchdown run
with 1:42 remaining in the half.
South Carolina answered one
more time to tie the game at 24 going into halftime. With three
timeouts and 1:38 remaining on the Carolina 29-yard line, Shaw
manufactured an 11-play 70-yard drive capped by a 30-yard touchdown
pass to Nick Jones.
Deadlocked at 24 in the second half, the
Bulldogs capitalized on Carolina’s first turnover of the season to go
ahead 27-24 on Beless’ second field goal of the game. The
Gamecocks were driving and appeared to convert a fourth down but
quarterback Connor Shaw fumbled right before his knee hit the ground
allowing the Bulldogs to take over on the Georgia 25-yard line.
The Bulldogs followed the stop up with a 6-play 55-yard drive before
settling for a 37-yard field goal by Beless to go ahead 27-24 on the
Gamecocks.
Georgia extended the lead to 34-24 near the end of
the quarter on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Murray to Gurley.
The Bulldogs went 13 plays for 82 yards with Murray finding Gurley on
third down just eluding the sack attempt by Carolina defensive tackle
Kelcy Quarles.
South Carolina dug deep and responded again as
Davis tallied a 75-yard run from scrimmage to end the third quarter and
move the Gamecocks into scoring position at the Georgia 5-yard
line. The run for Davis was his second straight game with a
75-yard run from scrimmage. Three plays later, Davis scored on a
three-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt sailed left as
Georgia stayed ahead 34-30 with 13:55 remaining in the game.
With
Georgia 3rd & 13 on their own 15-yard line, Murray eluded another
Gamecock sack attempt and found Scott-Wesley behind the Gamecock
defensive backfield for a completion. Scott-Wesley took it down
the sideline and into the end zone to give Georgia a 41-30 lead with 13
minutes to go in the fourth quarter.
South Carolina made its way
back down the field one more time. Shaw and Shaq Roland were
dynamic together as the Gamecock quarterback completed passes for 16,
13 and 19 yards as Carolina moved into scoring position. South
Carolina was 1st & goal from the UGA 8-yard line. After a
1-yard loss, the Gamecocks moved near the end zone as Shaw rushed for
six yards followed by a 2-yard carry by Davis just short of the end
zone. On fourth and goal, Georgia held as Davis could not get
into the end zone resulting in a first down for the Bulldogs.
The
Bulldogs remained in possession the final 8:28 of the game with 13
plays to secure the victory including a 4th & 2 conversion with
2:42 in the game.
Junior defensive end Jadeveon Clowney
registered his first sack of the season. With his first sack,
Clowney moved into fourth place all-time on the Gamecock list with 22.0
in his career. He is 1.5 sacks behind John Abraham (23.5) for
third place. His sack also moved him into second place all-time
in tackles for loss. He had 2 tackles for loss and has 37.5 just
behind the career record holder Eric Norwood (54.5).
Sophomore
linebacker Kaiwan Lewis led the Gamecocks in tackles with 12 on the
afternoon. The 12 tackles were a career-high besting his previous
mark of three set last week vs. North Carolina. Sophomore safety
T.J. Gurley registered a career-high 11 tackles. His previous
career-high was nine that he set last week vs. North Carolina.
South
Carolina returns to action next week at home at Williams-Brice Stadium
hosting Vanderbilt on Saturday, Sept. 14. Kickoff is set for 7
p.m.
SOUTH CAROLINA GAME NOTES
South Carolina at Georgia
September 7, 2013
General Notes
Captains
for South Carolina were junior spur Sharrod Golightly, senior offensive
guard Ronald Patrick, senior quarterback Connor Shaw and senior
defensive end Chaz Sutton.
Saturday’s loss snapped a three-game
winning streak for the Gamecocks over the Bulldogs. It was the
Gamecocks first loss to Georgia since a 41-37 loss on Sept. 12, 2009 in
Athens. The loss also snaps a six-game winning streak for the
Gamecocks dating back to last season.
Offensive Notes
Sophomore
tailback Mike Davis carried 16 times for 149 yards, a
career-high. His day included a 75-yard run, the second
consecutive week he has tallied a rush for 75 yards. Davis also
had a career-high four receptions for a career-high 49 yards. He
finished the day with 198 all-purpose yards.
Junior wide
receiver Nick Jones also had a career day as he tallied six receptions
for 97 yards and two touchdown receptions, all career-highs.
Jones first touchdown reception came in the second quarter, an 18-yard
pass from Shaw with his second reception from 30 yards near the end of
the first half. Jones came into the contest with just one career
touchdown. His previous career-high for receptions was four in
three contests last year. His previous career-high for yards was
78 on January 1, 2013 in the Outback Bowl vs. Michigan.
Senior quarterback Connor Shaw went 16-for-25 in the air for 228 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
For
the second consecutive week, South Carolina scored on its opening
possession. The Gamecocks went 11 plays and 57 yards to take a
3-0 lead on a 36-yard field goal by Elliott Fry.
Defensive Notes
Junior
defensive end Jadeveon Clowney registered his first sack of the
season. With his first sack, Clowney moved into fourth place
all-time on the Gamecock list with 22.0 in his career. He is 1.5
sacks behind John Abraham (23.5) for third place. His sack also
moved him into second place all-time in tackles for loss. He had
2 tackles for loss and has 37.5 just behind the career record holder
Eric Norwood (54.5).
Sophomore linebacker Kaiwan Lewis led the
Gamecocks in tackles with 12 on the afternoon. The 12 tackles
were a career-high besting his previous mark of three set last week vs.
North Carolina.
Sophomore safety T.J. Gurley registered a
career-high 11 tackles. His previous career-high was nine that he
set last week vs. North Carolina.
Special Team Notes
Freshman
placekicker Elliott Fry went 1-for-1 in field goal attempts as he
converted his 36-yard attempt in the first quarter. He is now
3-for-3 on the year for the Gamecocks.
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