Sept. 25, 2010

Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery

• Head Coach Steve Spurrier: Falls to 180-69-2 (.721) as a collegiate head coach, 38-29 in his fifth year at South Carolina. He is now 10-6 against Auburn (0-3 at Carolina) and is now 109-38 against SEC teams (19-23 at Carolina).
• Records: South Carolina falls to 3-1, 1-1 in SEC play. Auburn improves to 4-0, 2-0 in the SEC. The Gamecocks are now 1-7-1 all-time against Auburn and have lost the last five meetings. Carolina is 0-3 all-time at Jordan-Hare Stadium, and Auburn remains the only team South Carolina has not beaten since joining the SEC in 1992.
• It’s Been a While: South Carolina has lost five straight road games and is winless in its last six SEC road contests dating back to the 2008 season.
• Against Ranked Foes: Under Spurrier, the Gamecocks are 8-16 against ranked opponents, including a 1-1 mark this season. Of those 16 losses, 10 have been by eight points or less.
• As a Ranked Team: The Gamecocks are 8-10 when ranked in the top 25 under Spurrier, dropping to 2-1 this year. Carolina is 1-7 on the road under Spurrier when ranked.
• Tonight marks only the third time in the Spurrier era that South Carolina lost after leading through three quarters. The Gamecocks are 34-3 in under Spurrier when holding a lead heading into the fourth.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• WR Alshon Jeffery caught his first two touchdown passes of the season in the first half and finished with 8 catches for a career-high 192 yards.
• Alshon Jeffery’s 69-yard catch in the third quarter was the second-longest of his career (80-yarder vs. Arkansas on 11/8/09).
• QB Stephen Garcia completed 15-of-21 passes for 235 yards and tied a career-high with 3 touchdown passes.
• Garcia moved into a tie for 6th place all-time in Carolina history with his 28th career touchdown pass, passing Jeff Grantz (26) and tying Bobby Fuller and Phil Petty in the all-time ranking. Next on the list is Tommy Suggs with 34 from 1968-70.
• QB Connor Shaw made his first appearance in an SEC game, completing 4-of-8 passes for 70 yards, but throwing two interceptions.
• WR Tori Gurley caught four passes (a career high) for 36 yards and a touchdown. It’s the fourth touchdown catch of his career and second of the season.
• The Gamecocks passed for 305 yards, the most since a 321-yard effort vs. Arkansas last season. The Gamecocks are 5-7 under Spurrier when passing for 300 or more yards.
• Carolina was 3-of-4 in the red zone, failing to score on the game’s final possession. It was the first red zone opportunity of the year where the Gamecocks failed to put points on the board (15-of-16 after tonight’s game).

DEFENSIVE NOTES

• LB Shaq Wilson made his first start of the year after missing the first three games with a hamstring injury. He made the most of it, recording seven tackles and recovering a pair of fumbles in the first half that led to two South Carolina touchdown-scoring drives.
• CB Stephon Gilmore shared the team lead with nine tackles, one short of a career high. He had one tackle for loss.
• LB Josh Dickerson set a career high with nine tackles, sharing the team lead with Gilmore.
• The Gamecocks allowed 305 rushing yards, the most of the season and the most since Florida rushed for 346 yards on Nov. 15, 2008.
• Auburn scored four touchdowns in the red zone, the first time the Gamecocks have allowed a red zone touchdown this season. The Gamecocks were the last team in the country to have not allowed a red zone touchdown.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• Chris Culliver had three kickoff returns for 66 yards tonight, moving him to 2,406 yards on 103 returns for his career. He is 92 yards away from second all-time in SEC history in return yards (Derek Pegues, 2,498).
• P Spencer Lanning punted three times for an average of 48.0 yards; including a long of 53.
• Lanning saw a streak of 37 straight PATs made come to an end as he missed after a bad snap in the second quarter.

UP NEXT
The Gamecocks have a week off before welcoming the nation’s top-ranked team, the Alabama Crimson Tide, to Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 9. Kickoff time and broadcast information is TBD.