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Oct. 9, 2010

Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery media-icon-photogallery.gif

  • Head Coach Steve Spurrier: Improves to 181-69-2 (.722) as a collegiate head coach, 39-29 in his fifth year at South Carolina. He is now 7-5 all-time against Alabama, including a 1-2 mark while head coach at South Carolina.
  • Moving Up the Charts: With the win today, Spurrier tied Joe Morrison and Billy Laval for fourth all-time in Carolina history with his 39th win as Gamecock head coach.
  • Moving Up the Charts, Part 2: Steve Spurrier won his 107th game against SEC competition as head coach at an SEC school, moving into sole possession of second place in SEC history. Only Paul “Bear” Bryant, with 159 wins as head coach at Alabama and Kentucky, has more. He was tied with Mississippi’s John Vaught coming into today.
  • Records: South Carolina improves to 4-1, 2-1 in SEC play. Alabama falls to 4-1, 2-1 in the SEC. The Gamecocks are now 3-12 all-time against Alabama and snapped a two-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide with today’s win.
  • Giant Killers: South Carolina defeated the nation’s No. 1 team for the first time in school history, improving to 1-4 all-time against top-ranked teams. It was the third time in school history to defeat a top-5 opponent (Oct. 24, 1981, def. #3 North Carolina 31-13; Sept. 24, 2009, def. #4 Ole Miss 16-10).
  • Giant Killers, Part 2: South Carolina becomes the second known school to defeat the No. 1 team in the nation in the three major men’s sports in the same calendar year. With football’s win over No. 1 Alabama, they join men’s basketball’s victory over No. 1 Kentucky on Jan. 26, 2010, and the baseball team’s win over No. 1 Arizona State on June 22 en route to the College World Series title. The other known program to defeat No. 1 teams in three different men’s sports was Florida in 2007 as they defeated No. 1 Ohio State in both football and men’s basketball and earned two baseball wins over No. 1 Florida State.
  • Against Ranked Foes: Under Spurrier, the Gamecocks are 9-16 against ranked opponents, including a 2-1 mark this season.
  • As a Ranked Team: The Gamecocks are 9-10 when ranked in the top 25 under Spurrier, improving to 3-1 this year. Carolina is 8-3 at home when ranked under Spurrier, including a 5-0 mark at home the last two seasons.
  • Home Field Advantage: South Carolina is 12-1 in its last 13 home games, dating back to a 27-6 win over Tennessee on Nov. 1, 2008. That streak includes two wins over top-5 teams and four overall wins versus ranked opponents.
  • Stopping a Streak: South Carolina’s win snapped Alabama’s 19-game winning streak, dating back to the start of the 2009 season, and a 29-game regular-season winning streak dating back to the start of the 2008 season.
  • Coming to Our City: South Carolina is now 2-3 when ESPN’s College GameDay originates from Columbia. The other win came over Central Florida in Steve Spurrier’s Carolina debut on Sept. 1, 2005.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

  • With 35 points, the Gamecocks posted the highest point total against Alabama since Nov. 3, 2007, when the Crimson Tide surrendered 41 points to LSU in a 41-34 loss. The Gamecocks are 21-4 under Steve Spurrier when scoring 30 or more points.
  • In the Red Zone: The Gamecocks were 4-for-4 in red-zone scoring opportunities – all touchdowns – improving their SEC-leading number on the season to 19-for-20 with 17 touchdowns and two field goals.
  • With five touchdowns, the Gamecocks eclipsed the total number scored on Alabama through the Crimson Tide’s first five games (three).
  • RB Marcus Lattimore registered his first career receiving touchdown, with a nine-yard reception from Stephen Garcia in the first quarter. He finished with a career-high three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving), giving him a total of nine for the season. He finished with 93 rushing yards on 23 carries.
  • QB Stephen Garcia finished 17-for-20 (a career-best .850 completion percentage) for 201 yards, matching a career-best with three touchdowns and one interception. Garcia was only sacked once during the game. He also rushed seven times for 11 yards with a long run of 13. He completed his first nine passes in a perfect first half (9-for-9, 94 yards).
  • QB Stephen Garcia’s conversion on fourth and two in the first quarter was the first fourth down conversion of the season for South Carolina.
  • The Gamecocks rushed for 110 yards, the fourth time this season for the Gamecocks to top 100 rushing yards. Carolina is 4-0 in those games, and 31-8 under Spurrier when amassing 100+ rushing yards.
  • WR Alshon Jeffery caught 7 passes for 127 yards, his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season (just missed a fifth with 97 yards vs. Furman), and two touchdowns. He now has 625 yards on 34 catches this season and four touchdowns, giving him 80 career receptions for 1,388 career yards and moving him into 15th on the all-time receiving chart at Carolina.
  • RB Brian Maddox provided welcome relief for Lattimore in the second half, rushing five times for 28 yards, including a 17-yard run to move the Gamecocks inside the 5-yard-line.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

  • Alabama rushed for 36 yards, the second-fewest allowed by a Steve Spurrier-coached South Carolina team. Tennessee rushed for just 34 yards on Nov. 1, 2008. This marks a stark contrast to the 2009 contest in Tuscaloosa when the Crimson Tide rushed for 264 yards, 246 of them courtesy of Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. The Gamecocks have held all four home opponents to under 100 rushing yards this season.
  • With seven sacks, the Gamecocks tied a season high, matching their effort in the season’s third game against Furman. Along with the effort against Furman, it marked the most sacks by a Gamecock team since recording eight vs. Central Florida on Sept. 6, 1997.
  • In the Red Zone: South Carolina held Alabama to a 2-for-4 day in the red zone with one touchdown and one field goal. Gamecock opponents are now 12-for-20 (60%) in red-zone opportunities with just five touchdowns.
  • DT Melvin Ingram had a career day with 2.0 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, recording a total of four tackles.
  • CB Stephon Gilmore posted a career-high 2.0 sacks while sharing the team lead with nine tackles.
  • FS D.J. Swearinger shared the team lead with a career-high nine tackles and was credited with a QB hurry.
  • SPUR Antonio Allen had his first career sack and forced a fumble that would be recovered by DT Travian Robertson in the first half. Allen finished with five tackles in just his second start of the season.
  • LB Rodney Paulk was credited with 1.5 sacks (a career high) and three total tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

  • KR Chris Culliver had three kickoff returns for 70 yards with a long return of 37. He now has 106 career returns for 2,476 yards, remaining third in SEC history in both categories. He is one return and 22 yards away from moving into second all-time in both categories in league history.
  • PK Spencer Lanning was a perfect 5-for-5 in extra point attempts.
  • P Spencer Lanning punted twice for an average of 41.0 yards, including a 49-yarder.
  • The Gamecocks stopped a fake field goal attempt in the fourth quarter and pressured the Alabama special teams into a missed field goal, a missed extra point and a hurried punt for 15 yards during the game.

UP NEXT
The Gamecocks make their second road trip of the season for an SEC Eastern Division clash with the Kentucky Wildcats. Kickoff time and TV info for the Saturday, Oct. 16, matchup at Commonwealth Stadium will be announced later.

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