Sept. 10, 2011

Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery

GENERAL NOTES

• The 45-42 South Carolina win over Georgia is the most points combined between the two schools in a game in the series. The previous high was 86 points in a 52-34 Georgia win over South Carolina in Athens on Oct. 31, 1970. South Carolina’s 45 points is also the most points the Gamecocks have ever scored vs. Georgia in the series history.
• Saturday’s win gives the Gamecocks a 2-0 start for the third time in seven years under head coach Steve Spurrier.
• Saturday’s win gives the Gamecocks back-to-back wins over the Bulldogs for the first time since the 2000 and 2001 seasons and for just the sixth time in the history of the series, which dates back to 1894. South Carolina also defeated Georgia in back-to-back years in 1903-04, 1958-59, 1978-79 and 1988-89.
• Saturday’s win moved Steve Spurrier into sole possession of second place on the all-time wins list at South Carolina with 46 moving him past Jim Carlen who owns 45 career wins. Rex Enright is the school record holder with 64 career wins over 15 seasons.
• The 45 points for the Gamecocks ties for the fourth highest point total by the Gamecocks by a team coached by Steve Spurrier.
• South Carolina has totaled 101 points in the first two games of the 2011 season. In the combined games, South Carolina has scored three defensive touchdowns as well as two touchdowns on special teams to go along with nine offensive touchdowns.
• Melvin Ingram became just the third player in college football since 2006 to score a touchdown on both offense and defense in the same game.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• Sophomore wide receiver Ace Sanders made his first career start at wide receiver for the Gamecocks. Saturday’s game was the 16th of Sanders’ career.
• Junior wide receiver Alshon Jeffery’s touchdown reception in the second quarter for 34 yards gives him 16 career touchdown receptions moving him past Phillip Logan (1974-77) for seventh all-time in career touchdown receptions at South Carolina.
• Senior quarterback Stephen Garcia’s eight-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was his third rushing touchdown of the season.
• Sophomore tailback Marcus Lattimore tallied his sixth 100+yard rushing game of his career and his second straight of the 2011 season. Lattimore finished the game with 27 carries for 176 yards with a touchdown vs. Georgia. It was the third highest rushing game of his career at South Carolina. For the season, Lattimore has 50 carries for 288 yards and four rushing touchdowns. In two games vs. Georgia in his career, Lattimore has carried 64 times for 358 yards for the Bulldogs. Lattimore went for 37 carries for 182 yards on Sept. 11, 2010 in Columbia as a freshman vs. Georgia. Lattimore has 1,485 career rushing yards, he is five shy of Alex Hawkins (1956-58) for 24th all-time in USC history in yards rushing.
• South Carolina rushed for a total of 253 net yards in Saturday’s win vs. Georgia. That is the second highest total of rushing yards by the Gamecocks under a team coached by head coach Steve Spurrier.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

• Junior defensive tackle Aldrick Fordham made his first career start for the Gamecocks. Saturday’s game was the 22nd of Fordham’s career.
• Freshman defensive end Jadeveon Clowney registered his first career sack in the second quarter. He would also get credited with a sack in the fourth quarter that resulted in a fumble return for a touchdown by Melvin Ingram.
• Junior cornerback Stephon Gilmore had a fumble recovery that went 56 yards in the third quarter. It is the second consecutive season that Gilmore has had a fumble recovery against the Bulldogs. He has four fumble recoveries in his career with the Garnet & Black.
• Senior spur Antonio Allen’s 25-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter was his third consecutive regular season return for a touchdown. Allen had a 37-yard interception return at Clemson on Nov. 27, 2010, the last regular season game of 2010 and a 25-yard fumble return vs. East Carolina in the first game of the 2011 regular season on Sept. 3, 2011.
• Senior defensive lineman Melvin Ingram scored on a five-yard fumble return in the 4th quarter. It was his second touchdown of the game, his previous touchdown coming on a fake punt run for 68 yards.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• Melvin Ingram’s 68-yard run on a fake punt marked the second straight week that South Carolina has scored a touchdown on special teams. In week one vs. East Carolina, the Gamecocks scored on a 68-yard punt return by Ace Sanders.
• Senior punter Joey Scribner-Howard’s 59-yard punt in the second quarter was the longest of his career.
• Senior placekicker Jay Wooten’s 49-yard field goal in the fourth quarter was the longest of his career with the Garnet & Black.

UGA-USC Series: Tonight marked the highest scoring game in series history as the teams combined for 87 points. The previous was in 1970 in Athens when Georgia won 52-34. USC scored 21 points off three Bulldog miscues. For the eighth time in the last 11 meetings, the margin of victory was seven points or less. Georgia is 6-5 in these games. After playing two teams ranked in the top 12, the Bulldogs are now 0-2 for the first time since 1996.

Boykin’s Versatility: Senior CB/KOR Brandon Boykin saw action on defense, special teams and offense for the second straight week. He had two tackles, one interception, 14 rushing yards and 184 kickoff return yards on a school record seven returns. The 184 yards ranks third best in school history. In the fourth quarter, he had a key 58-yard kickoff return that setup a TD with 6:28 left for a brief 35-31 edge.

Crowell Scores First TD: Freshman RB Isaiah Crowell scored his first career touchdown at the 6:09 mark in the third period to give the Bulldogs a 20-14 lead. During the 43-yard scoring drive, Crowell accounted for all of the yards with two catches and two rushes. The receptions were also the first two of his career. Georgia’s other #1, Branden Smith, set up the scoring drive on a 32-yard punt return. Crowell finished the game with a team-high 118 yard rushing and 40 yards receiving. This is the first 100-yard rushing game for the Bulldogs since Washaun Ealey accomplished the feat versus Georgia Tech last year with 118.

Murray Gets 4 TD Passes: Sophomore QB Aaron Murray (19-for-29, 248 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT ) set a career high with four touchdown passes against the Gamecocks. Wooten, Bennett Comes Through: Junior FLK Rantavious Wooten hauled in a 26-yard touchdown from Aaron Murray at the 2:53 mark to give the Bulldogs a 13-7 edge. This was Wooten’s first score of the year and the fourth of his career. In the fourth quarter, redshirt freshman SE Michael Bennett grabbed his first career touchdown. Bennett’s three catches in the game marked the first in his career. Following Bennett’s score, Murray connected with junior Tavarres King for a 2-point conversion to tie the game at 28-all. This was the first 2-point conversion for the Bulldogs since Murray completed one versus Florida in 2010.

Two More Picks: The Bulldogs tallied their second and third interceptions of the year in the opening half as junior FS Bacarri Rambo snagged a pick late in the first quarter. This is the sixth INT of his career. Georgia turned the INT into a field goal and has now scored three points on three turnovers. Senior CB Brandon Boykin grabbed his first pick of the year as the second quarter expired near the Bulldog goal line. Boykin now has seven in his career and is the team’s active leader. Branden Smith had Georgia’s first INT of the year against #5 Boise State last weekend. Walsh Moves To Third Place in Scoring: Senior PK Blair Walsh tallied nine points to move into third place all-time in Bulldog history with 315 career points, passing Herschel Walker who had 314. Walsh connected on his first two field goals of the year after hitting a 37 yarder with 5:59 remaining in the opening period and another 39 yarder at the 3:09 mark in that quarter. However, he missed his third attempt at 33 yards. He is now 16-for-21 from the 30-39 yard range and 57-for-72 in his career.

Gamecocks’ Fake Punt: South Carolina’s DE Melvin Ingram ran a fake punt back 68 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter to put the Gamecocks up 14-13. This marked the first fake punt attempted versus the Bulldogs since Vanderbilt’s Brett Upson ran a 7-yard rush to get a first down in 2009. Ingram added a 5-yard fumble return for a TD in the fourth quarter, the first against the Bulldogs since 2006 (Ray McDonald, UF).

Starters: The Bulldogs had three first-time starters. Redshirt sophomore OLB Chase Vasser, redshirt sophomore OG Dallas Lee and freshman ILB Amarlo Herrera all took the field as starters for the first time. Herrera is the second true freshman Bulldog to start a game this year after WR Malcolm Mitchell started versus #5 Boise State.

Captains: Georgia’s captains on Saturday were senior C Ben Jones, junior ILB Christian Robinson, senior DE DeAngelo Tyson and senior TE Aron White.

Helmet Decal: The Bulldogs wore black #23 decals on the back of their helmets today with the initials “J.E.” above the number. The initials stand for Valdosta native James Eunice. Eunice was expected to be a walk-on this fall, but drowned in an accident earlier this year.

Up Next: The Bulldogs will host Coastal Carolina in Athens on Saturday, Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. The game will be pay-per-view.