Oct. 15, 2011

Recap | Final Stats | Photo Gallery

GENERAL NOTES

• With the 14-12 win over Mississippi State, the Gamecocks set a school record with South Carolina’s fifth consecutive “true” road win. South Carolina defeated Vanderbilt, Florida and Clemson to wrap up the 2010 season, then won at Georgia earlier this year.
• South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier tallied his 50th win as head coach at South Carolina. He now owns a 50-34 record at the helm of the Gamecocks. Only Rex Enright (64) has won more games as the head coach at South Carolina.
• With the victory, the Gamecocks are now 6-1 for the 2011 season. This win makes the Gamecocks bowl-eligible for the eighth straight year, including every year under Spurrier.
• South Carolina has now won six consecutive games over Mississippi State dating back to a 23-19 win over the Bulldogs in 2000. South Carolina leads the all-time series history 8-6.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• Sophomore tailback Marcus Lattimore rushed for a four-yard touchdown in the second quarter. He now has 30 career touchdowns and is just three shy of the school record of 33 set by George Rogers (1977-80) and Harold Green (1986-89). He is also tied for third all-time in rushing touchdowns with 27 in his career. That ties him with Brandon Bennett (1991-94) and Andrew Pinnock (1999-02), four behind the school record of 31 held also by Rogers and Green.
• Lattimore became the 15th player in school history to rush for 2,000 or more career yards. Lattimore finished the game with 17 carries for 39 yards. Lattimore for his career has 412 carries for 2,015 yards. He passed Kent Hagood (1981-85) to move into 14th all-time in school history in rushing yards.
• Junior wide receiver Alshon Jeffery’s four-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter was his 20th career touchdown reception moving him into sole possession for second place for receiving touchdowns. He is now three shy of the school record 23 set by Sidney Rice (2005-06). Jeffery caught five passes for 24 yards in the game and is now tied for third all-time in school history in receptions with Zola Davis (1995-98) at 164. Jeffery also inched closer to the school record for receiving yards as he moved up to 2,731 career yards, 40 short of the school record 2,781 held by Kenny McKinley (2005-08).
• Sophomore quarterback Connor Shaw was effective in the air as he went 20-for-28 for 155 yards as well as a touchdown.
• Freshman Bruce Ellington was key for the Gamecocks in three different offensive categories as he rushed four carries for 25 yards, completed 2-of-3 passes for 24 yards and caught four passes for 32 yards as a receiver.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

• Junior linebacker Quin Smith made his first career start in Saturday’s game.
• Junior free safety D.J. Swearinger finished the afternoon with 12 tackles, a career-high. His previous career-high was nine vs. Alabama on Oct. 9, 2010. Swearinger also had an interception in the fourth quarter, his second consecutive game with an interception and the third of his career. Swearinger had an interception in last week’s 54-3 win vs. Kentucky and his first career reception vs. Troy on Nov. 20, 2010.
• Senior spur Antonio Allen also compiled 10 tackles on the afternoon, marking the fourth time in seven games this year that he has recorded 10 or more tackles in a game.
• Senior defensive tackle Travian Robertson set a season-high for tackles in a game with seven. His previous high was six in the season opener vs. East Carolina on Sept. 3, 2011.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• Senior punter Joey Scribner-Howard had a 60-yard punt in Saturday’s game, the longest punt of the season for him. His previous high was 59, twice, at Georgia (Sept. 10, 2011) and vs. Auburn (Oct. 1, 2011). Scribner-Howard had six punts for 230 yards, an average of 38.3.