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Oct. 29, 2011

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

GENERAL NOTES

  • The Gamecocks have surrendered the first points in all eight games this season and 11 straight games dating back to last year. Carolina is 8-3 in those contests. The last time South Carolina scored first in a game was against Troy on Nov. 20, 2010.
  • With Saturday’s victory, South Carolina has won its last six “true” road games, which is a school record. The Gamecocks won at Vanderbilt, Florida and Clemson to close out the 2010 season. Carolina has claimed victories at Georgia, Mississippi State and now Tennessee this season.
  • Saturday’s win was South Carolina’s second all-time in Knoxville. The Gamecocks are now 14-2 at Tennessee.
  • Head coach Steve Spurrier is 13-8 all-time against Tennessee, including a 4-3 mark as head coach of the Gamecocks
  • Saturday’s win was No. 550 all-time for South Carolina. The Gamecocks are now 550-542-44 all-time.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

  • Freshman running back Brandon Wilds made his first career start in Saturday’s game.
  • Wilds amassed a career-high 137 yards rushing on 28 carries, averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
  • Wilds finished the night with 168 yards of total offense as he also had a career-high 31 yards receiving.
  • Freshman tight end Rory Anderson hauled in 23-yard touchdown pass from Connor Shaw in second quarter for first career touchdown reception. Anderson entered the night with three receptions for 67 yards.
  • The Gamecocks put together the longest scoring drive of the season with a 20-play, 98-yard drive that chewed up 11 minutes and 35 seconds of the third-quarter clock. The drive ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by Connor Shaw to give Carolina a 14-3 lead. The drive is the third longest scoring drive by yards in school history and is the longest scoring drive by time by two minutes and 33 seconds, breaking the previous record of 9:02 set against Troy (11/20/10). The Gamecocks have two scoring drives of 99 yards in school history, accomplishing the feat against Arkansas (11/4/06) and Vanderbilt (10/24/09).
  • Wilds and Shaw carried the load on Carolina’s 98-yard drive. Wilds rushed for 51 yards on the drive, while Shaw added 33 yards on the ground, including a 5-yard touchdown run to cap the drive.
  • Shaw improves to 4-0 as the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback, making him just the third quarterback in Carolina in the last 30 years to start his career with four straight wins. Steve Taneyhill (1992) and Chris Smelley (2007) also accomplished the feat.
  • Junior receiver Alshon Jeffery caught three passes for 17 yards, leaving him 33 yards shy of tying Kenny McKinley (2,781) as the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

  • Freshman defensive tackle Kelsey Quarles made his first career start on Saturday.
  • Junior defensive back D.J. Swearinger intercepted a Justin Worley pass at the Carolina 2-yard line early in the third quarter to move into a tie for the team lead with three interceptions on the season.
  • The Gamecocks have recorded 16 interceptions this season, including 12 over their last four games. The school record for interceptions is 23, which has been set three times: 1981, 1984 and 1987.
  • South Carolina has forced 26 turnovers on the season, recovering 10 fumbles and recording 16 interceptions. The Gamecocks entered the contest tied with Oklahoma State for second in the nation in turnovers gained. Carolina’s best season under head coach Steve Spurrier in forcing turnovers was in 2008, when it forced 27 turnovers. The school record for turnovers gained in a season is 29, set in the 12-game 1987 campaign.
  • Junior defensive back Stephon Gilmore picked off a Justin Worley pass in the end zone at the 12:19 mark of the fourth quarter to move into a tie for the team lead with three interceptions this season.
  • South Carolina’s defense has been stellar over the last six contests, as it has allowed only 58 points, which is an average of 9.7 points per game.
  • Saturday marks the third time this season the Gamecock defense has held a team to less than 200 yards of total offense. The Gamecocks held Tennessee to 186 yards on Saturday. Carolina held Vanderbilt (77) and Kentucky (96) below 100 yards earlier in the season.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

  • Stephon Gilmore blocked a 47-yard field goal attempt by Tennessee’s Michael Palardy in the first quarter, marking the first time South Carolina has blocked a field goal since its 2009 matchup with the Vols in Knoxville.

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