Oct. 14, 2012

Recap | Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery

GENERAL

• Captains for South Carolina were No. 36 D.J. Swearinger, No. 54 Shaq Wilson, No. 55 T.J. Johnson and No. 87 Justice Cunningham.
• Head coach Steve Spurrier moved into second on the all-time list at South Carolina for games coached. He has coached 97 career games and surpassed Paul Dietzel, who coached 96 games at Carolina. The record is held by Rex Enright with 140.
• The Gamecocks have 16 players that have started all seven games this season – wide receiver Ace Sanders, defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, safety Brison Williams, defensive back Jimmy Legree, defensive back Victor Hampton, spur DeVonte Holloman, tailback Marcus Lattimore, wide receiver Bruce Ellington, linebacker Reginald Bowens, guard A.J. Cann, linebacker Shaq Wilson, No. center T.J. Johnson, guard Ronald Patrick, defensive tackle Byron Jerideau, defensive end Devin Taylor, defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles.
• The 7-3 lead at halftime marked the Gamecocks’ first lead at halftime on the road. South Carolina is now 4-1 on the year when leading at halftime.
• The loss on Saturday snaps a 10-game winning streak for the Gamecocks dating back to last season. The winning streak was a school record. South Carolina is now 6-1 on the year and 4-1 in the SEC.

OFFENSE

• Senior center T.J. Johnson made his 47th career start for the Gamecocks. He is tied with Cliff Matthews (DE; 2007-10) for the school record in career starts. Johnson has started every game over the past four seasons.
• Junior wide receiver Ace Sanders tied a career-high for receptions in the game with five catches. He previously had five receptions in 2010 vs. Vanderbilt and 2011 vs. Kentucky. He also tallied his fourth touchdown reception of the season with a 2-yard reception in the second quarter. It ties him with tight end Rory Anderson for the team lead.
• Junior running back Marcus Lattimore scored in the third quarter on a 2-yard touchdown run. Lattimore now has 40 career touchdowns with 37 on the ground. Both are school records that he set earlier in the season. Lattimore has 240 career points scored and is 11 shy of Ryan Succop (2005-08) for second on the all-time list at South Carolina.
• Sophomore wide receiver Bruce Ellington scored his second touchdown of the season with a 1-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.

DEFENSE

• Junior defensive back Jimmy Legree’s interception in the first quarter was his second interception of the season and of his career. He returned the interception 70 yards, tying for the second longest play from scrimmage by the Gamecocks this season. Legree previously tallied an interception in the win over East Carolina on September 8. In that contest, Legree also scored a touchdown with a 34-yard return.
• Senior linebacker Shaq Wilson tallied a career-high 14 tackles. It was also the most tackles by a Gamecock player in a game this season. He also recorded his first sack of the season with a sack late in the third quarter for a loss of six yards. His previous career-high was 11, twice in his sophomore season in 2009, at Alabama and vs. Arkansas.
• Sophomore defensive back Victor Hampton also tallied a career-high in tackles with 10 on the evening. His previous high was four this season at Kentucky. Senior safety D.J. Swearinger recorded a season-high 10 tackles.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Ace Sanders had a punt return for 50 yards. He now has 313 punt return yards on the season and became the fifth player in school history with 300 or more punt return yards in a season. He is now ranked fourth in school history for single-season punt return yardage. The school record is 362 by Dick Harris in 1971.

TEAM NOTES

• LSU’s game captains were 46 Kevin Minter, 30 Drew Alleman, 99 Sam Montgomery, 64 P.J. Lonergan, 38 Drew Alleman.
• South Carolina won the toss and elected to receive. LSU received the kickoff in the second half.
• Tigers making their first career starts: Redshirt freshman offensive guard Trai Turner and true freshman Sam linebacker Lamar Louis.
  • Turner becomes the ninth different offensive lineman to start for LSU this season.
  • LSU’s starting offensive line featured: one true freshman (V. Alexander), one redshirt freshman (T. Turner), one sophomore (L. Collins) and two seniors (J. Dworaczyk and P.J. Lonergan)
  • Sam LB Lamar Louis becomes the fourth true freshman to start for LSU this season and the second true freshman linebacker to start for LSU this season joining Kwon Alexander. Louis and Turner become the 12th and 13th first-time starters this season.
  • LSU started its fifth different offensive line combination this season.

• LSU increased its school-record home win streak to 22 games, a figure that leads the nation. The win also marked the 15th-straight victory in a night game at Tiger Stadium. The last time LSU beat a top-five ranked opponent in a NIGHT game in Tiger Stadium was Oct. 11, 1997 when LSU upset No. 1 Florida 28-21, a Gators team coached by Steve Spurrier.
• LSU is now 18-1 under Les Miles in games following a loss, which includes a 7-0 record when a road loss is followed by a game in Tiger Stadium. LSU is 36-1 in Saturday night games under Les Miles.
• Les Miles now holds 15 wins against opposing head coaches who have won a national championship. The three wins over Steve Spurrier are tied for the most with Urban Meyer and Nick Saban.
• LSU has now won 40 of 44 games under Les Miles when winning the turnover battle which includes 24 straight games dating back to the Arkansas game in 2008.
• LSU is now 30-2 under Les Miles when a running back rushes for at least 100 yards in a game. LSU has won 16 consecutive games when a RB eclipses 100 rushing yards dating back to the Tulane game in 2008.
• The 16-play drive culminating with Drew Alleman’s 23-yard field goal tied for the longest drive of the season by LSU. The Tigers also had a 16-play drive in the third quarter that resulted in a 20-yard Alleman FG. LSU previously had a 16-play drive against North Texas in the third quarter of the season opener.
• The Tigers converted a season-best 11-of-19 third down conversions, eclipsing the previous best of 7-of-14 against North Texas. The last time LSU had double-digit third-down conversions was during the 2008 BCS National Championship Game against Ohio State when the Tigers converted 11-of-18.
• LSU held South Carolina to a season-low 211 total yards of offense, and the Tigers limited RB Marcus Lattimore to his third-lowest rushing output with 35 yards on 13 carries. He was held to 33 yards on 14 carries at Auburn and 30 yards on 11 carries against Arkansas during his freshman season in 2010.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

• RB Jeremy Hill set career highs in carries (17) and rushing yards (124) and tied his career-best with two rushing TDs. He tallied his third rushing touchdown of the season, scoring LSU’s first touchdown of the game and first in two games with a 7-yard rushing TD on the Tigers’ first drive of the second half. He scored his second touchdown of the night and fourth of the year from 50 yards out with 5:03 left in the game to extend LSU’s lead to 23-14. He became the third different LSU running back to eclipse the 100-yard rushing mark in a game this season, joining Alfred Blue and Kenny Hilliard.
• PK Drew Alleman drilled field goals of 23 yards with 5:32 in the first quarter, 20 yards with 10:17 in the fourth, and 22 yards with 6:37 in the fourth. With three made field goals tonight, he passed Chris Jackson (2003-06) for sole possession of ninth place on the LSU all-time list with 27 career FGs made.
  • Alleman tied his career high with four field goals attempted. He also attempted four FGs at Mississippi State in 2011.
  • Alleman is now 27-of-33 for his career and 12-of-17 for the season.
  • Alleman was 2-of-2 in PATs, increasing his streak to 89 straight, the second-longest streak in school history.

• LB Lamin Barrow finished with a career-best 12 tackles, shattering his previous high of nine which he set last week at Florida.
• S Eric Reid tallied his second interception of the season and sixth of his career with 9:13 in the fourth quarter.
• DE Sam Montgomery tallied 2.0 sacks against South Carolina, tying his career high that he posted at Alabama last season. Montgomery now has 15.0 career sacks, two shy of tying Anthony McFarland (1995-98) for 10th place on LSU’s all-time list.
• S Craig Loston recorded his first interception of the season and second of his career on the final play of the game. His first INT came against Louisiana-Monroe in 2010.