Sept. 19, 2015

ATHENS, Ga. – Greyson Lambert was 24-for-25 in the air for 330 yards and three touchdowns and Nick Chubb carried 21 times for 159 yards and two touchdowns as No. 7/8 Georgia (3-0, 2-0 SEC) defeated South Carolina (1-2, 0-2 SEC) 52-20 on Saturday at Sanford Stadium.

South Carolina junior quarterback Perry Orth went 6-for-17 in the air for 66 yards and also carried for a 4-yard touchdown in his first career start for the Garnet & Black. In his first significant action of the season, freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nunez came on to carry 10 times for 76 yards and scored his first career touchdown with a 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. He finished 4-for-5 in the air for 18 yards.

Both teams would trade field goals in the first quarter. The Bulldogs would go 71 yards on their first drive of the game and break ahead 3-0 on a 30-yard field goal by Marshall Morgan. South Carolina answered on the next drive. Orth would move the ball with a couple big plays as he connected on a 10-yard reception to Perry Orth and a 15-yard pass to D.J. Neal to break into Georgia territory. The Gamecocks would tie it at 3-3 after a 45-yard field goal by Elliott Fry.

Georgia scored on consecutive possessions in the second quarter to build a 17-3 lead. The Bulldogs regained the lead with an 82-yard drive in the second quarter capped by Nick Chubb’s 2-yard touchdown run. Chubb would carry six times for 35 yards on the drive with Lambert connecting on a pair of big passes with a 17-yard completion to Terry Godwin and a 20-yard pass to Jay Rome. After forcing the Gamecocks to punt the Bulldogs would use seven plays to go 88 yards with Sony Michel scoring on a 21-yard touchdown run.

The Gamecocks fought back on the next possession with a steady dose of the ground game on the way to a 4-yard touchdown run for Orth, his first career TD run as Carolina cut the deficit to 17-10. The Gamecocks would bring freshman quarterback Lorenzo Nunez in and he would start the drive off with a 17-yard gain on the ground. An 11-yard gain by Pharoh Cooper would break the Gamecocks into Georgia territory and Brandon Wilds followed with a 13-yard rush. Orth would come up big on a key 3rd & 6 on the UGA 23 as he connected with tight end Jerell Adams for a 15-yard completion. Two plays later, Orth went around left end on a quarterback keeper to score from four yards out for the Carolina score.

With 2:10 remaining in the second quarter, Georgia put together eight plays for 78 yards with Lambert going 5-for-5 in the air including a 5-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Mitchell to give the Bulldogs a 14-point lead.

Despite little time remaining in the quarter, Shon Carson gave the Gamecocks a spark with a 51-yard kickoff return with 15 additional yards tacked on after the play on a face mask penalty by Georgia’s Reggie Davis. With seven seconds left, Elliott Fry knocked a career-long 51-yard field goal through the uprights to cut the Gamecocks’ deficit to 24-13 as time expired for the first half.

Georgia would strike on the first drive of the second half with Lambert completing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Sony Michel. After a Carolina interception, they would connect again on an 11-yard score to build a 38-13 lead on the Gamecocks. The Bulldogs scored three touchdowns in the third quarter. Nunez would drive the Gamecocks in the fourth quarter with a 7-yard run. The Bulldogs followed that up with one more scoring drive.

GAME CHANGER

Georgia opened the 2nd half with a 5-play 75-yard drive in 1:45 and go ahead 31-13 on the Gamecocks. After an interception, Georgia would follow that up with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Lambert to Michel to take a 38-13 lead.

KEY STAT

Georgia scored on its first six possessions with a field goal and five touchdowns.

NOTABLES

• Junior placekicker Elliott Fry’s 51-yard field goal in the second quarter was the longest of his career and the longest by a Gamecock since Adam Yates’ 51-yard field goal at Florida on October 20, 2012. It ties for the ninth longest field goal in Gamecock history.
• Junior quarterback Perry Orth’s 4-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was his first career touchdown run.
• Senior Shon Carson’s 51-yard kickoff return near the end of the second quarter marked his longest career kickoff return. His previous long was 42 yards vs. Georgia on Sept. 13, 2014.
• Lorenzo Nunez’s 7-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter was his first career touchdown run. Nunez rushed 10 times for a career-high 76 yards. He also went 4-for-5 in the air for 18 yards. His 14-yard completion to Matrick Belton was his first career completion as well.
• Junior linebacker Skai Moore tied a career-high with 12 tackles. He also had 12 tackles last year at Florida.

UP NEXT

South Carolina returns home to host UCF in a non-conference tilt on Saturday, Sept. 26. Kickoff is set for Noon at Williams-Brice Stadium.