MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- South Carolina and
Houston put on a record-setting offensive show for the first 30 minutes of
the Liberty Bowl. The Gamecocks provided the defense when it mattered most.
Defensive end Jordin Lindsey came up with
two turnovers for a defense that slowed down Houston in the second half, and
South Carolina beat the Cougars 44-36 Friday for its first bowl victory
under coach Steve Spurrier.
Blake
Mitchell tied a bowl record by throwing four touchdown passes, Cory
Boyd ran for two more TDs as the Gamecocks (8-5) finished Spurrier's
second season with their best record since going 9-3 in 2001.
Houston (10-4) came in with a six-game
winning streak and looking to cap its Conference USA championship season.
The Cougars, who went 0-11 in 2001, had Kevin
Kolb making his 50th start at quarterback and leading the nation's
sixth-best offense.
Instead, the Cougars lost their seventh
straight bowl game, third under coach Art Briles, and have not won a bowl
since the 1980 Garden State Bowl.
Houston led 28-27 at the half, but South
Carolina held the Cougars to 63 yards in the third quarter when the
Gamecocks took control. They sacked Kolb three times, forced two turnovers
and stopped the Cougars twice on fourth down in the fourth quarter.
THE GOOD
Mitchell, the game's Most Valuable Player,
was 19-of-29 for 323 yards and tied a Liberty Bowl record with 4 TD passes.
THE BAD
The Gamecocks defense gave up 512 yards of
offense to the Cougars but the Houston managed only 200 in the second half.
THE UGLY
The ugly play of the game belongs to
Houston which was also the turning point of the game. In the shotgun on
third-and-goal at the 8, a bad snap went wide right of Kolb, who tried to
chase down the ball and kicked it out of bounds for a penalty. That forced
Houston to punt from midfield after having first-and-goal.
