BIG TIME PLAYERS
MAKE
BIG TIME PLAYS IN
BIG TIME GAMES
AS USC OUTLASTS UGA 45-42!
ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - South
Carolina gained the upper hand in the Southeastern Conference East by
taking advantage of every Georgia mistake.
The No. 12 Gamecocks scored twice off turnovers, including defensive end
Melvin Ingram's second touchdown with 3:12 remaining and held on to beat
error-prone Georgia 45-42 Saturday, giving embattled coach Mark Richt
another galling loss.
South Carolina (2-0, 1-0 SEC) set up another touchdown with a long
fumble return, and the 276-pound Ingram scored his first career TD on a
68-yard run with a fake punt. Georgia (0-2, 0-1) got four touchdown
passes from Aaron Murray but simply couldn't overcome all the major
blunders.
Antonio Allen returned an interception 25 yards for a TD in the third
quarter. After Marcus Lattimore put the Gamecocks back ahead, 38-35, on
a 3-yard run with 3 1/2 minutes left, one more mistake doomed the
Bulldogs.
Freshman Jadeveon Clowney burst through the line without being blocked
and threw down Murray, who lost the ball before slamming the ground.
Ingram batted it toward the end zone and picked it up there for an
improbable two-touchdown performance by the fifth-year senior.
Lattimore had another big game against the Bulldogs, rushing for 176
yards on 27 carries. Georgia piled up plenty of years, with Murray
throwing for 248 and freshman Isaiah Crowell rushing for 118. But the
Gamecocks got TDs out of all three turnovers by the home team, which
desperately needed a win after an opening 35-21 loss to No. 4 Boise
State.
Crowell had some big runs but also made a huge mistake, fumbling a
handoff around midfield. The ball bounced into the South Carolina
secondary, where Stephon Gilmore picked it up and went 56 yards all the
way to the Georgia 5. From there, Stephen Garcia scrambled up the middle
for a 8-yard touchdown run on an otherwise forgettable day for the
senior in his return as starting quarterback.
From there, it went back and forth. Allen's TD stretched South
Carolina's lead to 28-20. Michael Bennett hauled in a 19-yard pass for
Georgia, and a two-point conversion tied it up. Jay Wooten's 49-yard
field goal put South Carolina back ahead 31-28. The Bulldogs reclaimed
the lead on Crowell's 15-yard touchdown run.
Finally, Lattimore put the Gamecocks ahead to stay.
After Murray threw for another score, hitting Tavarres King on a 33-yard
pass with 2:15 to go. But Ingram recovered the onside kick, and
Lattimore ran for the clinching first down.
