LATTIMORE AND
GAMECOCKS BARELY
HANG ON TO BEAT NAVY 24-21
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Marcus
Lattimore ran for a career-high 246 yards and three touchdowns to help
No. 10 South Carolina hang on for a 24-21 victory over Navy on Saturday
night.
Lattimore carried 37 times and averaged 6.6 yards a carry. The Gamecocks
(3-0) ran 37 plays in the second half, and the sophomore touched the
ball on 26 of them.
The Midshipmen (2-1) ran their option efficiently, rushing for 274 yards
split among seven players.
After Lattimore was stopped for a loss for the first time in the game on
a fourth down, Navy got the ball at its 6-yard line with 5:34 left. But
Antonio Allen picked off a fourth down pass with a minute to go to seal
the Gamecocks win.
South Carolina was 1-2 as a Top 10 team under coach Steve Spurrier and
had a bad history against Navy. The Midshipmen beat a No. 2 South
Carolina team in 1984 - Navy's last win over a Top 10 team.
Quarterback Stephen Garcia again appeared to have an off night,
overthrowing several receivers and making a bad decision by throwing the
ball as he got hit that led to an interception on South Carolina's first
possession of the third quarter.
Spurrier then turned the game over to his star running back. Lattimore
touched the ball on 41 of his team's 69 plays. He also caught four
passes for 25 yards.
With the Gamecocks trailing 21-17 late in the third quarter, Spurrier
kept giving the ball to Lattimore. He never ran the ball more than 10
yards and touched it 11 times on a 15-yard drive that ended with his
7-yard run that put South Carolina ahead 24-21.
Navy had two more possessions, but couldn't get the offense going.
Freshman defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney kept breaking into the
backfield to hurry passes and cut off some of quarterback Kriss
Proctor's options.
Fullback Alex Teich led the Midshipmen with 93 yards rushing and a
touchdown. Proctor added 68 yards, as Navy ran for 274 yards against a
defense that was allowing just 137 yards a game coming in.
Garcia was 18 of 25 for 204 yards, mostly on short passes. Star receiver
Alshon Jeffery didn't start because he broke a team rule and finished
with two catches for 35 yards.
The difference in the game may have come at the end of the second
quarter. Navy stopped Garcia on a keeper, forcing a fourth-and-7 from
the Navy 49. The Midshipmen didn't call a timeout, and the Gamecocks let
the play clock run down before calling their own timeout with 24 seconds
to go.
Garcia then completed a 12-yard pass to Justice Cunningham and a 5-yard
pass to Lattimore, leaving enough time for Jay Wooten to kick a 48-yard
field goal to end the half.
