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A spurt of big runs gives USC the ground game it needs to KO Kentucky
Miles hits 100 mark to help carry Gamecocks
South Carolina freshman tailback No. 31 Kenny Miles breaks free for a long run in the third quarter.
Gerry Melendez/gmelendez@thesate.com
Written by SETH EMERSON
semerson@thestate.com
Posted on 10.11.09
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Third down, six yards to go and 2:26 left on the clock. At that point, the game could have gone either way.
One final time, Kenny Miles needed to come through - and the South Carolina tailback did.
Not only did he get the first down, but he burst up the middle for 14 yards, giving USC the yardage cushion it needed to seal a 28-26 victory against Kentucky.
But there was still one more goal for Miles, if he was aware of it.
At that point Miles had 96 yards for the game, but USC still needed to run some clock. On the next play, Miles' last carry of the game, he picked up 4 yards.
"It's kind of cool that the week before I got my first touchdown, this week I got my first 100-yard game," Miles said.
Miles is still officially part of a three-man tailback committee, but he continued to move closer to grabbing the job by getting 17 carries - compared to just three for Jarvis Giles and two for Brian Maddox.
Miles' longest run of the game was for 26 yards down to the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter. One play later quarterback Stephen Garcia dove in for the decisive touchdown.
"Give credit to Kenny Miles," coach Steve Spurrier said. "That run popped us down there to the one-yard line, and (he also came through on) third-and-six or seven there at the end."
The first half was a struggle for Miles and the running game. The tailbacks combined for 24 yards on 10 carries, with a 7-yard run by Miles being the longest.
Those long runs had been the reason the tailbacks, particularly Miles and Giles, had turned around the USC running game this season.
That burst returned in the second half.
Miles gained 14 yards the first time he touched the ball in the third quarter, moving the ball into Kentucky territory. The Gamecocks capped the drive with a touchdown.
Miles gave credit to the offensive line, which saw numerous personnel changes in the first half, for "pounding and pounding" until it paid off.
But the second-half success showed that the USC offense still relies on tailback bursts, rather than the classic three yards and a cloud of dust.
"It's definitely good to have the seven-yard gains, and then the six-yard gains and then popping the 20-yard gains," Miles said. "That's definitely good for the offense. It kind of provides upbeat motivation and momentum to go ahead into the series."
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Chris Culliver, Alshon Jeffery, Kenny Miles, Eric Norwood, Cliff Matthews and coaches Shane Beamer and Ellis Johnson comment after USC's win over Kentucky.
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Reach Emerson at (803) 771-8676.
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