Throwback Thursday: Garcia sparks USC’s 2011 win over ECU

--- This story was originally published Sept. 3, 2011. ---

South Carolina’s quarterback competition is not finished, head coach Steve Spurrier said Saturday night.

Connor Shaw believes that it is.

“Obviously, Stephen, he’s our guy,” Shaw said after Garcia replaced him and helped the No. 12 Gamecocks to a 56-37 come-from-behind win over East Carolina in front of 58,272 fans in Bank of America Stadium.

“You could tell when he went in, the momentum switched over,” Shaw said. “He’s a fifth-year guy. The guys rally around him, and I completely understand that. I rally around him.”

South Carolina (1-0) fell behind 17-0 before Garcia entered the game with 9:45 left in the second quarter, but Garcia, the fifth-year senior whose 28-game starting streak ended Saturday night, engineered six touchdown drives despite a spotty statistical performance to win back the job.

“He’s back in the box,” head coach Steve Spurrier said. “He’s our starter. I said it’d work its way out. That’s how it has worked its way out.”

Spurrier announced Thursday that he planned to start Shaw over Garcia.

“How could I second guess myself?” Spurrier said. “I said we were going to have a competition and Connor outplayed him (in preseason camp). I never said he’s our quarterback for the year. I said he was going to start. It wasn’t any big, permanent deal.”

Garcia gave the Gamecocks “a good lift,” Spurrier said.

And they needed it. South Carolina lost four fumbles in the first half and trailed the Pirates, who were 6-7 and had the worst defense in the NCAA last year, 24-14 at halftime.

“We yelled for a minute (at halftime) and then we calmed down and said, ‘Hey, this may be good for us to be behind at halftime because our history has not been very good coming from behind, and we need to come from behind to win some ballgames,’ ” Spurrier said.

The Pirates helped by turning the ball over on each of their first three second-half possessions. The Gamecocks took their first lead of the game on a 10-yard run by Garcia with 10:40 left in the third quarter. On East Carolina’s next possession, spur Antonio Allen stripped running back Michael Dobson of the ball and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown to cap a stretch in which South Carolina scored 21 points in 1:59.

“Hopefully, we can tighten it up and play a little better next week,” Spurrier said. “Against a top-flight opponent, we would have been in trouble tonight the way we played. We need to pick it up.”

The two teams combined for nine turnovers. East Carolina had four fumbles and threw an interception (to defensive end Melvin Ingram). The 93 combined points tied for the third most in Gamecocks’ history.

Marcus Lattimore had 23 carries for 112 yards, and Alshon Jeffery had five catches for 92 yards. Sophomore wide receiver Ace Sanders added a 68-yard punt return for a touchdown, South Carolina’s first since 2003.

Garcia finished 7-for-15 passing for 110 yards and a touchdown. He rushed five times for 56 yards and two touchdowns, and he didn’t have a turnover.

“He was ready to play, he’s had a good attitude about it,” Spurrier said. “He cleaned up today, shaved up his beard, decided to act like a quarterback. I think the guys really admired and respected him for cleaning up and getting ready to play.”

Garcia characterized his effort as “decent.”

It was much better than Shaw’s. The sophomore underthrew two deep balls early and finished 3-for-9 for 21 yards. He also fumbled the ball at East Carolina’s 11-yard line to end the first possession of the game.

“I had hoped for better, but I am not disheartened by it,” he said. “I am thankful for the opportunity. It was fun. (Garcia) is a fifth-year guy. He’s been here, done that. He took us to the SEC championship game last year. That’s things you can just tell.”

This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 8:47 AM with the headline "Throwback Thursday: Garcia sparks USC’s 2011 win over ECU."