Beasts of the East: USC dominates Dogs

South Carolina turned the biggest game in Williams-Brice Stadium history into a blowout.

Now it’s on to the next Game of the Century.

The No. 6 Gamecocks began the most important three-game stretch of their season by demolishing No. 5 Georgia 35-7 in front of a record home crowd of 85,199. South Carolina (6-0, 4-0) leaves home this week to take on No. 4 LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” said junior running back Marcus Lattimore, who had 109 yards on 24 carries. “I expected it to be a dog fight the whole game, but we came out with a fire we need to come out with every week. We definitely sent a message out to the whole country. This is not the old South Carolina. We can play with anybody.”

Saturday was the first time two such highly ranked teams met in Columbia, but the Gamecocks looked like the only ones worth their position. South Carolina led 21-0 – on two touchdown passes by Connor Shaw and a 70-yard punt return by Ace Sanders – before 10 minutes had expired and needed to do little else from there.

The Gamecocks totaled 392 yards on 51 rushes and 10 passes.

“How do you score that many points only throwing 10 passes?” South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier wondered.

The Gamecocks, who missed their first shutout of Georgia in 108 years by just 1 minute and 55 seconds, posted their third straight win over the Bulldogs for the first time in history and set a new school record with their 10th straight win. South Carolina has won 14 of its last 15 games against SEC East opponents.

“One thing we will have to guard against is everybody telling us how great we are right now, which when you win convincingly that’s what happens,” Spurrier said. “Hopefully, as coaches and players, we can understand that we can play like we played that first half against Kentucky if we’re not really, totally into it.”

South Carolina’s early lead took away Georgia’s most potent weapon – its freshman-led running game – and the Bulldogs were left at the mercy of the Gamecocks’ pass rush. The result wasn’t good for Georgia. South Carolina’s defensive line manhandled Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray, sacking him twice, batting down balls at the line of scrimmage and making him run for his life most of the night.

Spotted a 21-point lead, South Carolina defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward was able to transition to more zone defense than man-to-man and keep the Bulldogs hemmed up all night. Georgia, which came into the game averaging 536 yards and 48 points, finished with 224 yards.

“I thought we had a chance,” Ward said. “I believe in the young men I coach every day. We believe in the system we run. We think we can play with anybody.”

Saturday’s win was Spurrier’s 250th overall as a coach and snapped a 15-game winning streak by the Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1).

“Having it against the Georgia Bulldogs was special, too,” Spurrier said. “They are a team that used to beat my alma mater pretty well. I have been very fortunate against a coach as them, not so much as a player, but as coach, so that was special.”

LSU (5-1) will have lost its No. 4 ranking by the time South Carolina gets to town, having lost 14-6 to Florida on Saturday, but the Tigers will be playing in Death Valley at night and have only lost to the Gamecocks twice in their history. The No. 10 Gators (5-0) will host the Gamecocks in The Swamp on Oct. 20.

“We’ll see where this leads us,” Spurrier said.

First Quarter

USC: Ellington 20 pass from C. Shaw (Yates kick), 12:28.

USC: Anderson 14 pass from C. Shaw (Yates kick), 6:29.

USC: Sanders 70 punt return (Yates kick), 5:18.

Third Quarter

USC: Lattimore 1 run (Yates kick), 8:30.

Fourth Quarter

USC: C. Shaw 7 run (Yates kick), 6:17.

Georgia: Malcome 3 run (Morgan kick), 1:55.

Attendance: 85,199.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

Georgia, Malcome 5-45, Gurley 13-39, Marshall 12-37, Hall 1-5, Mitchell 1-(minus 2), Murray 4-(minus 9).

South Carolina, Lattimore 24-109, C.Shaw 14-78, Miles 10-39, M.Davis 3-4.

PASSING

Georgia, Murray 11-31-1-109. South Carolina, C.Shaw 6-10-0-162.

RECEIVING

Georgia, Wooten 4-19, Mitchell 3-52, King 1-16, Brown 1-11, Hall 1-9, Marshall 1-2.

South Carolina, Lattimore 2-24, D.L. Moore 1-62, Byrd 1-42, Ellington 1-20, Anderson 1-14.

This story was originally published October 7, 2012 at 12:05 AM with the headline "Beasts of the East: USC dominates Dogs."