Thumbs up, thumbs down: Gamecocks vs. Georgia

THUMBS UP

Damiere Byrd

A brilliant catch on USC’s opening drive set the tone. He wrestled it from a Georgia All-American candidate, Baccari Rambo. Byrd also made (another) touchdown-saving tackle on special teams.

DeVonte Holloman and Kelcy Quarles

The duo teamed up on an interception, also a key moment that set the tone for the Gamecocks, this time on defense.

Playmakers

Bruce Ellington scored his first touchdown of the season, while Ace Sanders added his second career score on a punt return.

You

The 85,199 who poured into Williams-Brice Stadium set a record and perhaps scared the videoboard (see thumbs down).

Jadeveon Clowney

Made like the Cookie Monster against a Snickerdoodle with his night-long pursuit of Aaron Murray.

D.L. Moore

The senior receiver bounced back from a drop against Kentucky with a 62-yard gain to set up a third-quarter score.

Rushing offense

Marcus Lattimore led the way with 109 yards on 24 carries. Connor Shaw added 78 yards rushing, and Kenny Miles had 10 carries down the stretch to help run down the clock.

USC defense

The Gamecocks' defense held Georgia to 224 yards and seven points. The Bulldogs came into the game averaging 536 yards and 48 points.

Goal-line stand on fourth down

A 15-play Georgia drive ended at the one-yard line when D.J. Swearinger and Shaq Wilson combined to tackle Georgia receiver Rantavious Wooten.

Jimmy Legree

The cornerback dove and broke up an Aaron Murray deep ball and likely saved a touchdown.

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THUMBS DOWN

Videoboard

After slapping the finishing touches on the outside this week, the “Beast Board” took a nap from halftime through the third quarter.

East stands

What is wrong with the upper deck on the east side? Always empty seats. Sure, it’s nosebleed, but it’s OUR nosebleed, right?

Field goal unit

You don’t want to see a block, but at least the block was executed by South Carolina native Kwame Geathers.

Backup defensive line

Not fair of us. Quite frankly, this group was getting some decent push on Georgia’s last drive, but the Bulldogs did break up the shutout.

- Dwayne McLemore contributed

This story was originally published October 7, 2012 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Thumbs up, thumbs down: Gamecocks vs. Georgia."