No. 5 Bulldogs ‘Spurriered’ by No. 6 South Carolina, 35-7 (UPDATED)
Georgia coach Mark Richt (R) congratulates South Carolina's Steve Spurrier on the Gamecocks' third win in a row over the Bulldogs. They're now 4-4 against each other. (AJC photo by Bob Andres)
COLUMBIA, S.C. — It’s starting to look like Steve Spurrier is going to be just as frustrating for Georgia at South Carolina as he was at Florida.
The Ol’ Ball Coach had his No. 6 Gamecocks clicking on all cylinders Saturday night against the No. 5 Bulldogs at Williams-Brice Stadium. In the most-hyped game in the history of this series, South Carolina jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back en route to a 35-7 victory.
The win was the Gamecocks’ third in a row over Georgia — the first time in the 118-year history of the rivalry they’ve done that — and makes Spurrier 15-5 as a coach against the Bulldogs. He was 11-1 as the Gators’ coach and 4-4 since he’s been at South Carolina. Including his stints in the NFL and USFL, it was Spurrier’s 250th career victory.
“Having it against the Georgia Bulldogs was special,” said Spurrier, who was 1-2 against Georgia as a Florida quarterback. “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.”
The loss was kind of a double-whammy for the Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) because Florida also scored a big 14-6 win over LSU Saturday in Gainesville. Georgia will need to the Gamecocks to drop two games and then have to beat what could be a Top 5 Florida team to return to the Georgia Dome as Eastern Division champions.
South Carolina (6-0, 3-0) plays on the road at LSU and Florida the next two weeks.
Georgia falls to 3-5 in top 10 matchups under coach Mark Richt and 3-10 when the ESPN College GameDay crew happens to be in attendance. The last time the Bulldogs won one of these marquee games was against Hawaii in Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2008.
The Bulldogs will try to regroup during next week’s off week. They’ll resume play at Kentucky (1-5, 0-3) on Oct. 20.
“Tonight we weren’t very good,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “But the world didn’t end. We’ve still got a lot of things to play for and a lot of good things can still happen.”
The Bulldogs had boldly stated that their goal this year was to reach Miami and to play for the BCS championship. How, then, Richt was asked, can they be expected to rebound from such humiliating loss?
“They’ll be fine,” Richt said. “They’re supposed to dream big; I want them to dream big. They’re good men and they’re going to fight. They’ll come back together and win again.”
The Gamecocks’ offensive charge was led by Georgia native Connor Shaw. The junior quarterback from Flowery Branch who’s best known for his running ability,gashed the Bulldogs’ defense with arm as well. He finished with 162 yards on just six completions – an average of 27 yards per – and threw for two touchdowns. Shaw also had 78 yards rushing and scored an in-your-face touchdown on a 7-yard run with 6:17 remaining in the game.
“He was pretty much reading me,” said Georgia’s All-American outside linebacker Jarvis Jones. “If I got up field he was going to take off running. . . . He’s a good player. He made plays with his feet and he was fast, faster than I thought he was.”
South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore had yet another 100-yard game against Georgia. The junior from Duncan, S.C., had 109 on 24 carries and a touchdown, giving him 467 yards and 4 TDs in three games against the Bulldogs.
The Gamecocks finished with 392 yards against Georgia’s once-vaunted defense. After finishing fifth in the nation last season in total defense, the Bulldogs entered Saturday’s game 55th. They will drop again this week
“I don’t think that team is 35 points better than us, or whatever it was,” UGA senior cornerback Sanders Commings said. “We just made too many mistakes tonight; gave up some big plays, had some penalties, turnovers. You can’t win games like that.”
The most impressive part of South Carolina’s victory had nothing to do with Spurrier’s famous “ball plays.” It was defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward’s unit had Carolina on the verge of shutting out the Bulldogs for the first time since they lost to Alabama 31-0 in 1995. Georgia came in leading the SEC in scoring (48.2 ppg) and yards (536 ypg). The Bulldogs hadn’t scored fewer than 41 points in a game all season.
It was a tough night for quarterback Aaron Murray, who came in with the knock of having never beaten a ranked team on the road. Harassed all night by the Gamecocks’ rangy defensive ends Jadeveon Clowney and Devin Taylor, he completed just 11-of-31 passes for 109 yards and threw an interception. The Bulldogs, who finished with just 220 total yards, scored a meaningless touchdown in the game’s final three minutes with South Carolina’s victory well in hand.
“Very talented defense all over the board,” Murray said of South Carolina’s defense. “They’re up there with the best I’ve ever played. They’re definitely one of the top ones.”
This one was over quick South Carolina shot out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter on two long drives and a punt return for a touchdown.
The game could not have started any worse for Georgia. The Bulldogs won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving the Gamecocks the ball to start the game.
South Carolina wasted no time doing something with it. Gaining 62 yards on two pass plays, the Gamecocks covered 76 yards in 2:32 and scored on a 20-yard pass from Shaw to Bruce Ellington. On both passes South Carolina receivers for behind safety Bacarri Rambo.
The Bulldogs got a 48-yard kickoff return from Malcolm Mitchell and seemed poised to answer after a 15-yard run by Todd Gurley got the Bulldogs down to the South Carolina 34. But after a failed reverse, Murray’s pass was batted up in the air at the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles and intercepted by a diving DeVonte Holloman.
South Carolina made the Bulldogs pay. Utilizing Lattimore in both the running and passing games, the Gamecocks again drove the field. Shaw threw his second touchdown of the night, a 19-yard strike to wide open tight end Rory Anderson. And just like that, the South Carolina led 14-0 with 6:29 still left in the first quarter.
Georgia had to punt after its ensuing possession, and that’s when the Gamecocks turned it into a nightmare night. After bobbling the catch, Ace Sanders recovered and returned the punt 70 yards for a touchdown. It was Sanders’ second punt-return TD this season and it put South Carolina ahead 21-0.
“It stinks,” Murray said of the lopsided defeat. “It definitely hurts a lot. We put a lot into this game. It definitely means a lot. But there’s still a lot of games to play. They’ve got a lot of tough games left and so do we. Right now they’re in the driver’s seat and we have to win every single game to make it to Atlanta. We’ve got to grind and work and we did that last year. But it’s not a good feeling.”
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920 comments Add your comment
slimdog
October 7th, 2012
8:35 am
I already know that I am about to issue some “tough love” to Bulldog lovers with this post.
First of all let me start out saying what millions of Americans say when they refer to CMR: He is a great fella, but he is not head coach material. CMR would be a great coach for an up and coming program like Georgia State. Richt is the kind of fella that you would be comfortable having your “pot smoking son” spend the night with and know that this is one night he will watch G rated TV and not smoke pot.
The difference between Richt and Spurrier is that Spurrier knows how to give it to his players straight; my way or I-26 or whatever is on the way out of Columbia. Richt is a babysitter and that is exactly why the quality of the UGA program is no longer in the SEC elite status.
Take both rosters and line each player up side by side at every position. Georgia clearly has more talent and depth. Now, swap players with coaches, and I am willing to bet a box of Krispy Kreme donuts that Spurrier could take the same Georgia team and whip Richt with his SC team.
BOTTOM LINE??? Coaching and attitude! Richt should not wear this one by himself!
phil
October 7th, 2012
8:36 am
Murray was a Heisman candidate? Is that a joke? The bum has yet to play well, in three years, against an actual stud team and yet he was a Heisman candidate?
Who thought that?
Murray couldn’t hit the side of a barn when the heat is on. Apparently the fraidy cat didn’t even sleep for two days before thisndebacle, obviously because he was terrified.
Something in Athens has to change. Fire the idiot, soft bellied coach perhaps?
DawgPound
October 7th, 2012
8:37 am
I’m not sure where all of the hype came from this year. We lost 4 games last year and 2 of them weren’t even close. We also could have lost to Vandy and Florida. Why did everyone think we were suddenly a championship contender? The only reason is because we have the easiest schedule in the conference? Even with the cream puff schedule, we do have 2 tough games, and we just played one of them. Be glad Missouri saved us from having to play Alabama.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 7th, 2012
8:37 am
I said the contract extension was a mistake and should not have been given until his current one ran out
But oh no; the kool-aid bloggers on here slammed me over and over again
Hows that contract extension looking now
Come on out kool-aid boys
kingdaddy
October 7th, 2012
8:37 am
See y’all at church…
russ
October 7th, 2012
8:38 am
Bring in the Clowneys…..the doggies looked lost against a vastly superior team.
Athens Dog
October 7th, 2012
8:40 am
At one point last night (after we failed to score before the half from their 2 yd.line) Herbstreet said that the “calmness” of CMR permeated throughout his players and that they wouldn’t panic… yea, instead they “calmly” accepted the fact that they were getting their asses whipped and did absolutely nothing about it. There’s no doubt in my mind, Spurrier will win a BCS Championship @ USC before Richt wins one at UGA… and we’ve already seen what top caliber coaches can do at LSU and Bama. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if Muschamp gets UF to the big dance. All of these coaches seem to be able to get their players “coached-up” while CMR’s crew treads water.
Very painful, indeed.
pml22
October 7th, 2012
8:40 am
need a new coach in athens. i picked uga to go 8-4, but sx game was too pathetic
UGAfan229
October 7th, 2012
8:42 am
At some point we have to speak to the coaching of UGA or the lack of it. Mind you the coaches aren’t the ones giving up sacks or throwing interceptions, but good coaches come up with schemes and adjustments to counterattack what their opponents are doing. Every year (literally), and every game in every season; we come on doing that same nonsense on offense. The defense has been pathetic, and the special teams have been very suspect too. Everytime there is a big game in DAWG Nation….UGA lays an egg, and in my mind that speaks to a team preparation. And then on top of that if you watch the team and the coaches’ demeanors everybody looks as if it is okay get smacked 48 – 10, 35 -7, etc. UGA football should be embarrassed as a whole to have played like that. This isn’t to take anything from S. Carolina but it’s just to inform all innocent bystanders that UGA are some posers. Mark Richt has been in the SEC for like 13 years, can somebody please tell me why this guy still has an ACC mentality??
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 7th, 2012
8:42 am
Where are the Richt has won 100 games crowd this morning?
100 wins against KY, Vandy, Buffalo, and Savannah Tech State doesnt mean a thing people
LogicalUS
October 7th, 2012
8:44 am
“GA loses a big game and goes on a winning streak”
That would be silly and only go to prove the schedule critics right when they said that UGA backed into the SECCG because of the SEC office. Who really wants to be handed a birth in the game after the beatdown of tonight because SC has to go on back to back road games at LSU\UF while UGA is hosting Ole Miss\Miss St? Here is a clue for ya…if that happens just like last year…UGA would be undeserving and UNPREPARED to face the SEC West Champ with the same predictable results.
SC is the class of the SEC East with a challenge by UF though it looks like SC may be a more rounded team with both good Off\Def while UF is a really good Def.
Angry UGA Fan
October 7th, 2012
8:44 am
Any bets that UGA loses to Florida this year as well. After seeing this game, I foresee UGA getting outcoached again. Chances are they lose to Florida and lose in their bowl game. UGA cannot beat a top 20 team with Richt, Bobo and Grantham.
Our defense is the most overrated defense in the country. Even Jarvis Jones has been contained the past two games. Rambo and Ogletree needs to go back on suspension. The defense looks worst with them on the field. Our offensive and defensive lines are horrible. Richt needs to take a look at Bama and realize that games are won at the line of scrimage. This blowout proves that. Start recruiting heavily on the offensive and defensive lines. As proven tonight, you put pressure on the quarterback all not long and the secondary really doesn’t matter how good they are. Mark Richt and staff is no different than Phillip Fulmer. Can win 9-10 games a year but can never get your team over the hump to win the big game.
catlady
October 7th, 2012
8:45 am
Overhype and the loss of Bennett hurt.
GATORSTUD
October 7th, 2012
8:45 am
Stinky old dogs roll over on their back and pee on their bellies again.
Murray the Midget
October 7th, 2012
8:46 am
Think I still got a shot at the Heisman ———–everybody has a bad day, I just have them against ranked teams
kidding yourself
October 7th, 2012
8:48 am
all is not lost, as always next year is the year
Murray the Midget
October 7th, 2012
8:48 am
Peed on the belly——–now that’s funny
Sad Munson
October 7th, 2012
8:49 am
2-18 against teams that ended up ranked since 2008.
We may have 4 1st round picks on defense and probably 3 others that will play in the NFL, if not more. And we look helpless at times.
When was the last time we could pound and muscle the ball against a good defense? We run a finesse offense and they get exposed against good defensive talent.
Aaron Murray cannot perform under pressure. He never will. Has he ever won a big game?
Richt’s time is over. New staff needed to take us to next level.
Football Bat
October 7th, 2012
8:50 am
NOW can we fire Richt????? No, I’m sure we’ll have to suffer with Coach Valium for more losses.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 7th, 2012
8:50 am
Where are the kool-aid bloggers
You know who you are;
I want to hear how stupid I am for saying this was going to happen once again this season
Come out come out wherever you are!
!
bobdawg
October 7th, 2012
8:51 am
Most embarrassing Sunday morning as a ga fan and grad I can ever remember.
We layed down. We quit!
Robert
October 7th, 2012
8:53 am
Best quote from these comments by Gomdog at 10:34 last night – “MURRAY CAN NOT PLAY UNDER PLEASURE.” LMAO.
Murray the Midget
October 7th, 2012
8:54 am
Dawgs overrated again———-a top 10 team doesn’t get their a$$es handed to them
Denver Dog
October 7th, 2012
8:56 am
O V E R R A T E D
Go Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwggggggggggssssssssss woof woof
Murray the Midget
October 7th, 2012
8:57 am
4 inch cleats, he!!, I need 8 inch ones.
chuck dowdle here...
October 7th, 2012
8:57 am
no comment this morning
made famous by herschel
October 7th, 2012
8:59 am
weakest schedule in the S E C and still can’t run the table. GA hype every year with no payoff, mediocre
Tekhata
October 7th, 2012
8:59 am
For everyone clamoring for Kirby Smart please realize he interviewed for half a dozen head coaching positions and didn’t get the job. Please don’t make an emotional decision. Go out and get a coach who is winning at a school with less talent (even a smaller school). We can give them the talent, we just need someone who has the right mindset. They could take this program to the SEC championship within a couple of years with what we have on the roster.
vampire bill
October 7th, 2012
8:59 am
Mark Richt, Biggest kool-aid drinker of them all. Last week he said all that matters is they are 5-0. Now he’s talking about dreaming big. It’s one thing to lose a close well fought battle but to get smoked like that? Reminds me of when Lane Kiffin trounced us 3 years back.
When will it become unacceptable for the University and the Bulldawg nation to accept so many 30 plus point loses?
Stiffneck
October 7th, 2012
8:59 am
Sad. Poor play all around. Probably will finish third in the east.
Jay Dawg
October 7th, 2012
9:01 am
Got dominated on Offense, Defense and Special Teams…… Embarrassing and extremely frustrating loss. Has the rest of the SEC figured out Grantham’s defense? We seem to have talent there. Once again I am left to ponder why we keep Mike Bobo. He can beat lesser opponents with just raw talent but when it comes time to scheme someone he does not have what it takes. Murray has to step up as well. Looked good against Vandy and UT but went back to his old ways of over throwing receivers and looking lost. Obviously USC’s defensive line is tremendous. Gates had no chance of blocking Clowney but good coaches figure out how to use that aggressiveness against him. Run the ball at him. Throw quick short passes so he does not have time to get to Murray, etc. No idea how we beat Florida but should be able to handle the rest with talent alone unless the players quit. The stat related to beating teams finishing in the Top 25 proves that Richt has peaked as a coach and it is time for him to go. He was exactly what we needed when he took over but does not appear to be able to figure out how to get a coaching staff who can get the most out of the tremendous talent we usually have. His loyalty to Bobo will be his downfall.
Darrell Huckaby
October 7th, 2012
9:02 am
What happened?
Did we leave the team in Athens?
Bammer
October 7th, 2012
9:02 am
“Richt owns Saban”
“We’d rather do it The Right Way”
“Bama cheats and pays local police off”
“UGA slaughters Bama in the SEC champ game…book it”
“McCarron couldn’t hold Murray’s jockstrap”
“BCS champs again this year!”
Flo-ri-duh, LakeDawg, JB and UGA Insider. I so enjoyed lasts nights game thinking of you four idiots all curled up in the fetal position sucking your thumbs as South Carolina continued to OWN you arrogant, perpetually overrated clowns. I’ll bet you were all mumbling “Herrrrrshell…Herrrrrshellll….Herrrrshellll”
Maybe next year!!!
Ken Sirmans
October 7th, 2012
9:04 am
USC is clearly a better team than UGA…year in and year out.
Dawg fans … you may as well get use to it. The Game Cocks are eating your lunch from now on!
Bud
October 7th, 2012
9:05 am
If murray had more time , if gurley had bigger holes etc. etc.etc. you always hear about 5 star q backs, halfbacks., recievers, we’re recruiting. maybe we should build the best o & d line in the country. they’re out there recruit them.
Billy Bob
October 7th, 2012
9:06 am
The Dawgs still rule … if only in the imagination of their fans.
Kentucky dawg
October 7th, 2012
9:07 am
CMR is not capable of being a big time SEC coach. Other schools take the players who are left over and still use them to win in games with his unprepared puppies. He should be coaching in the WAC conference.
Taylor Wooten
October 7th, 2012
9:08 am
The little midget QB cant see over the offensive line. Anybody seen this guy in person? He looks like a high school QB
Taylor Wooten
October 7th, 2012
9:09 am
Georgia has a hell of PR/Marketing Department. Sell the dream….the fools will eat it up, send in their money.
Tekhata
October 7th, 2012
9:10 am
Regarding Murray, I am 5′9″ and he was the same height as me. The problem with that is he won’t be a high NFL pick so he will be here next year too.
Taylor Wooten
October 7th, 2012
9:11 am
I hear Georgia is loaded next year. I think they can win it ALL!
LOL
I've been working on the RR
October 7th, 2012
9:14 am
Dear Coach “”RICH”".
Please have the courtesy and respect for the school who has paid you millions to put a competitive football team on the field…., and let us all know that you plan on retiring at the end of this season. You just do not have it anymore. You have done great things but time is time. This way, everyone can plan for the future. It is getting old watching UGA humiliate herself, time after time in big games and you do nothing. Thank you for everything, but it is time….
Class of ‘76
kidding yourself
October 7th, 2012
9:14 am
How do you expect to be up for the big game when you play cupcakes most of the time. Giving up all those points to Tennessee should have told you something. SEC is very good but top to bottom it is overrated. LSU can’t score a td. Beat Auburn by 2 points. Auburn get killied by Arkansas. LSU’s ranking has been a joke. Now they will replace the SEC teams that lost yesterday with those that won. Florida does deserve it, however. Thanks for showing the nation that the LSU fantasy is over. South Carolina is for real. If they stay focused over the next couple of weeks they will be playing Alabama in Atlanta. They are the only other team in the SEC that can even give bama a game. SEC wins national title again.
George
October 7th, 2012
9:16 am
What them brave no the fans kids out their what shame i thought was a clean game the south rise again.Chipper went out with class he said that call did not cause them to lose the game .All them dam ERRORS was the reason they lost.i like Chipper Jones he will be in the Hall of Fame but please leave those dams FANS at home.
dukeoden
October 7th, 2012
9:17 am
Funny you cocky uga fans got ya tails tucked between ya legs this morning too funny bunch of clowns GO GATORS BABY LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
Jeff
October 7th, 2012
9:17 am
It’s Bush’s fault!
Bitter Dawgs Fan
October 7th, 2012
9:18 am
After having al-night to ponder this typical loss to a top 10 team
—–1> Head Coach sets POOR EXAMPLE
—-2> The UGA DRUG policy has set us bp for failure
——3> AAron Murry has a evil twin—-Proven BIG GAME LOOSER
———-4>Anybody ready to finaly see——-HUDSON MASON????????????
———–I will continue to support my DAWGS but am open to serious changes
—————-MITCHEL, SWAIN, GURLY, ALL played hard
———-THIS WAS CLEARLY —-A UN-MOTIVATED //OVER-RATED//
—————————-YA PLAYERS –QUIT ON THE DAWG NATION
—–YOU HAVE MY PREMISSION TO HANG YOUR HEADS IN SHAME
dawginduluth
October 7th, 2012
9:19 am
Ha! Gary calls me uninformed. Well, Gary, you’ve been sucking exhaust fumes from those programs trucking in front of UGA for the last seemingly forever years that you are now officially brain dead. You must have one of those foam hands with three fingers on it. Gary, you are pathetic and part of the problem. And I mean that in the most sincere way possible. I hope you enjoyned being #5 after getting there with wins over teams that will end the year with losing records. Delusion is a wonderful thing for the Richt suck-ups. That means you, too, McGarity.
My takeaway from this game: a real, legit coach with a bunch of players passed over by Richt will kick Richt and his Top 5 prima donnas’ butts all day long.
Florida will spot UGA at least 7. I won’t bet that game, I can’t bring myself to bet against the Dawgs.
William Smith
October 7th, 2012
9:21 am
This is not an indictment of nice guy coaches but very few become great coaches. The Marines are winners in the game of war. How many drill instructors are nice guys when doing there job. I have met very few. Mark Richt is a nice guy. Mark Richt needs to kick ass and take names for a while. I wonder if Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier do this kind of stuff. Lastly, if Vince Lombardi was a nice guy easy going coach many players in the NFL Hall of Fame would not be there. The players feared Lombardi more than the opposing team.
DAWG FAN KICKED IN THE NADS
October 7th, 2012
9:21 am
The sad miserable truth is, their coach is smarter than our coach. Therefore, his assistant coaches are smarter than our assistant coaches. A smart analytical coach obsessed with winnning won’t tolerate lesser minds on his staff. Their coach despises poor play and missed assignments, and let’s his players know it. Play this game 10 times with equally matched teams, he will beat us 10 times. Nobody can exploit our weaknesses like Spurrier. It’s masterfully sickening. SC is one happy state today. It’s been a long time coming for us.