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
USMC
October 7th, 2012
12:06 am
South Carolina kicked our arses! Period. Mark Richt is starting to remind me of TOMMY BOWDEN! We need Bobby Petrino! (lol)
Looks like...
October 7th, 2012
12:08 am
ooooh, get Bobby Petrino. Nothing better than drilling holes in a sinking ship.
azdawg
October 7th, 2012
12:09 am
Louanne
October 6th, 2012
11:41 pm
Please get back in the kitchen, louanne, because you apparently knoiw as much about football as you do making your hubby happy!
Phil
October 7th, 2012
12:09 am
Another beat down by a good team, just like the SEC Championship game last year. Richt can’t win the big games, lets face it. Our players were not ready to play from the get go. Every aspect of the game was pathetic. I thought even if we lost this game we still might win the East. Not so sure about that now, don’t think we can beat Florida. We will go 9-3, something like that and Richt will be given an extension. In McGarity’s eyes, that’s good enough. Not good enough for the rest of us who would like to see us strive to be like Alabama.
UGA better than Bama
October 7th, 2012
12:09 am
Okay here goes…
Dear Mr McGarity,
You should fire CMR immediately. He is the reason we lose. It’s not because other teams are better than us or just outplay us, CMR is intentionally losing these games so that we won’t make it to the Championship game. If we had a different coach and all other variables remain the same, we could easily beat any other team in any other stadium and win the championship every year. And just wait until we have playoffs… we won’t be like the Braves because we will actually win a playoff game. Wait a minute, I guess I said other variables remain constant, so we could easily beat any other team if we played in Columbia as long as CMR is sent packing (please note my screen name). Please consider this request from a very concerned fan who does not like coming in as high as 5th place on some remarkably good years and then dropping our bowl games. CMR wants us to lose so that we will feel like we need him. And we have been duped into believing this every single year, at least I have.
Sincerely,
Todd Grantham
You guys think this will work? Okay cool… off to Kinkos!
USMC
October 7th, 2012
12:09 am
Forget about the 5 star recruits. Most of our defensive players will play on the NFL. SO what’s the problem?
Also, our offensive line SUCKS big time. I am so tired of hearing every year how good our O- line is.
Jefferson Davis Hogg
October 7th, 2012
12:11 am
Mcgarrity interviewed a while back saying “there is always a short list of candidates”……any guesses?
Hope
October 7th, 2012
12:11 am
Back to reality, poochie dogs, back to reality.
SOS… Steven Orr Spurrier has your number, just like when he owned you when he was at Florida.
bobbyh
October 7th, 2012
12:12 am
I’m a Dawg fan, and have always been. But I’ve said it before and I’ll now say it again: UGA will never, never, NEVER! be a championship team under Mark Richt. I’m done with with the UGA football program until CMR and his less than mediocre staff are gone. No more money from this old boy.
RNB
October 7th, 2012
12:12 am
Ho Hum we will be fine. Richt’s response tells it all. He don’t care. Please go get Petrino before someone else does.
UGA better than Bama
October 7th, 2012
12:13 am
Spurrier does not own us. We let you guys win… every year.
Showmeyurtd's
October 7th, 2012
12:14 am
Murray please get some Herman munster 5 inch platform shoes and a set of balls. Thank ya, thank ya thank ya very much!!!
DelServ Dog
October 7th, 2012
12:14 am
I am a two time alumnus of UGA and have been a season ticket holder since 1981. I drive 200 miles each way to see my beloved bulldogs play in Sanford Stadium at every home game and I would never wish harm to the program or the team. However, I lost faith in Coach Richt with that last-minute debacle in the Florida game several years ago in Jacksonville and told all of my friends and fellow bulldogs then that we needed a new coach. Coach Richt is a good man, probably too good to be coaching football. He needs to change his line of work and move on. I’m sorry that it hasn’t worked out, but he took the risk coming in. I feel for his family, but Georgia needs a new coach, one that can compete in the SEC arena. The embarrassing loss to SC tonight was because of a lack of preparation, a lack of ability to get the team up for a big game, and a lack of leadership under adverse conditions. All due to a lack of winning coaching, a responsibility that falls squarely on Coach Richt. I watched Coach Dooley all those years take half the talent that Richt has recruited to UGA and make winners out of them. Until Coach Richt is gone we will remain a mid-level SEC team. Alumni and friends, the time has come to call for a new coach.
USMC
October 7th, 2012
12:15 am
SC 21 UGA 0 … IN THE FIRST QUARTER!
That comes down to LAZY coaching. The team was not ready to play!
Hair E Dawg
October 7th, 2012
12:15 am
You know, I’m tired of Mark Richt’s crap.
Seriously.
Richt’s teams have come to remind me of Ray Goff’s teams – no heart, no passion.
In 1988 I entered the University of Georgia on a music scholarship, part of the requirement was that I march in the Redcoat Marching Band. I got a special view of Dooley’s boys in the tunnel before their pregame run out – and they were tearing stuff up and were excited about playing. The next year was Ray Goff’s first year and there I was down on the field in front of 80,000 people looking into the tunnel at my team… and they’re just standing there! No excitement, no eagerness to play, no nothing!
Not long after Goff got there we held a Dawg Walk… along came the players with their headphones on, heads down, not acknowledging the fans!
I don’t know what has happened to Richt. I don’t know if his heart just isn’t in it or if he thinks what he’s doing is enough… but its NOT.
Richt and his decision to NOT put our program first, to give our program every chance to win and progress has cast the program as a joke. Richt has cast our program as outdated, sub par, an embarrassment.
Good going Richt, good job indeed.
Gamecock in VA
October 7th, 2012
12:16 am
Ok, so now that I have settled down… this is what I’ve heard from Ga fans all week…
We have Gurshall and he’s better than Lattimore…
We have Jarvis jones…
Ogletree and Rambo are back from suspension…
Aaron Murray is the best QB in the SEC…
Mark Richt is a future HOF coach and hes better than SS…
All I have to say is…
Don’t believe the hype! Enjoy your loss Mutts. You deserve it! GO COCKS!
Double T
October 7th, 2012
12:18 am
Coach Bobo, you should be ashamed of you sorry ass game plan and the play calling. No wonder our offensive live was dominated, you continually call the running play where Murray counts to three Mississippi before he gives the ball to the running back. The line looks like they’re on roller skates being pushed backwards waiting on the play to develop. Can you not see that? I AK sick and tired of hearing about how big our offensive line is and you are too big of a _____ to run right at someone the way Alabama, Florida, LSU and Carolina do. It is called Winning at the line of scrimmage. Do us all a favor and go coach elsewhere, we are sick of your pathetic offense. And no, beating Tennessee, Tech and Auburn do not count as great wins. Yes, we are done with you.
Bill
October 7th, 2012
12:18 am
This was a sickening loss…..Been a dawgs fan all my life but this shi. is ridiculous…No one was ready for this game…Sad day to be a dawg…but really….when has it been a good day?
USMC
October 7th, 2012
12:20 am
Corch Mark Richt looks TIRED and has become STALE as a Head Corch!
CMR has JOB STAGNATION!
UGA better than Bama
October 7th, 2012
12:21 am
Double T, I seriously doubt Murray can count that high.
ELEPHANT SQUASHES (your team's mascot here) EVERYTIME
October 7th, 2012
12:21 am
Dawg Nation, y’all need to relax. Get some shuteye and then wake up and realize the world is still carrying on and that God is Great. It”s just football. And yall know that Bama folks live and breathe all things concerning Bama football. I realized this when I had to endure Cam’s comeback in 2010. Just exhale and enjoy the things that are HIS little miracles everyday. I’m out. Things do get better.
USMC
October 7th, 2012
12:23 am
Georgia is a second tier team at best. Coach TOMMY BOWDEN… errr I mean Coach Mark Richt is NOT a big game calibre coach. sorry!
rob
October 7th, 2012
12:23 am
There are two things that can’t be coached and thats talent and experience. Im a UGA fan forever but we were just flat out OUTCLASSED in the trenches! Suck it up dawgnation. We all knew this comming into the season that the rebuilt/freshman O-line and rb’s would be a liability eventually, well at least i did. Im a realist not a kool-aid drinking fan. Defensively we did the best they could but no cigar. We now have to deal with it the rest of the year. The only question i have is why wait to put Ken Malcome in at the end? Marshall was the lease effective back due to lack of power. I think Gurley and Malcome would’ve been a better combo for this particular game. Just my opinion.
UGA better than Bama
October 7th, 2012
12:24 am
Thanks, ELEPHANT SQUASHES (your team’s mascot here) EVERYTIME. You get some sleep too. And we’ll see you in December, because Carolina was just a warm up.
scott
October 7th, 2012
12:24 am
Once again we see that CMR and his coaches are ill prepared to play with quality opponents. There offensive and defensive schemes are always predictable. The elite SEC teams(not GA) always have there players prepared and motivated to perform in crucial games. CMR comments after the game are like Oh well, we just got beat, give the other team credit. CMR and his staff have been out coached by all top 20 twenty teams over the past 4 years. GA is a mirror image of it’s coach – laid back and not well prepared. Also, GA seems to always land the great skill position players, but to win against the elite SEC and other top 20 teams you have to have a strong and athletic OL and DL. GA never seems to be able dominate the upfront. GA seems to schedule just enough soft teams to get CMR his 8 or more victories to keep his job. The off season suspensions are a reflection of the attitude of the GA head coach. CMR is not spending enough time making sure his players are disciplined. He wants to much to be their friend. Sounds nice but that does not win games against elite teams in the SEC. Especially when your getting paid 4 million. His persona on the commercial about “Ford tough” does not apparently mean on the football field. The finish the drill slogan CMR uses was appropriate tonight. They got drilled before the 1st quarter was finished. GA has to make a coaching change. NOW!
Big Bob
October 7th, 2012
12:24 am
I believe it is time to move CMR from Coaching. Are we ever prepared for a big game? CMR has had plenty of opportunities to win!!! Bow out gracely and it’s time for another Coach.
medawgu
October 7th, 2012
12:24 am
“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.”
Your time in georgia world should end tonight. 0-10 vs. top 25 teams. we are now an offical powder puff.
Double T
October 7th, 2012
12:25 am
So CMR, do you still think we do not need a special teams coach? You yourself show very little emotion and so do your players. You have forgotten how to lead, good coaches lead team, they do not become “good friends” with the players. Try leading us through the end of this year and then move aside and let us enjoy a great coach, one our players deserve.
Stuart
October 7th, 2012
12:26 am
Who seemed more out of it this week: the Dawgs tonight or Obama during the debate?
Not that bad...
October 7th, 2012
12:26 am
Come on guys it’s not that bad that USC beat us. Oh wait by 4 tds? Well USC has the most talented team in th country and were pre-season ranked #1!!! Oh wait we were beat by south Carolina not southern California…never mind!
Go Gamecocks
October 7th, 2012
12:27 am
Tonight is what happens against an elite Def…… Dawg fans saw it last year in the SEC championship game too. Ga offense got exposed, and I was surprised this wasn’t a shoot-out like last year (but still happy about it). USC goes to LSU next week after an embarrassing loss, and then plays FL. East is still wide open guys (especially with your advantageous schedule), so don’t start calling for heads just yet.
Looks like...
October 7th, 2012
12:29 am
Elephant Squash… well said.
But, Cam Newton was one of God’s big gifts.
Looks like...
October 7th, 2012
12:31 am
Stuart, it was like an on field version such that someone could say “Did you see the debates? No? Well, did you see the Gawga vs South Carolina game? Yes? That’s pretty much how the debate went.”
I like what someone said, there is no doubt that the altitude at Columbia hurt UGA.
Looks like...
October 7th, 2012
12:32 am
So Murray, Gurley and Jones won’t all be finalist for the Heisman now?
UGA better than Bama
October 7th, 2012
12:33 am
Go Gamecocks, this was a shoot out, we just forgot to bring our guns.
You may have won this year, and last year, and the year before… but next year, we’re gonna kick your tail feathers. And if we don’t do it next year, we’ll do it the next. Either way, remember my words… and I will do my best to remember to remind you next year, so you really don’t have to remember anything.
Three words
October 7th, 2012
12:33 am
Too many doobies
johnc
October 7th, 2012
12:33 am
Richt will continue to take the Bulldogs to a bowl game. Just not one that matters.
He took the team to the sidelines at the beginning of the fourth quarter and didn’t put any passion in them. Spurrier had a plan for his team tonight and they executed. Where was Richt’s plan?
BOBONEEDSTOGOGO!!!
October 7th, 2012
12:33 am
FIRE BOBO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bah humbug
October 7th, 2012
12:33 am
Get over it UGA fans, It’s simple you guys ran into a much better team tonight. And like every year you are the “paper champions” in which the paper says you are champions but in reality not!
UGA better than Bama
October 7th, 2012
12:36 am
bah humbug, not true. We say we’re champions too.
Three more words
October 7th, 2012
12:36 am
Richt must go …
who done it
October 7th, 2012
12:37 am
ok here goes. the team lacks leadership.. its about the team..The team consist of players that have to get themselves prepared and have the intestinal fortitude to win. You got a bunch of ghetto kids that smoke dope as leaders. I dont care if they smoke dope , but they can smoke it in the hood. If this is your leadership on the team then you have none. Everytime someone is suspended they know they will get back after a few games. Thats no disipline that coddling. Look at the honey badger at LSU.. Is he playing? There is no fear of losing a scholarship or pro football chances.
Have zero tolerence. Zero means none Zero.. My guess is if you check the team tonight you will be surprised at the positive for cannibis among the team..
I have heard about recriuts that go to UGA and the recruiting coach never says a word to them unless they are a minority. They are exposed to dope smoking and drinking to excess on these trips and so they dont go. The crowells and that kind of kid is who UGA seeks. Seek a kid that want to play ball and get an education. There are great minority kids out here with talent and disipline that arent hoodlums and thugs.
Ga has some good talent on the team but they lack disipline, that is a coaching error and its very obvious. There is way to much time spent on other things by this coaching staff other than football. they are all way overpaid as compared to the average professor at UGA who havent had a raise in over 5 years.
CMR has to much of a lackluster attitude when it come to these kids who get into trouble. then he depends on them and they hang him out to dry when the push becomes a shove . when it counts they fold because there is no recourse. He tries to hard to get the kids to like him. they dont respect him because he is not a hard butt when it comes to disipline. I will bet that most folks that played for erk russell didnt like him much while they were there, but after they left they adored him, becasue they respected him. he would bust your ass if you were out of line and put you on the bench no matter how good you were. same is true of spurrier, they respect him becuase there is gonna be an ass chewing and consiquencies for your actions ..
Dawgs (Not) On Top
October 7th, 2012
12:37 am
It’s George Bush’s fault I tell ya!(haha)
We have some issues, but still proud to be a Dawg and there is a lot of football left.
DOWN WE GO AGAIN
October 7th, 2012
12:38 am
disgraceful no heart embarrasing
dawgman
October 7th, 2012
12:38 am
All you real fans no hating on Ricth and BoBo now Ricth is a really nice good man and he deserves your respect. Bobo he has about 15 kids he needs to feed. Losing is not so bad as long as your a real true fan. Support your team and encourage Adams to give Ricth another raise and about a 10 year contract. The dogs will probably beat the weak SEC teams and you get to go to a bowl and maybe have a winning season. USC could lose a couple of times and you could have the pleasure of watching UGA go to Atlanta and get moped up by BAMA>… Yeah Ricth
NorCal Cock
October 7th, 2012
12:39 am
Lived in Atlanta for 9 years and being a Gamecock in Georgia was hell. It is with glee that from the Bay Area, I am able to rejoice in this moment that the DAWGS nation is holding their heads down in shame and embarrassment.
You never had any respect for South Carolina, never any respect for Spurrier and now the tide has turned and we are in the driver’s seat.
The Georgia Bulldogs football program has always been (and will forever be) an overrated cult!
GLORY, GLORY…
Athenzdawg
October 7th, 2012
12:39 am
Thanks UGA….once again all we prove is that we are a top 25 team. Oh but don’t worry our coach says we were just a few plays away….REALLY!?!?!?!?!? Sick and tired of looking unprepared due to bad coaching….4 & 5 star players on our team who play high school ball. Saban goes into every year with a national championship and nothing else is acceptable to him. We just try to win the East…see the difference? Fire Richt…..get a coach that will atleast show some life…and win important games…..Another year down the tubes….we suck ;;
MariettaGator
October 7th, 2012
12:39 am
Dear Nike,
Please cancel those “SEC Champions” hats.
Mark Richt
UGA Football LOL LOL LOL
October 7th, 2012
12:39 am
I guess it will be another Outback Bowl at best against another piss poor Big10 Team. 1980 seems so far away, oh wait, LOL!
UGA better than Bama
October 7th, 2012
12:40 am
who done it, have you ever been to Athens? It is pretty much a ghetto, which excuses any actions with which you harshly disagree.