South Carolina opened up the 2010 season with a 41-13 drubbing of Southern Mississippi.
Breaking it Down…1st Quarter…The Gamecocks looked like they were going to pick up right where they left off against UConn when the offense went three and out and Southern Miss drove inside the USC 25. DeVonte Holloman put an end to that and swung the momentum in the Gamecocks’ favor by picking off Golden Eagle Quarterback Austin Davis at the USC 15. Steven Garcia then led the offense on a 10 play, 85 yard drive capped by his 22 yard touchdown run. Southern Miss would respond with a field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. The field goal was set up by a long completion down the middle against what appeared to be blown coverage.
2nd Quarter…Spencer Lanning capped a 55 yard drive with a 36 yard field goal to begin the second quarter scoring. After the Golden Eagles went three and out, the Gamecocks scored quickly on a three play, 62 yard drive highlighted by Ace Sanders’ 52 yard reverse and capped with Marcus Lattimore’s 3 yard touchdown run. USC then led 17-3 and forced another Southern Miss 3 and out. Stephon Gilmore came in for two plays to run the WildCock and gained 14 yards. Garcia came back in and led the offense on another touchdown drive. The 7 play, 48 yard drive was finished by a Marcus Lattimore run from 7 yards out. Southern Miss would get another field goal to make the score 24-6 at the half.
3rd Quarter…South Carolina put the game away for good in the third quarter. Southern Miss went 3 and out on their first and second drives. USC got a field goal on their first drive and a touchdown on thier second to make the score 34-6 an effectively end any further Golden Eagle threat.
4th Quarter… Tony Straughter returned a Golden Eagle fumble 54 yards to set up another USC touchdown. This one was a touchdown pass from Connor Shaw to D.L. Moore. At 41-6 the Gamecocks put the game on cruise control and allowed a late touchdown for a 41-13 final.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
| Southern Miss | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| South Carolina | 7 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 41 |
Stars of the Game…Steven Garcia was 16 out of 23 for 193 yards; 5 rushes for 38 yards and 2 touchdowns….Alshon Jeffrey 7 receptions for 106 yards…Ace Sanders 2 receptions for 47 yards; 1 rush 53 yards…Marcus Lattimore 14 rushes for 54 yards, 2 TDs; 2 receptions for 21 yards…The Entire Offensive Line created holes for 35 rushes for 224 yards (6.4 average)…Stephon Gilmore 1 rush for 14 yards and shut down Southern Miss star receiver DeAndre Brown.
What to Take from the Weekend…This was a good opening win that is more impressive than its impressive score because of the uncertainties about the NCAA and eligibility. The offensive looked effective, and the defense looked stout. Don’t be fooled by the passing numbers the defense gave up. Many of those yards were in the 4th quarter after the game had been decided. It’s too early to tell if South Carolina is pretty good or Southern Miss isn’t too good. Either way, the Gamecocks are clearly the better team of the two.
This and that…After punting on their first series, USC scored on its next 8 possessions…South Carolina forced four 3 and out possessions by Southern Miss…The eligibility of several players that wasn’t decided until right before the game is still up in the air for next week…South Carolina has now won 11 straight openers, which is the second longest streak in the conference to Florida’s 20.
Up next…South Carolina plays host to Georgia in both teams’ conference opener at noon at Williams-Brice.
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