Star tailback's career night sinks Midshipmen
Carried once again by the legs of Marcus Lattimore and his 246 yards and three touchdowns, USC avoided a repeat of 1984, escaping with a 24-21 victory over the Midshipmen in its home opener.
"Obviously, Marcus had a tremendous game," coach Steve Spurrier said. "The best way to win the game is to put it in his hands, and that's what we're doing."
Lattimore's first six points came after the Midshipmen jumped out in front on a 27-yard touchdown run. Starting the drive with 7:43 to go in the opening quarter, the sophomore proceeded to carry the ball four times before running it in from the Navy 6, tying the game at 7.
The following six came on USC's next possession, once again in the wake of a Navy touchdown. Taking over at the USC 20 with 13:50 to go in the second, Lattimore once again played the role of the workhorse, running the ball five times before plowing into the end zone from the five to match the Midshipmen at 14-14.
"He's been like that ever since little league," said receiver and high school teammate Nick Jones, who provided a crucial 34-yard catch en route to the score. "He never gets tired. I'm used to seeing him perform like this every week. I've been watching him since we were 7 years old. I'm used to it by now."
The Gamecocks would receive the ball once more before halftime, with the sophomore once again playing an integral role. Rather than doing so on the ground, however, Lattimore provided a pair of key catches, one of which set up Jay Wooten for a 48-yard field goal to give USC a 17-14 lead at the break.
The kick was Wooten's second field goal of the season, with the other coming in a tight spot in last week's win over Georgia.
"Jay Wooten has kicked two clutch field goals," USC coach Steve Spurrier said. "If he misses those two, we're going into overtime and hoping something good happens."
Lattimore's final score was no different than his previous three, coming in response to a Midshipmen touchdown. Just as he'd done in the first half, the Duncan native put the offense on his shoulders, carrying the ball nine times before setting up a first-and-goal play from the 7-yard line. He capitalized from there, running through the Navy defensive line to put USC ahead for good at 24-21.
"We knew we had to score," Lattimore said. "If we didn't score, they were going to keep the ball for 10 minutes and leave us with two or three. It's a lot of pressure to score, but we just stuck to our game plan: Run the ball and take what they give us."
Lattimore's performance drew the praise of Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo, who deemed the sophomore tailback worthy of the hype that continues to follow him.
"[Lattimore] is a heck of a back," Niumatalolo said. "You try to stay back and have some lane integrity, and if you commit too early he bounces outside. He gets hit at the line of scrimmage and drags us for more yards. He is everything he was built to be. We knew he was a great back coming into this game, but he was better than advertised."
Lattimore had equally strong praise in return, calling the Midshipmen one of the most disciplined groups in the nation.
"Hats off to Navy. I'm glad they're not in the SEC," he said. "As far as playing assignments and doing what you're supposed to do every play, that was the best team I've ever faced."
Lattimore's impressive night wasn't a surprise to quarterback Stephen Garcia, who finished 18-25 passing with 204 yards on the night.
"You can't thank that guy enough," Garcia said. "The offensive line did great again tonight and opened up the lanes for him. He's hard to tackle, as everybody can tell."
The 247-yard showing marked a career-high for Lattimore, who ran the ball 37 times for 6.6 yards per carry. As has become the norm, however, the All-SEC tailback gave all the credit to his offensive line.
"That's the o-line; the o-line and the receivers blocking downfield. That's what it was the whole game," Lattimore said. "They were being physical. They were moving their defensive line so I could see. I trust my o-line that I'm going to get 5 or 6 yards every time."
Although he said the night was noteworthy, Lattimore added that he and the Gamecocks are capable of more.
"We still haven't played to our potential," he said. "We're getting better every week, and that's our goal. We've got a tough Vanderbilt team coming in that just blew out Ole Miss. We've definitely got to get ready for them and play a little bit better than we did this week."