USC rallies behind Pirates' second-half miscues
CHARLOTTE – There were fumbles galore at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night. Fortunately for the Gamecocks, that didn’t stand in the way of a season-opening win.
Recovering from a turnover-laden first half and an early 17-point deficit, No. 12 South Carolina rode a 28-point third quarter to a 56-37 victory over East Carolina.
“We didn’t play very well at all early,” coach Steve Spurrier said. “We got it out of sight there quickly [in the second half]. We had a lot of good breaks, but didn’t play very well. Hopefully we can tighten up and play a lot better next week, but overall, it was a pretty good opening game.”
The fumbles began on Carolina’s first possession of the night. Running a quarterback draw from the ECU 19-yard line, sophomore Connor Shaw had the ball stripped at the 15, where the Pirates quickly recovered.
Two possessions later, sophomore tailback Marcus Lattimore lost the ball at the USC 43, and this time, ECU capitalized. After moving the ball to the 25, quarterback Dominique Davis hit receiver Justin Hardy on a post pattern for a touchdown, giving the Pirates an early 7-0 lead.
The Gamecocks would go on to fumble twice more, with tailback Kenny Miles losing a kick return and cornerback Stephon Gilmore muffing a punt, and ECU would make them pay both times. The Pirates would manage a 24-yard field goal following the first one, while Davis would throw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Joe Womack after the second, giving his team a 24-14 lead at halftime.
“We yelled for a bit and then calmed down and said, ‘This may be good for us to be behind at halftime because our history hasn’t been good coming from behind,’” Spurrier said.
The statement proved to be true, as the Pirates would proceed to catch the fumble bug themselves in the third quarter, much to Carolina’s pleasure. After taking the ball to start the half, ECU receiver Lance Lewis lost the ball at his own 34 and linebacker Shaq Wilson quickly pounced on it. Four plays later, Stephen Garcia, who relieved Shaw in the second quarter, found receiver Ace Sanders for a three-yard touchdown pass, cutting the lead to 24-21.
USC didn’t have to wait long for its next possession. On the third play of the next drive, Davis couldn’t handle a short snap from the shotgun formation, and linebacker Reginald Bowens fell on it at the ECU 10. Garcia – who passed for 110 yards and a touchdown along with 56 rushing yards and two touchdowns – ran it in for a score two plays later to put the Gamecocks ahead 28-24.
The fumbles weren’t done, however. On the ensuing kickoff, ECU returner Michael Dobson coughed up the ball after getting hit at his own 25. Spur Antonio Allen scooped it up and returned it all the way back for a touchdown, extending the lead to 35-24
“They started fumbling it back to us in the third quarter and we were able to capitalize and score a bunch of touchdowns,” Spurrier said. “That pretty much turned it around for us.”
Lattimore bounced back from his first-quarter fumble with a strong showing in the second half, running for a pair of one-yard touchdowns to go along with a three-yard score in the first half. The Heisman Trophy candidate finished the night with 112 rushing yards on 23 carries while averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
“Marcus ran very well after a sluggish start,” Spurrier said. “I was thinking [in the first half], all that Heisman crap, maybe we need to forget that for a while. But he settled down and ran very well the entire second half.”
The Gamecocks capped off their second-half resurgence with just under 10 minutes to go in the fourth. Fielding an ECU punt at his own 32, Sanders weaved through the Pirates’ coverage team for a 68-yard touchdown return, marking USC’s first since 2003.
“It felt real good to get Coach Spurrier his first return since he’s been here,” Sanders said. “That was very significant for him. He preaches that over and over in the special teams meeting. He really wanted us to get some points on special teams besides a blocked punt or something.”
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E. Carolina 7-17-7-6-37
S. Carolina 0-14-28-14-56
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
Justin Hardy 25 pass from Dominique Davis (Mike Barbour kick), 3:13. ECU 7, Gamecocks 0
Second Quarter
Lance Lewis 19 pass from Davis (Barbour kick), 14:11. ECU 14, Gamecocks 0
Barbour FG 24, 9:45. ECU 17, USC 0
Stephen Garcia 32 run (Jay Wooten kick), 7:42. ECU 17, Gamecocks 7
Marcus Lattimore 4 run (Wooten kick), 5:44. ECU 17, Gamecocks 14
Joe Womack 8 pass from Davis (Barbour kick), 0:03. ECU 24, Gamecocks 14
Third Quarter
Ace Sanders 3 pass from Garcia (Wooten kick), 12:28. ECU 24, Gamecocks 21
Garcia 10 run (Wooten kick), 10:40. Gamecocks 28, ECU 24
Antonio Allen 25 fumble recovery (Wooten kick), 10:29. Gamecocks 35, ECU 24
Davis 7 run (Barbour kick), 8:35. Gamecocks 35, ECU 31
Lattimore 1 run (Wooten kick), 3:13. Gamecocks 42, ECU 31
Fourth Quarter
Lattimore 1 run (Wooten kick), 10:42. Gamecocks 49, ECU 31
Sanders 68 punt return (Wooten kick), 9:46. Gamecocks 56, ECU 31
Lewis 4 pass from Davis (kick failed), 2:42. Gamecocks 56, ECU 37