Gamecocks look to gash Bulldogs on the ground
Rushing for 182 yards and two scores, Lattimore made his SEC debut a memorable one, leading USC to a 17-6 victory. It was the first time the Gamecocks beat the Bulldogs at home in the Mark Richt era.
This year, all eyes remain on Lattimore.
"That whole week we prepared to run the ball," said Lattimore of last year's game against UGA. "I knew coming into the game that we were going to run the ball a lot. Once I got into my groove, I felt like I could be successful. Obviously, I had a good game, but this year, it's a whole different year."
For the first time in history, a ranked South Carolina team will be facing an unranked Georgia squad. The Bulldogs fell out of the major polls after a 35-21 loss to Boise State. The Broncos' pass-heavy offense racked up 129 rushing yards against the Bulldogs last week.
Georgia will be without linebacker Alec Ogletree, who broke his foot against Boise. With Ogletree on the field, UGA was able to hold BSU scoreless in its first three possessions. After Ogletree went out with the injury, the Broncos gashed the Georgia defense.
Senior Jeremy Sulek, a walk-on, appears to be the replacement for Ogletree as he took over during the game and knows the position better than anyone else available, according to Richt.
While the Bulldogs' defensive line outlook seems bleak after the loss to the Broncos, USC offensive line coach Shawn Elliott sees a unit loaded with talent.
"They've got a great [defensive line]," Elliott said. "You talk about [Kwame] Geathers — 6-6, 350 (pounds) — at the nose guard that's going to be a guy that we haven't seen before. Jarvis Jones is a guy that can come off the edge. He's a physical, powerful rusher and can change the complexion of the game in a hiccup so we've got to be on our toes. We've got to play much better than we did last week."
Last week, the offensive line allowed for the depth in the running game to shine as the offense racked up 220 yards with 40 carries. After Lattimore, the leading rusher was quarterback Stephen Garcia with five carries for 56 yards.
While it's rare for Lattimore to break out for a long run like Garcia did a few times against ECU, it's the short carries in his game that wear opposing defenses down and help the Gamecocks control the clock on offense.
"All I know is that clock is moving and it's a continual first down here and there," Elliott said. "As a line coach, I like those four-yard runs. Those are good yards. Those are tough yards. I'm pleased any time he goes forward — he very seldom goes backwards. You've got to value those things. Everybody expects him to break a 20-yard run every time he gets the ball — they're kidding themselves.
"It's got to be a well-executed run and a well-executed block, but those four- and five-yard runs I'll take any day of the week and we'll win a lot of games with them."
Against the Bulldogs last season, Lattimore may have made a name for himself, but South Carolina was also able to establish a name for itself as a legitimate contender in the SEC East. On Saturday, it looks to keep that name.
"After that (game), we did feel like we can contend for the SEC East and the Championship and we did," Lattimore said. "We know that coming into the game we can run the ball and throw the ball if we can execute our games. If we do that, we'll be fine."
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