Connor Shaw's four touchdown passes lead Gamecocks
South Carolina's lackluster passing game finally found its spark Saturday afternoon against Kentucky.
Entering the week averaging just 174.6 yards per game, newly-anointed starting quarterback Connor Shaw and the Gamecocks racked up 351 yards through the air, bouncing back from last week's loss to crush the Wildcats 54-3.
"It was a good game for us," coach Steve Spurrier said. "Connor had a lot of good plays; a few plays we could've done better, but Connor played well and threw the ball well. We finally threw a few touchdown passes. It was a good win for us."
USC's big day began on its second possession of the first quarter. Trailing 3-0, Shaw drove the offense to the UK 21-yard line before finding Alshon Jeffery in the end zone for his first touchdown pass of the season, giving the Gamecocks a 7-3 lead.
The barrage continued in the opening minutes of the second quarter. After moving the ball to the UK 11, Shaw hit tight end Justice Cunningham across the middle for a touchdown. The Wildcats managed to block the extra point attempt, making it 13-3.
The final score of the quarter came on Carolina's next drive. Following a Kentucky punt to the USC 21, the Gamecocks advanced to the UK 24 before Shaw found Jeffery in the end zone again, increasing the lead to 20-3 going into halftime.
"[Throwing to Jeffery early] just gets the offense in a rhythm and gets him in a rhythm," Shaw said. "A sophomore quarterback coming in who hadn't had very much game experience, you've got to get the ball to [number] one early and often. I think it helped my confidence."
Shaw's final touchdown pass of the day came in the opening minutes of the second half. On second-and-1 from the UK 25, the sophomore hit wide receiver Nick Jones on a post route to make it 27-3. The score was Shaw's fourth of the day, making him the first Gamecock to reach that mark since Blake Mitchell did in 2006.
"He was ready to play," Spurrier said. "He practiced very well this week. In fact, he was a little sharper in practice to tell you the truth, but he threw some beautiful balls in there. We had a lot of good plays called at the right time and he threw it perfectly, and that's the result we got."
Shaw – who finished the day 26 for 39 with 311 passing yards – added 42 yards on the ground to go along with Marcus Lattimore's 102-yard performance. It marked the first game this season that Lattimore didn't reach the end zone, but the sophomore said the team's success was all that mattered.
"We've got so many weapons out here," Lattimore said. "We just decided we've got all this speed, we've got all this quickness out here and we've got to use it. We used it today, and you see what the score was."
The win marked Jeffery's most productive day so far this season, finishing with 95 receiving yards to go along with his pair of touchdowns. He said the success was a result of the time spent between him and Shaw in preparation for the matchup.
"It was just us practicing," Jeffery said. "We ran a lot of plays this week. We just tried to keep it simple and I was just open."
Bruce Ellington also got in on the action with just over 10 minutes to go in the game. On first-and-10 at the USC 39, the Moncks Corner native took a direct snap in the wildcat formation and raced 61 yards down the right sideline for the first touchdown of his collegiate career, increasing the lead to 40-3.
"It was a great run," Spurrier said of Ellington, who also added three catches for 22 yards. "We were trying to figure out what to run. I think [offensive line coach Shawn Elliott] said let's play him back there and run the sweep. It looked like he'd make eight or 10 yards and the next thing I know he's gone. Those are the kind of plays you need in close games to make it exciting."
Shaw's second start of the season proved to be a polar opposite from his first, in which he was just three for nine passing for 21 yards and fumbled on the opening possession. He said the biggest difference in today's outing was his mindset entering the game.
"In Charlotte I didn't think I was as prepared as I was [today]," Shaw said. "They let me know early this week [that he was starting], so I just had a good mindset going into this. I wasn't as nervous as last time. I've been there, done that; that's the way I felt about it."