Unable to convert on opportunities, Gamecocks fall to Tigers 23-21
BATON ROUGE, La. — With the deafening Tiger Stadium crowd around him, South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier found himself asking quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus one all-important question over the noise.
“I kept asking G.A., ‘Did [quarterback Connor Shaw] get hit in the head somewhere?’ Some of his decision-making was a little off,” Spurrier said.
It had been that kind of night for the then-No. 3 Gamecocks. A costly interception, little running room and what Spurrier called “by far the most physical” defense USC played all season handed the Gamecocks their first loss, as they fell 23-21 to LSU.
Reflecting on the game in the visiting media room, Spurrier heard the familiar “L-S-U” chants just outside the door.
“They deserved to beat us,” he said over the fans’ celebrations. “There’s no question about it.”
After the Tigers’ offense had to settle for a field goal with 10:17 left in the fourth quarter, Shaw did something to make Spurrier question his health.
Off balance on a third down with a one-point lead, Shaw threw into the hands of LSU safety Eric Reid, who returned the ball to the South Carolina 22-yard line.
The Gamecocks’ defense, back on the field just a minute after it had shuffled off, again held LSU to a field goal, giving the Tigers just a two-point lead with 6:32 left in the game.
South Carolina’s next offensive possession went like much of the game did for the Gamecocks. Shaw tried to run but was dropped for a loss. His next pass was incomplete. On third down, he was sacked for an 11-yard loss.
The Tigers got the ball on midfield, and running back Jeremy Hill took the first snap for a 50-yard touchdown to give the Tigers a 23-14 lead with five minutes left in the game.
“They ran it much better than we thought they would, and we didn’t run it as well as we thought we would,” Spurrier said. “That was probably the huge difference in the game. I was hoping all of their little field goals might not add up, but I guess it came down to that long run the guy made for the last touchdown.”
Junior tailback Marcus Lattimore had just 35 yards on 13 carries with one touchdown run, while Shaw finished the night with negative yardage on the ground. Shaw said the offense was “stunned” when it couldn’t establish the run game early in the game.
“It was one of the best [defensive] lines we’ve seen, best defenses we’ve seen probably ever,” Lattimore said.
The Gamecocks countered Hill’s touchdown with an 11-play touchdown drive, culminating in a one-yard touchdown pass from Shaw to wide receiver Bruce Ellington, to make the score 23-21 with 1:41 left in the game.
USC attempted an on-side kick, but it went out-of-bounds, giving the Tigers the ball at the South Carolina 49-yard-line. From there, LSU ran the clock down to 35 seconds before punting it back to USC. With 10 seconds left in the game, Shaw was intercepted on a desperation pass.
“We had chances,” Shaw said. “We just left them on the board.”
The Gamecocks’ offense was spoon-fed chances by the play of the defense and special teams. Out of five red-zone trips, LSU scored a touchdown just once, and wide receiver Ace Sanders added a 50-yard punt return to set up the Gamecocks’ second touchdown drive.
Cornerback Jimmy Legree’s interception and 70-yard return to the LSU 1-yard-line led to the first Gamecock score, but the defense was unable to stop a Tigers’ rushing attack that tallied 258 yards across five different players. LSU had 406 yards of total offense to USC’s 211 yards.
Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney said he thought some of the defense didn’t have the same intensity and emotional fire as it did in the near-shutout of then-No. 5 Georgia. With a trip to the SEC Championship at stake at undefeated Florida next Saturday, the Gamecocks will have no lack of motivation to bounce back from their first loss of the season.
“Some guys just didn’t play,” Clowney said. “I don’t know if it’s because of injuries or if they were scared or what ... We just can’t come out against Florida next weekend and lay down against them.”