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South Carolina throttles UGA in showdown
Georgia South Carolin Heal
Georgia flanker Rantavious Wooten, right drops a pass from quarterback Aaron Murray as South Carolina free safety D.J. Swearinger looks on during South Carolina's 35-7 win Saturday in Columbia, S.C. - photo by Associated Press
PETE IACOBELLI
AP Sports Writer
Updated: Oct 7, 2012, 2:48 AM
Published: Oct 7, 2012, 3:11 AM

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Connor Shaw threw two touchdown passes and ran for another, Ace Sanders had a dazzling 70-yard punt return touchdown and No. 6 South Carolina's defense dominated fifth-ranked Georgia in a 35-7 victory Saturday.

The Gamecocks (6-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) won their school-record 10th straight game with a performance that marked certainly marked them an Eastern Division front-runner — and maybe showed they're capable of even more.

Those tests come soon as South Carolina travels to once-beaten LSU next week and then to Florida on Oct. 20. It'd be hard to pick against the Gamecocks after this one.

"This was a special one," coach Steve Spurrier said. "It really was."

South Carolina grounded "Gurshall," holding Georgia's stellar freshmen Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall to 76 yards combined. The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) finished with 224 yards, less than half their season's average coming in.

Marcus Lattimore ended with 109 yards and a touchdown, the third straight time he's gone past the century mark on the Bulldogs. Coincidence the Gamecocks have posted their first-ever three game win streak in the series that began in 1894?

The Gamecocks 10th straight victory surpasses a school best set with their 9-0 start in 1984. That team reached No. 2 in the country and were poised for the top spot when No. 1 Nebraska lost, but South Carolina fell to Navy to lose perhaps its best-ever shot at a national champion.

Spurrier's Gamecocks look capable at another run this season. There are plenty of hurdles ahead, starting next Saturday at LSU's Death Valley where Les Miles' Tigers rarely ever lose at night. The Swamp and a revived Florida also won't be easy. Still, South Carolina showed the brand of championship defense usually found on the SEC's best teams.

"If we play like this, maybe we have a chance for a real big year," Spurrier said. "Maybe."

Georgia came in with a league-leading 48.2 points and 536 yards a game of offense — and where shut down by the Gamecocks.

Gurley and Marshall kept pounding the line to little effect, held scoreless after combining for 294 yards and five TDs in last week's win over Tennessee. Aaron Murray was 11 of 31 for 109 yards. He was sacked twice and threw one interception.

The game figured to be a matchup of Georgia's explosive offense against South Carolina's impenetrable D. The Gamecocks showed early it was no contest, holding the Bulldogs to just 111 yards of offense in the first half and taking control of the game.

South Carolina's offense set the tone at first, Spurrier once again showing there are few better at dialing up plays like the head ball coach. Damiere Bryd outfought Georgia's Bacarri Rambo for a 42-yard catch on the game's second snap. Two plays later, Shaw hit a wide-open Bruce Ellington for a 20-yard TD catch that sent the record crowd of 85,199 into a frenzy.

They had more to celebrate moments later when Kelcy Quarles tipped Murray's pass high in the air and safety DeVonte Holloman made a diving interception. Shaw cashed in again for the Gamecocks, ending a 69-yard sequence when tight end Rory Anderson came open in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown.

South Carolina used special teams — typically a Georgia strength — to extend the lead a few plays later after a three-and-out by the Bulldogs. Sanders bobbled the punt, got the ball back, broke several tackles and outrun the punter to the left pylon for a 21-0 lead with less than nine minutes gone.

The Gamecocks defense took control after that.

Georgia "didn't move it very far when they were out there," Spurrier said with a grin.

South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney sacked Murray for a loss of 6 yards to stall one series. Gurley and Marshall were continually swallowed up for minimal gains. The Bulldogs looked as if they'd found their footing right before halftime, Murray converting three third-down passes to get to the Gamecocks 4. But on fourth-and-goal, Rantavious Wooten was stopped shy of the end zone after catching a short pass by D.J. Swearinger and Shaq Wilson.

The biggest drama of the second half was whether Georgia would leave with its first shutout since a 31-0 loss to Alabama in 1995. Spurrer kept his defensive starters in, yet the Bulldogs drove 75 yards to score on Ken Malcome's 3-yard TD run with 1:55 to go.

 
Georgia spoils Porter Jr.'s return, beats Missouri
Georgia G
CHARLIE CLARKE
Associated Press
Updated: Mar 9, 2018, 3:02 PM
Published: Mar 9, 2018, 3:04 PM

ST. LOUIS (AP) — With the Southeastern Conference tournament in St. Louis and heralded freshman Michael Porter Jr. returning, Missouri fans were hoping to be treated to a weekend-long show from the Tigers.

Yante Maten and the Georgia Bulldogs did their best job to prevent that from happening.

Maten scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Georgia squeaked out a 62-60 victory over Missouri in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday.

Georgia, the 12th seed, led throughout the second half, but fifth-seeded Missouri narrowed the Bulldogs' lead to just two points with seven seconds left. The Tigers drew up a play for their leading scorer, Kassius Robertson. But Robertson's 3-point attempt went long and Georgia secured the victory.

After starting the game down 10-0, the Bulldogs (18-14), who face fourth-seeded Kentucky in Friday's second quarterfinal, charged back with a 12-0 run of their own. The trend continued throughout the contest: Missouri makes a run, Georgia responds.

"I felt like we got off to a very slow start but eventually found a rhythm defensively in the first half," Georgia coach Mark Fox said. "(We) were able to just kind of grind to the finish."

Maten and the Bulldogs put Missouri in foul trouble early. Missouri bigs Jeremiah Tilmon and Kevin Puryear fouled out and Jontay Porter finished with four fouls.

"We did a poor job of fouling," Robertson said. "We put them in the bonus really early, and they made a lot of money at the free-throw line."

Jontay Porter led Missouri (20-12) with 20 points and eight rebounds. His brother, Michael, a projected lottery pick who played just two minutes in the season opener and later had surgery, finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, but shot just 5 for 17 from the field.

Teshaun Hightower came up big off the bench for Georgia, matching his career high of 13 points. Hightower played a big role in Georgia's win over Vanderbilt Wednesday night, when he scored 13 and had six assists.