SportsDirect Inc. staff
Sep 13, 2014
No. 23 South Carolina 38, No. 6 Georgia 35: Dylan Thompson accounted for four touchdowns and Brandon Wilds rushed for 93 yards and a score as the host Gamecocks held on to upset the Bulldogs in a key SEC East showdown.
Thompson finished 21-of-30 for 271 yards with three TDs and an interception and also added a rushing score for the Gamecocks (2-1, 1-1 SEC), who have won three straight home games versus Georgia for the first time. Rory Anderson, Shaq Roland and Pharoh Cooper all hauled in TD passes from Thompson.
Todd Gurley rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and Hutson Mason was 16-of-22 for 191 yards and two TDs for Georgia (1-1, 0-1). Sony Michel and Jay Rome caught TD passes and Quayvon Hicks added a rushing score for the Bulldogs, who have lost four of the last five meetings.
The Bulldogs topped 20 points at South Carolina for the first time in 20 years, but when they finally got the defensive stop they needed in Damian Swann's fourth-quarter interception, Marshall Morgan missed a 28-yard field goal attempt that would have tied it. Thompson converted a fourth-and-inches with a quarterback sneak with 1:22 left — picking up the first down by the narrowest of margins — and the Gamecocks ran out the clock.
South Carolina took a 24-13 halftime lead behind Thompson's three TD passes, but Gurley brought the Bulldogs roaring back in the second half and cut it to 24-20 with a 2-yard TD run. Georgia was never able to regain the lead, even after Swann's interception and a South Carolina penalty set up the Bulldogs with first-and-goal on the 4, as an intentional grounding call pushed them back and Morgan pushed the potential tying kick wide right.
GAME NOTEBOOK: South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier earned his 201st win as an SEC coach, tying former Georgia coach Vince Dooley for second on the league's all-time list. … Gurley (2,703) moved into fifth on Georgia's all-time rushing list and is 31 yards behind Knowshon Moreno (2,734) for fourth. … Morgan made his 19th and 20th consecutive field goals, surpassing Fuad Reveiz's SEC record, before missing his next two attempts.