Georgia's defense has yet to slow down Lattimore
Its's the type of matchup circled on their calendars well before the season's opening game and there's little doubt no South Carolina player is looking more forward to Georgia's Saturday visit than tailback Marcus Lattimore.
Bulldogs coach Mark Richt uttered the understatement of the year Tuesday when he said, “We haven't had a lot of success slowing him down.”
Lattimore has lit up Georgia's defense like no other opponent in two big-game appearances and the Gamecocks' two-game win streak over the Dawgs is largely due to the 6-foot, 218-pound runner's remarkable performances. USC had lost seven of eight to Georgia before Lattimore's arrival. He has totaled 64 carries for 358 yards and three touchdowns in the two wins.
Lattimore introduced himself not only to one of USC's main rivals but also the nation in only his second collegiate game, when he pounded Georgia for 182 yards and two scores on 37 carries in a 17-6 victory during the Bulldogs' last visit to Columbia.
“He broke a bunch of tackles and it was one of the most amazing days I've ever seen a running back have two years ago,” USC coach Steve Spurrier said during his weekly news conference. “Last year we had a little bit of holes for him and he did break a few here and there, but not as many broken tackles as that first year. He's played very well against them and he'll probably need to have another big day if we're to win.”
During last season's wild 45-42 road victory, Lattimore carried 27 times for 182 yards and a touchdown, including an amazing 94 yards in the fourth quarter when his three-yard touchdown was the team's final offensive score of the game for a 38-35 lead.
“His biggest runs in that game came in the fourth quarter,” Richt said during Tuesday's weekly news conference.
“Quite frankly they were able to run the ball when everybody knew that's what they were going to do, so that is a little bit of problem. He has enough endurance to be even more effective in the fourth quarter when everybody is kind of giving way a little bit and he's still going strong.”
This looks like the week where USC will unleash their workhorse as the junior runner continues his comeback from a torn ACL suffered in last year's seventh game at Mississippi State.
Lattimore's 23 carries for 120 yards in last week's win at Kentucky tied the season opening win over Vanderbilt for his most rushes. He's topped 175 yards rushing in a game five times, with two coming against Georgia.
“We know they are going to be tough and right after we got into the locker room (after beating Kentucky) we all said we've got to get way better this week,” Lattimore said after the Kentucky game.
“I left a lot of yards out there (last week) and I've got to get way better if I'm going to have some success against Georgia and down the road.”
Spurrier is expecting to see Georgia make some adjustments from the 3-4 defense they've used against his team the past two seasons, bringing more defenders into the box to stop Lattimore. Of course, that's pretty much the plan for anybody trying to slow the Gamecocks.
“When you only throw 15 to 20 passes a game, the other team can't say let's go stop the pass, they obviously have to stop Marcus and the run game,” Spurrier said. “We also realize our best formula is to run the ball. Marcus has had a bunch of yards against them so they might get some more (defenders in the box) or whatever.”
Lattimore didn't have much of an explanation for his mega success against the Bulldogs, saying it's mostly about momentum and rhythm. If he reaches 100 rushing yards Saturday he will tie Harold Green and Riverside's Brandon Bennett for second on the school's all-time list with 11. George Rogers is the leader with 27 triple-digit rushing games.
“It's a game of momentum and you've got to have that if you're going to beat Georgia,” Lattimore said. “Sometimes it just opens up. Our offensive line gets in their groove after three or four runs in a row and it's hard for teams to stop that. I've got a great line and great set of receivers and tight ends blocking downfield. We know we've got a big challenge this week.
“It's going to be like it is every year. They are one of our rival games and it's probably going to come down to the end like it usually does.”
link: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/d8BmS?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=south-carolina-football
Its's the type of matchup circled on their calendars well before the season's opening game and there's little doubt no South Carolina player is looking more forward to Georgia's Saturday visit than tailback Marcus Lattimore.
Bulldogs coach Mark Richt uttered the understatement of the year Tuesday when he said, “We haven't had a lot of success slowing him down.”
Lattimore has lit up Georgia's defense like no other opponent in two big-game appearances and the Gamecocks' two-game win streak over the Dawgs is largely due to the 6-foot, 218-pound runner's remarkable performances. USC had lost seven of eight to Georgia before Lattimore's arrival. He has totaled 64 carries for 358 yards and three touchdowns in the two wins.
Lattimore introduced himself not only to one of USC's main rivals but also the nation in only his second collegiate game, when he pounded Georgia for 182 yards and two scores on 37 carries in a 17-6 victory during the Bulldogs' last visit to Columbia.
“He broke a bunch of tackles and it was one of the most amazing days I've ever seen a running back have two years ago,” USC coach Steve Spurrier said during his weekly news conference. “Last year we had a little bit of holes for him and he did break a few here and there, but not as many broken tackles as that first year. He's played very well against them and he'll probably need to have another big day if we're to win.”
During last season's wild 45-42 road victory, Lattimore carried 27 times for 182 yards and a touchdown, including an amazing 94 yards in the fourth quarter when his three-yard touchdown was the team's final offensive score of the game for a 38-35 lead.
“His biggest runs in that game came in the fourth quarter,” Richt said during Tuesday's weekly news conference.
“Quite frankly they were able to run the ball when everybody knew that's what they were going to do, so that is a little bit of problem. He has enough endurance to be even more effective in the fourth quarter when everybody is kind of giving way a little bit and he's still going strong.”
This looks like the week where USC will unleash their workhorse as the junior runner continues his comeback from a torn ACL suffered in last year's seventh game at Mississippi State.
Lattimore's 23 carries for 120 yards in last week's win at Kentucky tied the season opening win over Vanderbilt for his most rushes. He's topped 175 yards rushing in a game five times, with two coming against Georgia.
“We know they are going to be tough and right after we got into the locker room (after beating Kentucky) we all said we've got to get way better this week,” Lattimore said after the Kentucky game.
“I left a lot of yards out there (last week) and I've got to get way better if I'm going to have some success against Georgia and down the road.”
Spurrier is expecting to see Georgia make some adjustments from the 3-4 defense they've used against his team the past two seasons, bringing more defenders into the box to stop Lattimore. Of course, that's pretty much the plan for anybody trying to slow the Gamecocks.
“When you only throw 15 to 20 passes a game, the other team can't say let's go stop the pass, they obviously have to stop Marcus and the run game,” Spurrier said. “We also realize our best formula is to run the ball. Marcus has had a bunch of yards against them so they might get some more (defenders in the box) or whatever.”
Lattimore didn't have much of an explanation for his mega success against the Bulldogs, saying it's mostly about momentum and rhythm. If he reaches 100 rushing yards Saturday he will tie Harold Green and Riverside's Brandon Bennett for second on the school's all-time list with 11. George Rogers is the leader with 27 triple-digit rushing games.
“It's a game of momentum and you've got to have that if you're going to beat Georgia,” Lattimore said. “Sometimes it just opens up. Our offensive line gets in their groove after three or four runs in a row and it's hard for teams to stop that. I've got a great line and great set of receivers and tight ends blocking downfield. We know we've got a big challenge this week.
“It's going to be like it is every year. They are one of our rival games and it's probably going to come down to the end like it usually does.”
link: http://bleacherreport.com/tb/d8BmS?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=south-carolina-football