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No. 6 USC comes alive, routs Kentucky in second half

FeatheredCock

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — Two seasons ago a nightmare of a second half cost South Carolina at Commonwealth Stadium as the Gamecocks suffered the dreaded hangover, blowing a 28-10 halftime lead before ultimately falling to the Wildcats 31-28 a week after knocking off No. 1 Alabama.

Saturday night, USC's nightmare occurred in the first half but the sixth-ranked Gamecocks were able to right the ship in the second, outscoring the Wildcats 31-0 after the intermission to earn a 38-17 win and set up an undefeated showdown with No. 5 Georgia next week at Williams-Brice Stadium.

“Sort of a turnaround from two years ago when we were up 18 and got beat here,” South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier said.

“Two different halves, our guys really played in the second half. (Kentucky) almost ran off and left us in the first half. Fortunately it didn't cost us. We got our victory and we can move on to the next one.”

USC star running back Marcus Lattimore was the key to Carolina's second-half surge, rushing for 108 yards and two touchdowns after the break.

Lattimore missed the second half of the game in 2010 due to an injury and said it was nice to be able to contribute in a big way on Saturday.

“They embarrassed us (in 2010). They came out with a fire (tonight) to embarrass us again, but we couldn't let that happen,” Lattimore said. “I'm glad we got this win. It was a statement win.”

Quarterback Connor Shaw was steady, completing 15 of 18 passes for 148 yards. He also rushed for 76 yards on 19 carries. The junior threw for two touchdowns, finding Ace Sanders in the first quarter for a 3-yard score and Damiere Byrd early in the third quarter on a 30-yard pass.

Connor is a good tough kid, he got hit a couple of times in the pocket there. He had some nice runs up in there. He's really a good passer,” Spurrier said.

Everything that could go wrong for USC in the first half did as Kentucky built a 17-7 halftime lead.

The Gamecocks' offense had a dropped touchdown in the end zone. USC also missed out on points when Shaw was stopped from the 1-yard line on fourth-and-goal. Later in the half, Shaw had a snap go over his head on fourth-and-1.

The USC special teams didn't fare any better in the first 30 minutes as a blocked punt set up a Kentucky touchdown. Carolina's defense also struggled early as the Wildcats had 173 yards in the first half, converting 4 of 8 third-down conversions.

USC cornerback Jimmy Legree nearly had an interception in the second quarter but instead the tipped pass was caught by Kentucky receiver Daryl Collins. The Wildcats scored on the next play.

“You're going to have some ups and downs through the season but hopefully it won't cost you a game. Overall we played well the second half but the first half we weren't very good,” Spurrier said.

link: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20120929/ARTICLES/120929634/1091/sports03?p=1&tc=pg

 
We could've beat them a lot faster, but yeah...

 
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