South Carolina vs Georgia: TV Time, Live Score, Highlights and Recap

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Jadeveon Clowney was waiting for his welcome to SEC Football moment.

He got it Saturday, in South Carolina's thrilling victory over Georgia in the SEC Conference opener for both teams.

Clowney was the top recruit in the nation and surprised some by selecting the Gamecocks. On a team loaded with pass rushers, many wondered when and if Clowney would make an impact this season.

They didn't have to wait too long for that answer as Clowney made a big play in a game filled with them.

One play after South Carolina took a 38-35 fourth quarter lead on a Marcus Lattimore touchdown run, Clowney took center stage.

The freshman showed the burst and quick first step of the ball, beating the Georgia lineman to the inside before planting Bulldogs quarterback Aaron Murray.

Murray had no chance and never saw the hit coming. Melvin Ingram, who also had a big game, scooped up the ball and went the final five yards for a Gamecocks touchdown and a ten-point lead.

The play by Clowney turned out to be the biggest of a back-and-forth game and helped South Carolina to a 2-0 start.

Much attention is paid to what the Gamecocks can do on the offensive side of the ball. With Lattimore, quarterback Stephen Garcia, wide receiver Alshon Jefferey and others; South Carolina has weapons upon weapons for other teams to deal with.

Now they also create the same problems for teams on the defensive side of the ball and make no mistake about it, the Gamecocks won this game on the defensive side of the ball.

One thing is for sure, that play was just one of many more big ones Clowney will make during his career.

Welcome to the big time.

Matt Shetler

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Defense wins championships, but on this day, they preserved a championship for South Carolina.

South Carolina was pushed to another instant classic from the Georgia Bulldogs yesterday in Athens, Georgia. Just like last year, when Georgia came into South Carolina, the game went back-and-forth with both teams trading leads, both teams giving a great performance, and in the end, both teams having a shot at winning the game. 

Just like last year, it was the South Carolina Game Cocks who came away with a victory. 

Unlike last year, where South Carolina’s running back Marcus Lattimore stole the show running like a mad man all over the Georgia defense, it was the South Carolina’s defense who stole the show yesterday. 

Carolina’s defense did give up 42-points to the Georgia offense. They allowed Georgia’s quarterback, Aaron Murray, to throw for 248 yards and four touchdowns. They gave up 118 yards rushing on 16 carries and a touchdown to Georgia’s leading rusher Isiah Crowell.

But, if it wasn’t for the Carolina defense and their two scores from turnovers, Carolina would have ended up losing the game and losing a chance at their first National Championship. 

The defense forced a turn over after Stephan Garcia tied the game up in the third quarter. Then to put the game away, Melvin Ingram returned a punt recovery with 3:12 left in the game.

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Twitter; @tjmcaloon

TV Guide Week 2 College Football Week 2 TV Schedule: Complete TV Listings and Live Stream Info

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Tonight featured the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Georgia Bulldogs between the hedges to kick off the SEC season and it was a barnburner. With 827 yards of total offense and 87 points combined, the Gamecocks came out on top 45 to 42. With the win, South Carolina starts 2-0 and has the inside track on the SEC East title.

Final Score: South Carolina 45 - Georgia 42

Recap: This game was back and forth from the get go. There were eight lead-changes and one tie throughout the course of the contest.

Both teams played well enough to win, but it was Georgia that ultimately made too many mistakes to overcome.

Both teams played a good first half. Blair Walsh hit two field goals for Georgia and Aaron Murray found Rantavious Wooten in the end zone for a score.

For South Carolina, Stephen Garcia hooked up with Alshon Jeffrey for a 34 yard touchdown pass and Marvin Ingram tacked on a 68 yard touchdown run. South Carolina led 14-13 at halftime.

The third quarter was another back and forth affair. South Carolina outscored Georgia 14-7 and took a 28-20 lead into the fourth quarter.

Georgia tied the game with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 12:45 to go. The Gamecocks answered with a field goal, putting the score at 31-28 Gamecocks.

Georgia took a 35-31 lead with 6:28 left to go in the fourth quarter and then the wheels came off for the Bulldogs.  Marcus Lattimore scored on a three-yard run with 3:28 left in the game to give the Gamecocks a three point lead. Sixteen second later, South Carolina scored another touchdown when Marvin Ingram returned a fumble five yards and into the end zone.

Analysis of South Carolina’s Victory: South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia had a lackluster day, going 11/25 for 142 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Fortunately for the Gamecocks, Garcia just had to manage the game and get the ball to star running back Marcus Lattimore.

Marcus Lattimore absolutely owned the Georgia defense two years in a row. This year Lattimore carried 27 times and racked up 172 yards. When it counted during a wild fourth quarter, Lattimore put the Gamecocks on his back and was simply too much for the Georgia defense to handle.

Bleacher Report is your home for college football for the 2011 season. From scores, news, analysis, live blogs and updates on your favorite teams and the big national games every week, keep it on Bleacher Report for the very latest in college football news.

 -- David Boutin

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Let's look at the other side of the coin here: what can Mark Richt do to keep his head coaching job at Georgia.

For one, Richt needs to tighten up his defense.  In both games this season, the Bulldogs allowed at least 35 points.  

They got run all over by South Carolina, and while Marcus Lattimore is a beast of epic proportions, the defensive line never looked like they had a chance.  

Conversely, the secondary actually performed pretty well, forcing three turnovers and only allowing 142 yards.  

Next, Richt needs to get his receiving core to step up.  Quarterback Aaron Murray is a pretty decent talent, but his top two receivers Orson Charles and Malcolm Mitchell have combined for just 11 catches in two games.

Not all of this can be put on the receivers though.  Georgia, for the most part, has played it pretty conservatively throwing the ball.  

Running back Isaiah Crowell showed he is an elite talent, but he can't be expected to do it all by himself; especially since he's a true freshman.

Victories over Coastal Carolina and Ole Miss are very winnable games that would be big for gaining confidence back, but a true test in Week 5 against Mississippi State will show where the Bulldogs are truly at talent wise. 

To completely write Richt off this early in the season is a bit much, but he certainly has some work to do in the upcoming weeks.  

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Perhaps it is being a bit gloom and doom to already be talking about Mark Richt's replacement, but the Southeastern Conference is a deep one and the Bulldogs play two more ranked opponents this season.  

That means wins could be tough to come by for Georgia in 2011.  

So why not look ahead and start thinking about who a quality replacement could be for Richt.

One name that comes to mind is Mike Leach.  

Leach was of course fired from Texas Tech after a highly disputed incident with player Adam James.  

Since then, Leach has been working as a football analyst at the CBS College Sports Network.

This past off season, he was heavily rumored to be heading to Maryland, and it was eventually reported that he interviewed their twice before Randy Edsall was hired.  

Leach would likely not pass up a big time offer from somewhere like Georgia, and the Bulldogs would probably jump at the chance to have another big name coach.  

Another intriguing option would be Chris Peterson from the Boise State Broncos. 

Peterson has led his team to at least ten wins each season since he came aboard in 2006, and has won the WAC four times. 

Gary Patterson from the TCU Horned Frogs has some mainstream appeal as well, given that his resume is almost as impressive as Peterson's.  

Since '05, Paterson has led to Horned Frogs to three divisional titles, and has come up shy on 10 wins in just one season. 

If Richt really does make his exit from Georgia, who would you like to see replace him?

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Since 2009, Mark Richt is 14-14 as a head coach.  Pretty disappointing after having six seasons of ten wins or more in his first eight seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs.  

To be fair, its not like Georgia lost to scrubs the past two weeks: they lost to Boise State and South Carolina, ranked fifth and twelfth respectively.

Still, after the first losing season in Richt's tenure as head coach last year, alarms started to go off.  

Realistically, fans and analysts alike had to realize that there was a very decent chance the Bulldogs could start 0-2 in 2011.  

It just comes at a very inopportune time for Richt, a former Florida State offensive coordinator and quarterback coach.  

The biggest criticism of Richt has to be that his squad is talented.  Georgia has a top tier running back in freshman Isaiah Crowell.  

Aaron Murray is a very reliable quarterback, usually pretty accurate and solid in the red zone.

His defense has a good secondary, and is therefore generally pretty solid against the pass.  

The list goes on, but Richt is officially on the hot seat after going two weeks into 2011 without a win for his football team.

-John Heinis  

The intensity hasn't dwindled at all in this fantastic showdown between South Carolina and Georgia!  The back-and-forth battle has seen both teams make some stellar plays and tough drives.

Five times the lead has changed in this game, and as time winds down, we could still see a couple more before it's done.

Current Score: South Carolina 31 - Georgia 35  6:17 left in the fourth quarter

Emerging Story Lines:  Big plays have been the name of the game.  South Carolina pulled off a pick-six late in the third quarter to jump out to the lead.  Georgia bounced back with a solid drive of their own.

Jay Wooden nailed a 49-yard field goal to go up 31-28.  That wasn't the end.  Oh no. 

Georgia took the kick return all the way to the South Carolina 37.  Four plays later, Isaiah Crowell carried the ball 21 yards for another score. 

This isn't knickle-and-dime play going on here.  The big plays are defining the later stages of this contest and it's shaping up to be an incredible finish!

Bleacher Report is your home for college football for the 2011 season. From scores, news, analysis, live blogs and updates on your favorite teams and the big national games every week, keep it on Bleacher Report for the very latest in college football news.

- Stix Symmonds

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South Carolina and Georgia are locked in a heated showdown in Atlanta.  The Bulldog defense is giving South Carolina QB Stephen Garcia all kinds of fits. 

So far, it hasn't been enough to lock the Gamecocks away, but Georgia isn't making it easy.  This is shaping up to potentially be the kind of rebound game they were looking for after dropping to  Boise State last weekend.

Current Score: South Carolina 21 - Georgia 20  2:39 left in third quarter

Emerging Story lines:  Garcia was the hero, of sorts, in South Carolina's come-from-behind victory over East Carolina last weekend.  This weekend, he has looked far less Messiah and far more bench-warmer.

Garcia completed just eight of his first 20 attempts for 97 yards and a score, with two interceptions.

Marcus Lattimore—the sensational running back that exploded on the stage last year—has been productive with 66 yards on 13 carries, but has yet to find the end zone. 

It's been a strong showing by the Bulldog defense, holding South Carolina to under a 100 yards passing through the majority of three quarters.

Turnovers could end up being a big key toward the end of this game, however.  South Carolina picked up a fumble and rumbled down to the Georgia five yard line just moments ago.  This was the third turnover in the game.

Bleacher Report is your home for college football for the 2011 season. From scores, news, analysis, live blogs and updates on your favorite teams and the big national games every week, keep it on Bleacher Report for the very latest in college football news.

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South Carolina Vs.Georgia:Breaking News, Predictions and Preview of Key Showdown

Current Betting Line: South Carolina -2

What’s At Stake: For the Gamecocks a big SEC win in their conference opener for a team that has their eyes set on a possible SEC Championship. For Georgia, a win may take some heat off the already hot seat of head coach Mark Richt.

Last-Second Injury News: Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree and guard Kenarious Gates were both injured in Week One and won't be available.

For South Carolina, cornerback Victor Hampton is still out serving a suspensions, as is freshman wide receiver Damiere Byrd. The Gamecocks will welcome back DeVonte Holloman and Martay Mattox from suspensions and DaMario Jeffery is expected to play after spraining his ankle last week.

Key Matchup : For South Carolina it's pressure on quarterback Aaron Murray.  The Bulldogs quarterback was sacked six times by Boise State in Georgia’s opening season loss. With ends Devin Taylor, Melvin Ingram and freshman sensation Jadeveon Clowney the Gamecocks have the ability to make any quarterback uneasy.

Senior tackle Travian Robertson and junior Aldrick Fordham also have the ability to break through what appears to be a suspect Georgia line.

Sleepers to Watch:  WR Malcolm Mitchell—Georgia coach Mark Richt was pleased with the play of the true freshman receiver, who finished with three catches for 64 yards and a TD, including a 51-yard catch and run. Someone has to step up and replace the production lost by A.J. Green's departure.

Prediction: While Richt really needs this win he won't get it. South Carolina 31 Georgia 20.

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If there is a coach in the nation who needs a big win more than Georgia's Mark Richt, I don't know who he is.

Richt's seat is indeed very hot at Georgia, after not doing much with some talented football team's the past few season's.

To make matters worse for Richt was last week's season opening loss to Boise State. It wasn't the fact that Georgia lost to a very good Broncos team, but it was that Boise State made things look easy against Georgia most of the time.

It doesn't get any easier for Richt this week at No. 12 South Carolina is up next for the Bulldogs.

Even though it's only the second week of the season, it's a huge game for Richt and Georgia.

While Georgia seems to be a team heading in the wrong direction as of late, their opposition is a team heading upwards as the Gamecocks are looking to claim their first SEC Championship in 2011.

Beating South Carolina is going to be a chore for Georgia.

They are a team that can be deadly both on the ground and through the air. They have a very aggressive attacking defense. Oh yeah, they also have Steve Spurrier on the sidelines who will have the Gamecocks ready for their SEC opener.

So for Richt, the clock could be ticking and the seat could be heating up by the quarter. If there is anyone that desperately needs this win, it's Richt.

Although i don't think he will get it.

Matt Shetler

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Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney played in his first college game last week against East Carolina and it wasn't exactly what fans were hoping for.

Seven assists tackles and one pass defended is not enough to satisfy Gamecock fans.

The hype is huge around Clowney—not with him just being the overall No. 1 prospect, but some people go as far as to call him the greatest prospect we've ever seen. He's a "can't miss," as some people refer to him as.

He is very athletic and has a ridiculous combination of speed and size. He has great explosion off the ball and long arms to disrupt passing lanes. He is one of those payers that doesn't have many weaknesses. He is a freak of nature.

In one season in high school, his stat sheet consisted of 162 tackles, 29.5 sacks, 29 tackles for loss, 11 forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries and scored he five touchdowns on defense. He also scored nine touchdowns on 32 carries when he played running back.

His debut wasn't that bad but the hype is so huge around him that if he doesn't step it up and get sacks, he may begin to feel the pressure. The word bust may be used.

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Mark Richt and his Georgia Bulldog players are feeling the heat after only one loss. Richt's Bulldogs have fallen out of the Top 25, raising the stakes heading into this week's Southeastern Conference game against No. 12 South Carolina.

The game against Boise State was Georgia's 13th loss in the last three seasons, including this one. Now playing one of the SEC favorites is not looking too well for the Georgia coach right now.

Richt has had a lot of success at Georgia but 12 combined losses in the last two seasons isn't going to keep you around long in the SEC. The seven losses the Bulldogs suffered last season was the most for the program since 1990.

Georgia is working with a new team as majority of the team from last year has left. But that's the pressure you face when you coach in the SEC. You're on a short leash and if you don't win, you're out of here and it's on to the next coach.

The schedule doesn't get much easier as there are plenty of quality SEC teams that remain. If he loses he could be looking for a job elsewhere. This game against South Carolina may be the most important of Mark Richt's career.

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East Carolina ranked dead last in the country in yards allowed per game last season.

Sure, they did switch their scheme from a 4-3 to a 3-4 but the necessary defensive improvement needs a lot more than an offseason and a new scheme in order to put up a challenge to an SEC team like South Carolina.

That is why the Gamecocks’ true colors will be on display this Saturday when they take on Georgia.

The Bulldogs’ defense played valiantly in a losing effort and will be fighting with the energy of the crowd to prove that they are a contender in the SEC despite losing to Boise State.

Georgia’s rush defense held touted Doug Martin to only 2.4 yards per carry and a 3.5 yard average for all rushers. They also can double team Alshon Jeffrey which will greatly help.

Boise State was able to stay away from cornerback Brandon Boykin for most of the game because the Broncos didn’t have one go-to receiver he could consistently cover. That will not be the case against South Carolina.

Stephen Garcia was impressive in backup duty for Connor Shaw who opened the game, throwing 7-15 for 110 yards with a touchdown and added 56 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

But Georgia is no East Carolina and their defense could easily stop another similar performance from happening.

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The Bulldogs got beaten on the line of scrimmage by Boise State, their offensive line especially which allowed six sacks.

It could be another one of those days for Georgia and quarterback Aaron Murray this Saturday.

South Carolina did not look the part last weekend when it could not get a sack against East Carolina but they do have Devin Taylor and Jadeveon Clowney at defensive end and were the best in the SEC last season in stopping the run.

They also return three of four defensive backs which should be a better unit than the one Georgia faced against Boise State including preseason All-SEC cornerback Stephon Gilmore.

Murray did all he could to keep his team from losing to the Broncos going 16 of 29 for 236 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Considering the way his offensive line played and the poor blocking from freshman running back Isaiah Crowell, he will once again have the unenviable task of trying to will his team to victory.