South Carolina fans are holding their breath, as their phenom running back and the most important player on their team walked off the field on crutches today vs. Mississippi State. South Carolina pulled off a 14-12 victory, but in no way can Gamecocks fans feel good about the win.

South Carolina fans' greatest fears have been realized. It's too early to kiss their season goodbye, but to say this injury is a huge blow is the understatement of the century. Let's take a look at how Lattimore's injury affects the Gamecocks' season.

 

Devastation Scale: 8

This jumps immediately to 10 if Lattimore ends up missing any significant amount of time. Right now his injury is being called an "apparent knee injury" by Sporting News, so it's impossible to say this is a season-ending injury.

Even so, the crutches and temporary brace he left the field in certainly justify an eight on the devastation scale. Lattimore is one of the best backs in the entire nation and South Carolina is significantly less dangerous without him.

 

Heisman Impact

There is officially one less player in the Heisman race. Lattimore was a Heisman long shot, after slipping out of voters' graces with two so-so outings. Even so, he bounced back last week and was a dark horse in the race. Such is not the case anymore, as even one game out will ruin his already slim chances of bringing home the trophy.

 

BCS Championship Impact

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This may yank away any hope South Carolina had of running the table the rest of the way and potentially sneaking into the BCS Championship, but if Lattimore is in fact out for the season, it could mean great things for Clemson.

Clemson has a solid chance at running the table. They're slowly but surely climbing the rankings every week, and if Lattimore doesn't play in the final game of the season, it could be the difference between Clemson playing in a BCS game and the BCS game.

 

Who's the Backup?

Lattimore was everything to South Carolina's run game. Their second-leading rusher was recently-dismissed quarterback Stephen Garcia. It looks like freshman running back Brandon Wilds, who has 11 carries, is going to have to take on a much more major role.

It's hard to imagine the team will make him carry the entire load, but regardless of who they elect to give carries to, there's certainly going to be a major dropoff in production. Losing Garcia and potentially Lattimore is a huge blow that could ultimately cost South Carolina their season.