Marcus Lattimore Injury: How Does Season Ending Injury Impact South Carolina?

The sad news is out and it is not good for Gamecock fans. Sports Illustrated's Stewart Mandal has reported that superstar and Heisman contender Marcus Lattimore will miss the rest of the season after sustaining a knee injury in yesterday's 14-12 victory over Mississippi State. 

Lattimore was blocking on a running play by Bruce Ellington and his knee was taken out by a defender on the attempted tackle. 

This loss comes at the worst possible time with South Carolina battling for a berth in the SEC Championship. They currently control their own destiny in the East Division, but would have to run the table more than likely with Georgia catching fire.

The Gamecocks came into the season as the favorites in the SEC East and some (myself included) thought they could be a challenge with whoever won the SEC West.

They have had to deal with several distractions, including the dismissal of quarterback Stephen Garcia and the passing game has suffered miserably.

The expectations were sky high and with the loss of Lattimore they may not have enough firepower to win the rest of their games.

Tennessee is up first at Neyland Stadium, which is then followed by Arkansas. Then a home game against Florida will be tough as well. Also, did I mention they host the scorching hot Clemson Tigers in the season finale?

SC must rely on Bruce Ellington among a few others, but Connor Shaw is a solid runner as well. He tends to look for Alshon Jeffery a ton in the passing which is not a bad idea. Still, losing the best downhill runner in the nation is never a good thing.

This offense heavily relied on the All-American and without him they more than likely will lose a few games and could even drop out of the Top 25 rankings before November rolls around.