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Oct. 18, 2009

Recap | Final Stats | AP Photo Gallery media-icon-photogallery.gif

South Carolina

  • Head Coach Steve Spurrier: Falls to 175-64-2 as a collegiate head coach, 33-24 in his fifth year at South Carolina. He is now 6-5 against Alabama. Tonight marks Spurrier’s first loss at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
  • Record: South Carolina is 5-2 on the year, equaling their start from the 2008 season. The Gamecocks are now 2-12 all-time against Alabama, 1-8 in games played in Tuscaloosa.
  • Pickin’ and Grinnin’: South Carolina came into tonight’s game with three interceptions on the season; they had two in the first 10 minutes tonight. Shaq Wilson had the second of his career on Alabama’s second offensive series, then C.C. Whitlock picked one off on the next possession, but fumbled it away a split-second later.
  • Streak Over: Spencer Lanning saw his streak of consecutive field goals made end at 12 as he missed from 50 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter. He made kicks of 22 and 31 yards in the first half to extend his streak to 12. The streak had spanned five games, dating back to the Georgia contest on Sept. 12 when he was 5-for-5.
  • Against the Best: South Carolina is now 2-32 all-time against teams ranked in the nation’s top 5. They are 1-1 this season, having defeated then-No. 4 Ole Miss on Sept. 24, then losing to No. 2 Alabama tonight. On the year, Carolina is 1-2 against ranked opponents (other loss was at Georgia on Sept. 12).
  • Need Points: Tonight’s six points scored by the Gamecocks is their lowest output of the season and the first time they have failed to score a touchdown. Under Spurrier, South Carolina is 1-8 when scoring 10 points or less; the one win was a 7-3 victory over NC State in the season opener.
  • Quarterly Report: Tonight is only the second time this year that South Carolina failed to score in the third quarter; the other was in the season opener against NC State. South Carolina has outscored opponents 64-13 in the third stanza this year.
  • Winning One Battle: After losing it for the first time all season last week against Kentucky, South Carolina won the turnover battle in tonight’s game by forcing Alabama to cough up the ball four times in the game. The Gamecocks picked off two passes and forced a pair of fumbles in the contest. Carolina, meanwhile, turned the ball over twice, both in the first quarter. Alabama had four turnovers for the entire season coming into tonight’s game.
  • Stepping Up on D: South Carolina held Alabama to 20 points tonight, marking the Crimson Tide’s lowest offensive output of the season. Their previous low was a 22-point effort against Ole Miss last week.
  • Stepping Up on D, Part 2: Alabama was held to 92 yards receiving, the second-lowest output by an opposing offense against South Carolina this season. Tonight is the first time this season Carolina has lost when holding an opponent under 200 passing yards.
  • Last Time: Alabama’s Mark Ingram rushed for 246 yards in the contest on 24 carries. The last time an opposing back went for 200+ yards against a South Carolina defense was in 2007 when Arkansas’ Darren McFadden rushed for 321 in a Razorback victory in Fayetteville.
  • QB Stephen Garcia: 20-of-46 for 214 yards and 1 interception on the night. It’s the first time since the season opener against NC State in which Garcia failed to throw a touchdown pass; he had nine on the season coming into tonight.
  • Injury Report: Senior WR Moe Brown left the game with a concussion late in the second quarter. He was evaluated and released from a local hospital and was slated to return to Columbia with the team following the game.
  • Up Next: It’s homecoming week and State Fair week in Columbia as Vanderbilt visits on Saturday, Oct. 24. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium with a national broadcast slated for ESPNU.

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