Gamecocks hold off Bulldogs

Fourth-quarter stand at goal line secures upset win

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Dylan Thompson threw for three touchdowns and No. 24 South Carolina’s maligned defense stood strong on a fourthquarter goal-line stand to topple No. 6 Georgia, 38-35, Saturday night. The Bulldogs (1-1, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) had a first-and-goal on the Gamecocks 4 down three points with 5:24 remaining. But Hutson Mason was called for intentional grounding to set Georgia back and the usually reliable Marshall Morgan missed a 28-yard field goal. “When they missed the field goal, that’s the loudest it’s been in a long time,” Thompson said. Todd Gurley ran for 131 yards and a touchdown, yet the Gamecocks (2-1, 1-1 SEC) kept the Bulldogs star from making a bigger impact. The victory was South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier’s 201st as a SEC coach, tying him for second all time with Georgia great Vince Dooley. It put the Gamecocks back in the SEC East race. South Carolina waited out a few moments of drama on its last series in the weekend’s lone game between ranked teams. Thompson’s sneak on fourth-and-short at midfield just reached the first-down marker with 1:22 left. Georgia coach Mark Richt challenged the spot, but his appeal was turned down. Gamecock players, bashed by fans and commentators since falling to No. 7 Texas A&M, 52-28, two games ago, sprinted to the student section to celebrate their fourth victory in their past five meetings with Georgia. South Carolina put Georgia on its heels in a hurry, Thompson going 4 for 4 for 64 yards including a 10-yard scoring throw to Roland. After Georgia moved in front, 10-7 — and Morgan hit an SEC-record 19th consecutive field goal — the Gamecocks got help to regain the lead. A Georgia interception was ruled pass interference on cornerback Devin Bowman before defensive tackle Toby Johnson hit Thompson late to push the Gamecocks to the Bulldogs 8. “Like I said last week, some wins are better than others,” Spurrier said with a smile.