South Carolina football: most exciting games in Georgia rivalry
By Jacob Elsey
1993
The Gamecocks opened their second season in the SEC with a September matchup against the Bulldogs. South Carolina travelled to Athens to face a Georgia team that was ranked inside the nation’s top 15 teams.
The Gamecocks were led by quarterback Steve Taneyhill, who’d won the starting job midway through the 1992 season by leading the team to five wins in its final six contests.
South Carolina struck first, and led 17-7 late in the second half, but the Bulldogs battled back to take a 21-17 lead in the fourth quarter.
Cue the fireworks.
With time running down, the Gamecocks drove to the Georgia goal line with a chance to win. Taneyhill would hand off to running back Brandon Bennett, who tried to dive into the end zone, but was stopped by the Bulldog defense.
With time ticking, and no time to call a play from the sidelines, South Carolina lined up and ran the same exact play, successfully this time, and took a 23-21 lead that would end up being the final.
Larry Munson’s call on the play is still one of the best (or worst) to listen to depending on which side of the rivalry you fall on.
2009
The 2009 edition of the rivalry saw Gamecock quarterback Stephen Garcia battling AJ Green and a 21st ranked Bulldog squad. The game was high scoring, with each team trading blows throughout the first half.
The Gamecocks trailed 38-23 in the second half, but a couple of field goals and a fourth quarter pick six from Eric Norwood got South Carolina right back in the game.
Georgia would extend their lead to 41-37 (SC missed an extra point on their final TD), but the Gamecocks had the ball with a chance to win in the game’s final minutes.
Stephen Garcia drove South Carolina down the field, but the Bulldog defense held steady on a crucial goal-to-go stand, with a fourth down pass falling harmlessly to the ground.
Had the Gamecocks not missed that fourth quarter extra point, they could’ve settled for a field goal and overtime. As it stood, though, the Gamecocks made one play too few, and Georgia escaped with the 41-37 win.
2011
Another high scoring affair, the Gamecocks used scores on offense, defense, and special teams to pull a road upset in Athens.
Stephen Garcia and the South Carolina offense struggled early in the game, having only seven points to show through the first 25 minutes of the game. Trailing 13-7 just before the half, Steve Spurrier dialed up a fake punt that was run to perfection, with defensive end Melvin Ingram taking a direct snap 68 yards for a score. Carolina entered the half with a 14-13 lead.
The teams would trade second half scores before linebacker Antonio Allen picked Bulldog quarterback Aaron Murray off, returning in for a touchdown and giving South Carolina a 28-20 lead.
Georgia would battle back to take a 35-31 lead in the fourth quarter, but a Marcus Lattimore touchdown run put the Gamecocks back on top. A few plays later, the Gamecocks would put the final nail in the coffin.
With Aaron Murray trying to mount a final comeback effort, freshman end Jadeveon Clowney sacked the Bulldog signal caller, stripping the football, which was then recovered in the endzone by Ingram for the lineman’s second score of the day.
In a game that saw the teams score 39 points in the fourth quarter alone, the Gamecocks were able to escape this all-time classic with a 45-42 win.