Saturday's game between Shane Beamer's South Carolina football team and Brian Kelly's LSU Tigers was a doozy.
The Gamecocks and Tigers played a penalty and mistake-filled game that was incredibly entertaining with the amount of back-and-forth that went on inside Williams-Brice Stadium. However, what went on between the SEC foes was overshadowed at times by horrendous officiating.
The afternoon started with Carolina getting out to a 17-0 lead thanks to some solid early-game scripts from offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains, an aggressive defense for defensive coordinator Clayton White, and a huge blocked punt from newly-scholarshipped Moe Brown for special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis.
LSU came storming back as the Gamecock defense began playing more conservatively and the USC offense turned the ball over. Freshman running back Caden Durham was good for the Tigers and so were pass-catchers Mason Taylor (tight end) and Aaron Anderson (wide receiver).
The Bayou Bengals took their first lead near the start of the 4th quarter but immediately surrendered a 66-yard run to running back Rocket Sanders as South Carolina regained control.
In the end, though, a late-game touchdown run from Josh Williams put LSU ahead 36-33 (after the PAT), and Gamecock kicker Alex Herrera missed a game-tying field goal by what looked like inches.
The 36-33 loss moves the South Carolina Gamecocks to 2-1 on the season as they head into a home matchup with the Akron Zips next weekend.
Below is the report card from the loss: