COLUMBIA --- Southern Miss and a national television audience proved to be the right tonic for South Carolina after an off-season filled with questions.
The Gamecocks took the field minus several key players -- injuries, suspensions and the ongoing saga of several players staying at a local hotel at a reduced rate -- but it didn't seem to matter. South Carolina rolled to a 41-13 victory at Williams-Brice Stadium, its sixth season-opening win in a row under Steve Spurrier.
"We didn't try to make it a distraction," Spurrier said of the off-field troubles. "Basically almost the entire team got to play. There was a possibility a lot of them might not be able to play. It worked out and it was nice to get all the guys on the field."
It was South Carolina's highest output since the 2006 Liberty Bowl, a 44-36 win over Houston.
The key issues coming into this season included the inconsistent play of quarterback Stephen Garcia, the lack of a running game and the loss of several key players on the defensive side of the ball.
One game into the season, Spurrier found answers to his satisfaction in all of those areas.
"We had some big plays here and there," Spurrier said.
"Stephen Garcia ran the ball well, and the defense played well. Holding them to 13 points was certainly good."
Garcia didn't turn the ball over, and scored on a 22-yard touchdown run after being flushed out of the pocket and lowering his shoulder at the 4. He also scored on a 3-yard run.
The Gamecocks (1-0) piled up 224 yards on the ground, and prized recruit Marcus Lattimore scored a pair of touchdowns to pace the attack. He had 54 yards on 14 carries.
Freshman Connor Shaw showed off speed at quarterback and connected with D.L. Moore in the fourth quarter for his first touchdown pass.
The defense was missing Shaq Wilson, last year's leading tackler, because of an injury.
Several other defenders, including Ladi Ajiboye, Akeen Auguste and C.C. Whitlock, are among those players who are under scrutiny for staying at the Whitney Hotel in downtown Columbia at a reduced rate.
Tight end Weslye Saunders is also among the players who stayed at the hotel, but was suspended for because he broke team rules.
Despite South Carolina's issues, Southern Miss (0-1) could only muster a pair of field goals until it scored a touchdown late in the game.
"We missed a few opportunities," Spurrier said. "We'll try to improve a lot for the next game against Georgia."
- Louisiana-Lafayette at Georgia/Noon (WRDW-My12: Comcast-Ch. 21, Knology-Ch. 7, Atlantic Broadband-Ch. 7)
- S.C. State at Georgia Tech, 1 p.m. (No TV)
- North Texas at Clemson, 3:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
- Savannah State at Georgia Southern, 6 p.m. (No TV)
and "BANG" is what they're going to get next saturday! right up side the head!
I am proud of USC for their win over a nobody. Something all those COCKS will gloat about all week. It will total silence after next Sat. and to get beat at home will be the worst part. DAWGS 27-10 GO DAWGS
I believe the correct word is "beaten." Are you a Georgia grad?
Wait, you should have learned the proper verb by high school. It should not be up to the post high school grad school to straighten you out on that.
But then, if you had been required to take English, you should have had a second chance.
smar/bdawg1 two bulldog brats already running your mouth. wait and see what takes place next week and then write another comment. sc 38- ga 14
odd that you would resort to grammar policeperson instead of plain ol' smack talk, ksl. i think next weekend's game could be very interesting. i think i'll end up pulling for the dawgs, but i wouldn't mind seeing the gamecocks win, either. RTR!!!!!
The word is Beat with a Big BBBBBBBBBBB. Just like the Cocks trying to find a easy way out in anything. They will have been beaten enough before the year is finished. Go Stevey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Watch out sun shade.
Spurrier always has his team ready early and his opening game record reflects that. Next week we'll see how two of the premier college coaches in the nation do in a rebuilding year. Personally, I expect to see Spurrier to come away with the win, but neither coach will consider gloating.
The win over Southern Miss proves that Spurrier has the Gamecocks ready to compete in and possibly win a Conference USA championship. Unfortunately, they play in the Southeastern Conference. Enjoy the high this week as reality sets in next Saturday.
The Cocks looked very good. It will be a very tough game next week. It always is. Murray will be playing his first big game in a very hostile environment. USC has an experienced QB, more speed than ever, and a very good RB. We'll see. I was surprised at the number of empty seats last night.
Southern Miss was not the usual opening game patsy most schools play. Playing them should help the Cocks prepare for UGA. Now that is going to be something.
I love my Dawgs!!! USC is never an easy game for us. I congratulate the Game Cocks on a great win. Hope they will do well this season but....I certainly hope my Dawgs win next week in Columbia and have a great season. I'm not sure anybody really knows what we have as a team yet. In college, you've got to have a strong QB, a solid run game and a better than avg defense to win. We'll see. GO DAWGS!!!
The good news is we don't have to worry about KSL's son telling Spurrier our plays like back in 1988.
LOL, csrareader. "Conference USA champion" isn't a bad level to start with. SEC is still the toughest football conference and the worst team in the conference could often win most other conferences. Bragging rights will be handed out next Saturday, but have to be earned every week until the end of the season.
I'm glad they said Gamecocks in the Title of this article. If they had just said "Cocks Open with a Bang", then we could have sent it into Headlines on Jay Leno. Why can't the Sports Editors be more creative?
They tried to get Maryland but everybody wanted them and UGA lost the coin flip with Navy.
RJ, seems a bit high scoring for this game. Usually low scoring. But, you may be right. Hope so.
First off, congratulations to Carolina on a good and decent win. Didn't seem like y'all played too "vanilla", which is expected when you play a patsy-team followed by a big game. Didn't quite understand that...but I'm not a football coach. Second thing, before we get into the usual game-week trash-talk, I just want to remind everyone that Georgia has played South Carolina 62 times in the past. Do you know how many times Carolina has beaten Georgia?? 14 times...that's it!! Isn't that an amazing fact? I'm saying that, not to rub it in their faces, but to illustrate that this is a strange rivalry...to hear Carolina boast, and to hear most knowledgeable Dawg fans give Carolina respect from playing so many tough games against them, you'd think that their record would be much, much closer. Oughta be a good one next Saturday!
JTF, I cannot argue with your touche' humor. I do think the Maryland vs. Navy game will be better than UGA vs. L-L. Ralph F. is not the same as when he was at Tech and Maryland for the first several years. Terps are like Duke, more of a B-ball school. As far as USC vs. UGA, whomever is the home team will probably win this one.
41-37 was last years score. So I think thats a reasonable score
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![Riley Dyer plays a bean bag toss game against a friend at Lake Olmstead Stadium. Dozens came out to enjoy the South Carolina season opener, beer, games, live music and food. Dyer arrived wearing an Alabama jersey. "I'm here to support the SEC and watch football," Dyer said. "I've waited eight months. That's too long." Corey Perrine/Staff](http://aug-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/superphoto/editorial/images/feed/msms/photos/4401872.jpg "Riley Dyer plays a bean bag toss game against a friend at Lake Olmstead Stadium. Dozens came out to enjoy the South Carolina season opener, beer, games, live music and food. Dyer arrived wearing an Alabama jersey. "I'm here to support the SEC and watch football," Dyer said. "I've waited eight months. That's too long." Corey Perrine/Staff")
