Late Fumble Costs Gamecocks

fter a Crimson Tide touchdown with 2:16 left in the game and a tie score South Carolina just needed to get into field goal range for a chance to upsert #4 Alabama. On the second play of the drive Gamecock QB Lanorris Sellers was stripped after a three  yard gain. Alabama was then able to find the endzone with thirty-seven seconds left to seal a fourth quarter comeback.

The game had an ideal start for South Carolina, a seven plus minute drive that ended in a field goal. The ensuing Alabama drive was a three and out. On the first play of the Gamecocks next drive saw the pass bounced off Rashul Faison hands into the lap of an Alabama defender. He would take it into the endzone to make the score 7-3. The rest of the first quarter included punts, on the first play of the 2nd quarter William Joyce missed a forty-seven yard field goal. Alabama then took the ball across midfield before Ty Simpson was sacked by Vicari Swain, he fumbled and South Carolina was able to fall on the loose ball. That led to a thirty-four yard field goal by South Carolina to cut the Tide lead to just one. With 1:37 left before the half Simpson found Josh Cuevas for a three yard score to extend the lead to 14-6.

The Gamecock defense was able to hold Alabama on downs near midfield, leading to Sellers finding Nyck Harbor on the first play of the drive for a fifty-four yard score. They failed on the two point conversion, keeping Alabama in the lead 14-12. After the teams exchanged punts, the Gamecocks put arguably their best drive of the night together. Twelve plays and seventy yards ended with a forty-seven yard field goal from Joyce to put the Gamecocks back on top 15-14. Another punt by Alabama gave Carolina the ball, and they were unable to do anything with it. The Carolina punt then bounced off an Alabama defender, Harbor was able to fall on it and give the Gamecocks great field position. Six plays later Sellers ran in from the ten yard line giving them a 22-14 lead after the PAT with ten minutes left in the game. Alabama then put together a fourteen play drive, ending in a score with a two point conversion to even the score at 22.

That’s when disaster struck South Carolina. Sellers when asked post game what happened on his fumble said he had both hands on the ball, when he put one arm out to catch himself falling Alabama was able to strip it out. On the next drive Alabama was facing 3rd and 10 at the Carolina 25 yard line when it seemed DQ Smith gave up on the play and allowed Germie Bernard the chance to give Alabama the lead. In the post game both Beamer and Smith revealed that was the plan to let them score. The thinking was the field goal at that point would have been a chip shot, allowing them to score gave the Carolina offense an opportunity to get the ball back and try and tie the game. That would not be the case, Harbor had trouble with the return giving Carolina 84 yards to try and tie the game. Sellers found Hunt for seven yards on first down and would be sacked on second to end the game.

WIth the loss the Gamecocks fall to 3-5 on the season, 1-5 in SEC Play.

STATS:

Sellers 18-32 222 yards 1TD 1INT. 18 Car for 67 yards and 1TD.

Faison had 5 car for 19 yards, 4 catches for 47 yards

Harbor 1 catch 54 yards and a score.

Team Stats;

SC 333 yards (222 passing 111 rushing)

Bama 325 yards (253 passing 72 rushing)

Time of Possession 32:38 to 27:22 in favor of Carolina.

Game Note:

Melvin Ingram was the celeb starter, joined on the field by many member of the 2010 SEC East Champions that defeated #1 Alabama.

Announced attendance 79,537

69 Degrees at kickoff.

Gamecocks travel to Oxford Mississippi to take on the Ole Miss Rebels next week, time and channel TBD