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USC LOSES 31-13 ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT AT TENNESSEE
It happens like clockwork almost every football season: the University of South Carolina has a strong start only to implode down the stretch.
And Saturday night the Gamecocks lost a game they should have won at Tennessee, signaling the possible start of a late-season collapse that many Gamecock fans hoped wouldn’t come this year.
The Gamecocks simply didn’t show up to to play.
Tennessee, decked out in hideous Halloween-themed black jerseys, jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter and never looked back. USC got the game within 15 points in the third quarter, but the Volunteers held on for a commanding 31-13 win.
The loss dropped formerly No. 21 USC, now 6-3 on the season, from all of the top 25 polls.
“Like I told the guys, if we want to win some of these games against good teams, we’ve got to play well,” USC head coach Steve Spurrier said. “We had turnovers, had a punt return called back, had some opportunities here and there, but we didn’t execute.”
Gamecock Quarterback Stephen Garcia was 25-for-50 with 300 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception. USC’s tops two receivers, Alshon Jeffery and Moe Brown, each had four receptions for 54 yards.
But the ground game and turnovers inevitably cost USC the game.
The Gamecocks recorded a pathetic 65 yards rushing to Tennessee’s 199 yards. And USC turned the ball over four times while the Volunteers had no turnovers.
This type of play has daunted the Gamecocks in late October and November during Spurrier’s tenure.
Last year, USC started the season 5-2 before dropping four of their last six games. In 2007, the Gamecocks began 6-1 only to close the season with five straight losses. USC also began the 2006 season 5-2 but only managed to go 3-3 to finish the season.
So does the Tennessee loss spell yet another sad ending for a one-hopeful Gamecock year? Only the next three games will tell.
But it sure won’t be easy.
USC faces a tough Arkansas team on the road this week, then heads home for top-ranked Florida and arch-rival Clemson.
Photo: Getty Images
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