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SPORTS Page 10 JL J_ J_ Monday, Sept. 12,2005 SOUTH CAROLINA (1-1) 15 — NO. 7 GEORGIA (2-0) 17 / Katie Kirkland/THE GAMECOCK Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley dives over a USC defender to score a go-ahead touchdown in the first half of UGA’s 17-15 win against USC on Saturday. The Bulldogs are No. 7 in The Associated Press poll. Dawgs clear USC obstacles Carolina drops fourth straight to Bulldogs in heartbreakingfashion Hlex Riley ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR An inch here, a foot there and a little bit to the left or right was the difference between a Gamecock victory and a heartbreaking 17-15 loss at the hands of No. 9 Georgia on Saturday. “It was there tonight to have; maybe we could have played better offensively,” Spurrier said. “Our guys hung in there and held them to . 17 points, which is good enough to win.” In a game with the two highest rated quarterbacks in the nation prominently on display, defense ruled the day as the units combined for five sacks, four interceptions and two fumbles. Coupled with 13 penalties, neither teams’ offense took control of the game, forcing the defenses to stand their ground all day. The first quarter featured very little flash as the Georgia defense managed a 13-yard sack and a 42-yard interception return on Gamecock quarterback Blake Mitchell, while USC rover Ko Simpson deflected a pass from Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley on a fourth down to keep the Bulldogs out of the end zone. Simpson had three pass breakups on the day, each of which could have been intercepted and returned for scores. “I broke on (the balls); I was just already running before I get it,” Simpson said. “ Just sort of caught it first; by the time it hit my hand I was already running for six.” Witji less than five minutes left in the first quarter, Georgia began a drive at its own 9-yard line that would ultimately open up the scoring. Shockley, on a designed quarterback run, would find himself air-born on a hit by Fred •Bennett, flipping the Georgia quarterback into the end zone and giving the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead. The ensuing USC possession would go nowhere, but when the Bulldogs regained possession, Carolina corner Johnathan Joseph came up with an _ Graphic Illustration by Laura-Joyce Gough/THE GAMECOCK * 4 . interception on a tipped ball by Simpson and returned it 42-yards for a touchdown. “I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time,” Joseph said. “My goal was to get inside the plane; when I was running, I was just like ‘go for the inside corner.’” Joseph’s score looked like it might even the score, but Josh Brown shanked the point after attempt, hitting the upright, putting USC down 1 at 7-6. It was Brown’s first career miss on a PAT. After a short Bulldog drive, Carolina responded with a 14-play drive that took more than six minutes off the clock and resulted in a Brown 27-yard field goal that would put the Gamecocks up 9-7. The key play of the drive came on a second-down-and 11 from the Georgia 20 as Mitchell hit Sidney Rice on a leaping grab in the end zone for the would-be score that got called back for an illegal shift. “We had the guy going in motion, and of course he was coming at me,” Spurrier said. “I started yelling ‘Stop, Daccus (Turman), stop!’ And he stopped, but he did the little pitty patty with his feet, and I guess that’s still motion. So that cost us 4 points right there.” nrl t-\ ill 1 « i 1 lie UUllUUgS LUUR euilliui dl L11C jl\j on the kickoff, and would proceed to drive to the Carolina 29-yard line in five plays. That’s when Shockley threw a fade-route ball into the waiting arms of converted wide receiver Carlos Thomas for an interception in the end zone to end scoring for the first half. Georgia took the lead on its second possession of the half after an interception by the Bulldogs’ Paul Oliver, setting up a Brandon Coutu 32-yard field goal for a 10-9 lead. Both teams failed to score during the remainder of the third, as USC kicker Ryan Succop missed a 46-yard field goal to retake the lead. After the miss, Georgia took control and drove 71 yards on an eight-play drive that would result in a Thomas Brown four yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs up 17-9. USC’s answer would come on the next drive as Mitchell led an aerial attack on the Bulldog secondary, completing five passes, including a side DfllDBS • II www. dailygamecock. com Nick Bar's/TUY, GAMECOCK Blake Mitchell has a touchdown called back for a penalty in the first half. Missed opportunities plague Gamecocks in another loss to highly ranked team Jonathan Hillyard SPORTS EDITOR When USC players look back on Saturday’s loss to No. 9 Georgia, they will point to a missed extra point in the game’s second quarter. Or will they look to a touchdown called back for an illegal shift? Or will it be numerous dropped interceptions? Or will it be a failed third-and-long stop? The what-ifs and almosts were abundant for the Gamecock football team Saturday at Sanford Stadium, and the missed opportunities led to a familiar outcome for Carolina players. “This one really hurt,” senior Daccus Turman said. “Especially being a Georgia native and never getting a chance to get a victory over these guys.” Turman and his fellow seniors are now 0-4 against the Bulldogs, with three of the losses being decided in USC’s final drive of the game. USC coach Steve Spurrier is not so accustomed to falling to the Bulldogs. The former Florida head man brought an 11-1 record against Georgia into Saturday’s contest, and a moral victory is not what he was looking for. “It would have been nice to have made a play here or there,” Spurrier said. “It would have been nice to win a close game, but we didn’t do it.” A missed extra point by senior Josh Brown at the 10:47 mark in the second quarter proved to be a pivotal turning point in the game. After a Johnathan Joseph interception return for a touchdown, Brown pushed a kick off the right upright, marking his first PAT miss in a Gamecock uniform. The kick left the score at 7 6 UGA, and would force Carolina to attempt a 2-point conversion late in the game — one USC would not convert. LOSS • II r> i