Justin Scott-Wesley heard all the carping and complaining following Georgia’s loss to No. 4 Clemson last week. He heard all the forecasts of doom and gloom, what with No. 6 South Carolina coming to town and all.
But he also heard the cheers raining down from the stands at Sanford Stadium on Saturday night and the din of celebration in the Bulldogs’ locker room. Georgia scored a 41-30 win over the Gamecocks — its highest-ranked home victim since Clemson in 1991 — and all was right with the world again.
“Coming out and getting a big SEC victory really brings the sun back in the sky,” Scott-Wesley said with a toothy grin.
Scott-Wesley had a lot do with spreading the sunshine. The sophomore wide receiver hauled in an 85-yard touchdown pass on an improvised play from quarterback Aaron Murray at the end of the third quarter, and Georgia’s defense made it hold up as the No. 11 Bulldogs (1-1, 0-1 SEC) defeated the Gamecocks (1-1, 0-1) for the first time in four seasons and jumped to a quick lead in the SEC East.
Murray and tailback Todd Gurley shared the offensive spotlight. The senior signal-caller quieted critics by completing 17 of 23 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns and did not throw an interception. He was sacked just once by All-American defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who was held in check by tackle Kenarious Gates and tight end Arthur Lynch.
Gurley added 132 yards rushing on 30 carries and scored two touchdowns, one of them a reception on an improvised pass play from Murray. Scott-Wesley, filling in for injured starter Malcolm Mitchell, finished with 116 yards on three catches.
And Georgia’s defense rallied in the second half, holding South Carolina to six points in the second half and executing a fourth-quarter goal-line stand that thwarted the notion of a late comeback.
“That was a fantastic game,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “I’m so proud of everybody. What a war. … No one flinched.”
The victory enabled the Bulldogs to quell the legend of Steve Spurrier, if at least for one year. The Gamecocks’ wily coach had led South Carolina to three consecutive wins in the series for the first time and history and fattened his own career record to 15-5 against the Bulldogs, including his years at Florida.
“It was a good tail-kicking, and I have to give Georgia credit. They ran it right down our throat,” Spurrier said. “Vince Dooley probably had a smile on his face with the way they played tonight. … It was a tough day for us today.”
The Gamecocks ran the ball pretty good themselves, getting 149 yards and a touchdown from Stone Mountain resident Mike Davis. And Flowery Branch product Connor Shaw added 303 total yards and two touchdown passes from the quarterback position. But a Shaw fumble caused by Georgia safety Josh Harvey-Clemons and recovered by linebacker Amarlo Herrera blunted their second-half momentum.
The 85-yard catch and run from Murray to Scott-Wesley proved to be the killing blow. Tackle Mark Beard, subbing for injured starter Gates (left ankle), got beat to the inside by Clowney, and the famous defender closed in hard on Murray. But Beard continued to force Clowney to the inside, Murray read the pressure and escaped right, then pointed the fleet-footed Scott-Wesley deep down the left sideline.
He hit Scott-Wesley in stride, and nobody was going to catch the four-time state-champion sprinter. That gave the Bulldogs a two-score lead with exactly 13 minutes to play.
“That’s what we talked about doing, extending plays,” said Murray, who threw four touchdown passes in a game for the ninth time in his career. “When things break down in the pocket, don’t just let things crumble. Take a second to get out and let my receivers get open, and we were able to do that.”
Murray executed the same strategy on Georgia’s previous possession. A potentially busted play on third-and-goal from the 8 resulted in Murray scrambling right to avoid pressure and pointing Gurley into the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown that put the Bulldogs ahead 34-24 with 18 seconds left in the third quarter.
The final straw for South Carolina came when Herrera, on fourth-and-goal inside the 1, stepped up and stopped Davis short of the goal line on an option pitch to the right.
Georgia defensive lineman Garrison Smith was flagged for piling on at the end of the play. But the penalty came after the play was blown dead.
So the Bulldogs took over just outside of their end zone. And after a gutsy 23-yard pass to fullback Quayvon Hicks to get them out of the shadow of the goal posts, Georgia was able to run out the clock.
“This was big,” Smith said afterward. “A lot of people were doubting us, saying we couldn’t do it. I’m just so happy that we got this victory. It was a big steppingstone for us.”
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