| |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |
ATHENS, Georgia (Ticker) -- It took South Carolina over 116 minutes to score the first touchdown of the Lou Holtz era. Too bad 12th-ranked Georgia had long before put away the game. Quincy Carter threw for 251 yards and one touchdown as the Bulldogs took the early lead in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division and sent canine mascot UGA V out in style with a 24-9 victory over the Gamecocks. "It's always good to start out in the conference 1-0," Carter said. "The SEC is a battle -- it's really great football." Carter connected on 21-of-38 passes without being intercepted for Georgia (2-0, 1-0 SEC East), which held South Carolina (0-2, 0-1) out of the end zone until Phil Petty's eight-yard TD pass to Carlos Spikes with 3:16 remaining. "South Carolina played really hard," Georgia coach Jim Donnan said. "I think we've got to do a lot better to be competitive every game in our league. We've got a lot of room for improvement, but we will do that." South Carolina lost, 10-0, to North Carolina State in its first game under Holtz and is riding a 12-game losing streak dating to a 38-20 victory over Ball State in the 1998 season opener. "We played a very fine football team tonight," said Holtz. "They are a very good offensive team with good speed. They have an excellent offensive line, and Quincy Carter gives Georgia a tremendous go-to player. He is a hard-nosed player who took some hits and did what he had to do to help Georgia win tonight." Carter and Georgia's offense was held in check for most of the first quarter until finding its stride late in the period, beginning a 15-yard march that ended 74 seconds into the second when Orantes Grant plowed his way for a one-yard touchdown. On the fourth play of that drive, Robert Arnaud took a sweep to the left and went 21 yards to the Georgia 47-yard line. Arnaud, however, was forced from the game later in the quarter because of a left knee injury. South Carolina moved the ball to the Georgia 28 on its next possession, but cornerback Cory Robinson picked off Petty. Petty completed 12-of-28 for 172 yards but was intercepted twice. Although the Bulldogs did not take advantage of the turnover, they entered the end zone with 4:11 left in the half, when Carter and freshman Terrence Edwards hooked up on a 47-yard score. Edwards caught seven passes for 90 yards one week after nearly setting a school record against Utah State by totaling 196 yards on 10 catches. He is the younger brother of former Georgia and New England Patriots running back Robert Edwards. "They made some good plays -- good football teams do that," said Gamecocks defensive back Rashad Faison. "I think we played well defensively. We played hard, and we never gave up. We fought to the end, and that's all we can ask for." In the third quarter, Hap Hines booted a 33-yard field goals for Georgia and the Gamecocks' Courtney Leavitt connected from 28 yards. Georgia then put away the game 3:11 into the final period as sophomore Jasper Sanks scored on a three-yard run. Sanks set career highs with 22 carries and 130 yards. "We've got to keep feeding (Sanks) the ball," Donnan said. "He worked really hard to be where he is. We want to be a balanced football team. We probably threw the ball too much considering how many we dropped." The Bulldogs now lead the series, 39-11-2, and has won the last three meetings between the schools. The contest was the last for UGA V, who gave way to his son, UGA VI.
|
