KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — South Carolina’s offense may not look as pretty without star running back Marcus Lattimore, but it still managed to get the job done.
Connor Shaw threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and Brandon Wilds ran for 137 yards as BCS No. 13 South Carolina survived Tennessee with a 14-3 victory Saturday night.
The Gamecocks (7-1, 5-1) remained in control of the SEC’s East Division heading into the final month of the season, with games against Arkansas and Florida remaining. They are tied with Georgia but own the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating the Bulldogs earlier in the season.
“Well, we won the game somehow,” South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier said. “We weren’t pretty on offense most of the game. Ran the ball well, gained a bunch of yards. Not bad for a guy that made his first start and got a bunch of carries.”
Wilds was playing in place of Lattimore, who had 818 yards rushing when he suffered a season-ending knee injury Oct. 15 against Mississippi State. Spurrier had a bye week to prepare a plan for Wilds and the rest of the South Carolina backfield.
Wilds gradually picked up steam as the game wore on and was the centerpiece of a methodical drive that ate up much of the third quarter. He ran 11 times for 51 yards on the 20-play drive, and Shaw finished it off with a 5-yard touchdown run on a draw that gave the Gamecocks a 14-3 lead with 47 seconds in the third quarter.
The drive threatened to deflate the Vols (3-5, 0-5), who had second-half meltdowns in three previous games. After picking up one first down, Justin Worley threw three consecutive incomplete passes, and the Vols punted.
But Brian Randolph recovered a fumble by Wilds on the next drive at the South Carolina 27. The breath of life was short-lived as Worley threw an interception on the first play to Stephon Gilmore.
“We fought them hard, but we’re just a mess on offense,” Tennessee Coach Derek Dooley said. “We can’t run. We struggled to throw. We had the ball twice in the red area and we turned the ball over.”
Tennessee’s defense managed to keep pressure on Shaw’s passing efforts most of the night, sacking him three times. Shaw was 10 for 18 for 87 yards and 1 interception in addition to his scores, and top wide receiver Alshon Jeffery was limited to just 17 yards on three catches.
Early in the second half, Shaw was intercepted by Prentiss Waggner, who ran the ball 54 yards to the 2-yard line before being tackled, but Worley threw an interception of his own two plays later to D.J. Swearinger that set up the Gamecocks’ 20-play drive.
“Our defense bailed us out and the offensive line stepped up,” Shaw said. “Freshman Brandon Wilds stepped up and had a great game. He had well over 100 yards rushing. It was a great drive to go down and score.”
Dooley named Worley the starter this week after Matt Simms struggled against No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama. Worley has been the third-string quarterback most of the season as Simms had replaced Tyler Bray, who broke his thumb Oct. 8 against Georgia.
The true freshman was 10 of 26 for 105 yards and the 2 interceptions.
Sports, Pages 39 on 10/30/2011