Oct. 23, 2010
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)– Brian Maddox rushed for a career-high 146 yards and the game-clinching touchdown to lead No. 19 South Carolina to a difficult 21-7 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday night, giving Steve Spurrier his 40th victory with the Gamecocks.
The win snapped South Carolina’s seven-game Southeastern Conference road losing streak that dated back to 2008 and put the Gamecocks (5-2, 3-2) in first place in the SEC East. South Carolina had lost two of the last three to Vanderbilt (2-5, 1-3).
Maddox didn’t carry the ball until South Carolina’s fourth series with about 6 minutes left in the first half, replacing an ineffective Kenny Miles, who started in place of injured freshman Marcus Lattimore. And he wasn’t much of a boost for the mistake-prone Gamecocks until the second half when he rushed for 48 yards on the game-changing drive midway through the third quarter.
His touchdown from 2 yards out with 4:59 left in the third quarter broke a 7-7 tie and seemed to shake the Gamecocks awake.
Spurrier has struggled with the Commodores since moving to Columbia. The Gamecocks needed a fourth-quarter touchdown to beat Vanderbilt 14-10 last season and with Lattimore out South Carolina continued to struggle in the series.
A combination of intense first-half pressure on quarterback Stephen Garcia and the Gamecocks’ own mistakes kept the Commodores in it most of the way.
South Carolina had drives end on sacks, an errant snap, Casey Hayward’s SEC-leading fifth interception and a blocked field goal, among other issues.
The Commodores’ pass defense and intense pressure kept Garcia focused on the short passing game most of the night. Through 2½ quarters he seemed to favor the left flat and Tori Gurley, who had career highs with 13 catches for 109 yards. Vanderbilt had four sacks — half of its season total — and several key hurries in the first half.
It wasn’t until Garcia hit a couple of long passes late that things seemed to open up.
First, he found Gurley on a 24-yarder to set up Maddox’s touchdown. The second went for a 72-yard touchdown to Alshon Jeffery midway through the fourth quarter to end Vanderbilt’s threat.
Jeffery finished with nine catches for 158 yards, giving the Gamecocks two receivers with 100 yards in the same game for the first time since 2006. Garcia also hit Gurley for a 15-yarder on a quick-strike 51-second drive at the end of the first half to tie the game after Larry Smith put Vanderbilt up on a 3-yard run.
Garcia hit 31 of 39 passes for 355 yards a week after throwing for 382 in loss to Kentucky last week.
