Alabama Vs. South Carolina: Gamecocks Complete Massive Upset In Columbia

Finally, Steve Spurrier has his signature win at South Carolina.

This, the 35-21 triumph over reigning national champion Alabama, took a little bit of everything from the Gamecocks.

Stephen Garcia had to have the best game of his career. Alshon Jeffery had to terrorize the Alabama secondary. Marcus Lattimore had to get 93 yards, more than Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson had combined, and had to get what seemed like half of them on second efforts. And the defense, especially, had to harass Greg McElroy all day and shut down the vaunted Alabama running game.

Alabama entered this game looking like the best team in the country for the second consecutive year. They entered the second half with their biggest halftime deficit under Nick Saban. And despite a moment of incredible stupidity from Garcia, who chucked a loose ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety on the first snap of the second half, swinging momentum squarely in the Crimson Tide’s favor, they now exit the ranks of the unbeaten.

Today, South Carolina was the better team, thoroughly outclassing ‘Bama by rolling with the few punches the Tide could muster and socking them in the gut with Lattimore again and again. This is Spurrier’s victory not because of chalkboard legerdemain, but because he recruited today’s protagonists (Garcia, Jeffery, Lattimore, and much of the defense) to Columbia in hopes of raising an often-moribund program to these heights.

Today, he did.