Remember how the whole "starting Connor Shaw" experiment seemed like a huge mistake when Steve Spurrier tried it in South Carolina's season opener against East Carolina? It suddenly seems like a pretty good idea. With a few notable exceptions, Shaw has looked solid playing in relief of the embattled Stephen Garcia.
Kentucky Vs. South Carolina Halftime Score: Connor Shaw Sparkling In Beatdown of Kentucky
Shaw is 15-of-22 for 207 yards and three scores -- which is even a larger improvement than you might think if you don’t remember that Garcia often struggled to complete 50 percent of his passes. Oh, and South Carolina has a 20-3 lead as the first half ends.
Kentucky's Morgan Newton should only be so lucky. Newton was 3-of-17 for 9 yards in the first half, and at one point threw 11 straight incompletions. That's a large reason why Kentucky closed out the half with just 54 yards of total offense.
Meanwhile, the second iteration of the Shaw experiment has the South Carolina offense humming. Marcus Lattimore has just 10 carries for 37 yards, but Shaw has also had some nice runs. Alshon Jeffery has 5 catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns. Spurrier has broken out the old Emory and Henry formation, most recently seen in the NCAA Football games put out by EA Sports. Shaw took a few unnecessary sacks in the waning moments of the half, but otherwise things are looking much better for the defending SEC East Champions with a new signal-caller at the wheels.
If you’re looking for more on the Gamecocks, South Carolina blog Garnet And Black Attack is the place to be. Wildcat fans should head over to Kentucky blog A Sea Of Blue to chew over Big Blue’s issues.
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