Gamecocks scratch by Georgia 45-42 in SEC showdown

Melvin Ingram had never scored a touchdown for South Carolina. Not surprising, since he plays defensive end. On Saturday, the 276-pound senior finally made it to the end zone. Twice. Looking like a running back, Ingram went 68 yards for a touchdown with a fake punt, then scooped up a fumble and stepped into the end zone with just over 3 minutes remaining to clinch No. 12 South Carolina’s wild 45-42 victory over Georgia, handing embattled coach Mark Richt another galling loss. The Gamecocks (2-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) gained the early upper hand in the East Division by taking advantage of every Georgia mistake: Antonio Allen returned an interception 25 yards for a touchdown, and Stephon Gilmore’s 56-yard return with a fumble set up another score for South Carolina. “Really, it was three defensive scores. And the punt, too. Melvin, he’s a defensive player. So that’s basically four defensive touchdowns,” coach Steve Spurrier said. “Georgia outplayed us. Give ‘em credit. They definitely outplayed us. But we won the game. Sometimes it happens like that. Somebody was looking out for us tonight.” Georgia (0-2, 0-1) got four touchdown passes from Aaron Murray but simply couldn’t overcome all the major blunders. “When we look at the film, there will probably be some things that cause us to slam the projectors against the wall. There’s so many things we can’t afford to do,” Richt said. “But just as many times, we’ll probably say, ‘That was awesome. That was awesome execution.’ We did a lot of great things too. I think we have all the ingredients to be a really fine team, ultimately.” The teams combined for 60 points over the final 21:09 and the lead changed hands four times (with a tie, as well) during that span. Marcus Lattimore, who rushed for 176 yards on 27 bruising carries, put the Gamecocks ahead for good on a 3-yard run that made it 38-35 with 3 1/2 minutes left.

Then there was one last crushing mistake by the Bulldogs.

Freshman Jadeveon Clowney burst through the line without being blocked and threw down Murray, who lost the ball before slamming the ground. Ingram batted it toward the end zone and picked it up there for an improbable two-touchdown performance by the fifth-year senior.

“Whatever my team needs me to do,” Ingram said.

Georgia piled up plenty of yards, with Murray throwing for 248 and Isaiah Crowell rushing for 118 in what the Bulldogs hope will be the first of many big games for the touted freshman. But Georgia is off to its first 0-2 start since 1996.