South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney sacked Murray for a loss of 6 yards to stall one series. Gurley and Marshall were continually swallowed up for minimal gains. The Bulldogs looked as if they'd found their footing right before halftime, Murray converting three third-down passes to get to the Gamecocks 4. But on fourth-and-goal, Rantavious Wooten was stopped shy of the end zone after catching a short pass by D.J. Swearinger and Shaq Wilson.
First-year defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward thought his team could put on a show against the high-powered Bulldogs. "I believe in the young men that I coach every day, I believe in the system that we run and I believe we can play with anybody," he said.
The biggest drama of the second half was whether Georgia would leave with its first shutout since a 31-0 loss to Alabama in 1995. Spurrer kept his defensive starters in, yet the Bulldogs drove 75 yards to score on Ken Malcome's 3-yard TD run with 1:55 to go.
Malcome finished as the team's top rusher with 45 yards, all on Georgia's scoring drive.
"We hoped to make a play to change momentum but they never allowed us to," Richt said.
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