They did it: South Carolina goes to their first ever SEC Championship game behind the legs of freshman running back Marcus Lattimore, 36-14

Steve Spurrier is on his way to the SEC Championship game

It wasn’t exciting but no one expected it; no one thought the inconsistent and often manic Gamecocks could knock off the Florida Gators in the swamp but they did. Steve Spurrier got his signature win as head coach --going to their first ever SEC title game and downing the Gators at home (for the first time)--which they never done.

South Carolina was intent on running the ball down Florida’s throat, and they did so with freshman running back Marcus Lattimore, a home-grown talent, to the tune of 40 carries, 212 yards with 3 TDs. Mistake-free football was on the agenda last Saturday night in the Swamp.

QB Stephen Garcia was a modest, albeit unimpressive 15-26, 156 yards, O TDS, O INTs.  All the staff has asked of Garcia is that he does not turn the ball over and that is what he did; his partner in crime, wideout Alshon Jeffrey had no TDs on the night and only had 53 yards receiving, something you would not expect from the best wide receiver in the SEC or the nation, for that matter.

Spurrier could not ask for a better performance from the offense and defense, and especially from Lattimore that has exceeded expectations since his first snap. Who would have thought that Spurrier would have a freshman standout at running back?!  He is known for having and grooming superb quarterbacks, but Lattimore has fallen into his lap and he is willing to ride this kid to a victory in the SEC Championship game.

But I’m here to caution that they cannot beat Auburn in the title game with just running the ball and not passing for more than Garcia did. It will not happen. The Tigers will put up a bunch of points on the scoreboard and will continue until the final whistle. We all know that special player, Cam Newton; he is on a tear this season and he has one victory over South Carolina and he is looking for another one that will bring his team closer to Glendale.

Will Marcus Lattimore be healthy when they face Auburn?

It’s scary to think that Lattimore had 40 carries in the last game. This kid has been nicked up and I can already tell that he will continue to play his career at not a hundred percent. He runs hard and he is a north-south runner and that is fine. However, his style of running and the number of carries will cause him to wear down when they need him. Watching him in high school, ball security was a problem whenever he was over-utilized in a game and so far it has not been an issue, but it might if they continue to run him into the ground.

The Gamecocks have two more games left, Troy at home and @Clemson (their rival). It will be interesting to see how Lattimore is used in those games. You do not want him limping into the SEC title game because that will be a big problem. For South Carolina to flourish they need to open up all facets of their offense, this will make this team unstoppable like they were against then No. 1 Alabama.

Going forward to next season, it will be trying times (for South Carolina) where the departure of Garcia, at quarterback, and the insertion of Connor Shaw, will challenge the staff to not overuse Lattimore with a young quarterback. They will need to find ways to keep him fresh since they will have to rely heavily on the run game with a green quarterback behind center. I’m curious to see if Lattimore will be healthy come his junior year and if the wheels will fall off this wagon.

For now the future is bright for Spurrier and he has a huge game with Clemson and the title game to prepare for. He wanted to play close to the vest against Florida (and it worked) but how will this offense look against Clemson and Auburn? Will being conservative get this program a much needed win over Clemson and a much bigger win against Auburn?