The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2010 season / Reign #272 · Game 1,425 of 1,640
October 9, 2010 Week 6 · Regular Season Belt changed hands

South Carolina takes the belt, 35–21, at home over Alabama.

Home · New Holder
South CarolinaAP No. 19 35
AT
Away · Defending Holder
AlabamaAP No. 1 21

AP poll, week 6: Alabama No. 1 at South Carolina No. 19 · No. 1 that week: Michigan State. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

South Carolina took the belt here, ending Alabama’s run of 308 days and 6 defenses (reign #271) and starting reign #272. It lasted 7 days and 0 defenses, until Kentucky took it on October 16, 2010.

For South Carolina this was its 11th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before — and it took it back here.

This is the only time Alabama and South Carolina have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

South Carolina's Stephen Garcia orchestrated an explosive offensive performance to dethrone Alabama and claim the lineal belt with a 35-21 victory in Columbia. The Gamecocks jumped out to an early lead with three touchdown passes from Garcia to Alshon Jeffery in the first half, including two in the second quarter alone, overwhelming Alabama's defense despite being outgained in total yards 351-311. Alabama's Greg McElroy kept the Crimson Tide in the game with scoring passes to Julio Jones and Darius Hanks, but South Carolina's balanced attack and Marcus Lattimore's powerful rushing kept the momentum on their side. A critical safety in the third quarter on a Garcia fumble gave Alabama brief hope, but Lattimore's one-yard touchdown run in the waning moments of the third quarter put the game out of reach. The Gamecocks' third-down efficiency (6-of-11) proved decisive against Alabama's struggles in the same situation (5-of-13), allowing South Carolina to control the pace and secure the belt on the field.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 South CarolinaAlabama
Total yards311351
Rushing yards11036
Passing yards206356
First downs2021
3rd down conv.6/115/13
Turnovers11
Penalties–yards4–345–31
Time of possession16:5319:47

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 14:04Alabama+20 ydGreg McElroy pass complete to Marquis Maze for 20 yards to the SCaro 46 for a 1ST down.
Q1 10:32Alabama+32 ydJeremy Shelley 32 yard field goal GOOD.
Q1 10:32Alabama+37 ydCade Foster kickoff for 70 yards returned by Chris Culliver for 37 yards to the SCaro 37.
Q1 7:20South Carolina+9 ydStephen Garcia pass complete to Marcus Lattimore for 9 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 8:47South Carolina+22 ydMarcus Lattimore rush for 22 yards to the Alab 28 for a 1ST down.
Q1 7:20South Carolina+21 ydJay Wooten kickoff for 70 yards returned by Trent Richardson for 21 yards to the Alab 21.
Q1 7:20South Carolina+0 ydSpencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q1 0:35South Carolina+26 ydStephen Garcia pass complete to Alshon Jeffery for 26 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 0:35South Carolina+24 ydJay Wooten kickoff for 70 yards returned by Trent Richardson for 24 yards to the Alab 24.
Q1 0:35South Carolina+0 ydSpencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q2 13:52South Carolina+15 ydStephen Garcia pass complete to Alshon Jeffery for 15 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 13:52South Carolina+31 ydJay Wooten kickoff for 67 yards returned by Trent Richardson for 31 yards to the Alab 34.
Q2 13:52South Carolina+0 ydSpencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q2 4:35Alabama+31 ydJeremy Shelley 31 yard field goal MISSED.
Q2 1:57South Carolina+28 ydSpencer Lanning punt for 49 yards, returned by Marquis Maze for 28 yards to the SCaro 41.
Q2 0:38Alabama+8 ydGreg McElroy pass complete to Julio Jones for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 14:49South Carolina-15 ydTEAM rush for loss of 15 yards to the SOCAROLINA4, fumble by TEAM recovered by SOCAROLINA Garcia, Stephen at SOCAROLINA4, fumble by Garcia, Stephen recovered by SOCAROLINA at SOCAROLINA0, team safety, clock 14:49.
Q3 14:49South Carolina+31 ydSpencer Lanning kickoff for 63 yards returned by Marquis Maze for 31 yards to the Alab 48.
Q3 9:37Alabama+39 ydJeremy Shelley 39 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 1:42South Carolina+1 ydMarcus Lattimore rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 1:42South Carolina+0 ydSpencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:51Alabama+51 ydGreg McElroy pass complete to Darius Hanks for 51 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 0:35Alabama+32 ydGreg McElroy pass complete to Michael Williams for 32 yards to the SCaro 48 for a 1ST down.
Q4 14:51Alabama+0 ydJeremy Shelley extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:08South Carolina+0 ydStephen Garcia pass intercepted by Will Lowery at the SCaro 37, returned for no gain to the SCaro 37.
Q4 8:26South Carolina+45 ydStephen Garcia pass complete to Alshon Jeffery for 45 yards to the Alab 6 for a 1ST down.
Q4 7:01South Carolina+2 ydMarcus Lattimore rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 7:01South Carolina+0 ydSpencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q4 7:01South Carolina+20 ydJoey Scribner-Howard kickoff for 68 yards returned by Trent Richardson for 20 yards to the Alab 22.
Q4 6:47Alabama+21 ydGreg McElroy pass complete to Julio Jones for 21 yards to the Alab 43 for a 1ST down.
Q4 0:05Alabama+26 ydGreg McElroy pass complete to Julio Jones for 26 yards to the SCaro 37 for a 1ST down.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

South Carolina

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Stephen Garcia17/2020110.13188.1

Alabama

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Greg McElroy27/343159.32046.2
AJ McCarron0/100.0000.0

Rushing

South Carolina

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Marcus Lattimore23934.0222
Brian Maddox5285.6017
Stephen Garcia7111.6013
Ace Sanders1-7-7.000

Alabama

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Mark Ingram11413.7013
Trent Richardson6233.808
Greg McElroy12-28-2.306

Receiving

South Carolina

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Alshon Jeffery712718.1245
Tori Gurley33110.3017
Ace Sanders3206.7011
Marcus Lattimore2168.019
Brian Maddox273.505

Alabama

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Julio Jones811814.8126
Darius Hanks25527.5151
Marquis Maze44110.3020
Michael Williams13232.0032
Preston Dial5295.808
Mark Ingram4164.0011
Brad Smelley11212.0012
Trent Richardson2126.008
Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

South Carolina

No recorded stats in this category.

Alabama

PlayerINTYDSTD
Will Lowery100

Kick Returns

South Carolina

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Chris Culliver37023.3370

Alabama

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Trent Richardson614223.7310
Marquis Maze13131.0310

Kicking

South Carolina

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Spencer Lanning0/00.005/55

Alabama

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Jeremy Shelley2/366.7391/27

Punt Returns

South Carolina

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Stephon Gilmore11515.0150

Alabama

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Marquis Maze12828.0280

Punting

South Carolina

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Spencer Lanning28241.00049

Alabama

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Cody Mandell26834.00053

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 302822579) · This game in the downloadable dataset