October 9, 2010 Week 6 · Regular Season Belt changed hands

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

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South Carolina 35

Away · Defending Holder

Alabama 21

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.

Stephen Garcia's touchdown pass to Alshon Jeffery late in Q1 for 26 yards gave South Carolina a 14-3 lead and set the tone for the Gamecocks' offensive dominance
Garcia's second touchdown pass to Jeffery in Q2 (15 yards) extended South Carolina's advantage to 21-3, effectively putting Alabama in a deep hole
Marcus Lattimore's one-yard rushing touchdown in Q3 pushed the lead to 32-10 and sealed Alabama's fate as a championship holder

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

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 14:04	Alabama	+20 yd	Greg McElroy pass complete to Marquis Maze for 20 yards to the SCaro 46 for a 1ST down.
Q1 10:32	Alabama	+32 yd	Jeremy Shelley 32 yard field goal GOOD.
Q1 10:32	Alabama	+37 yd	Cade Foster kickoff for 70 yards returned by Chris Culliver for 37 yards to the SCaro 37.
Q1 7:20	South Carolina	+9 yd	Stephen Garcia pass complete to Marcus Lattimore for 9 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 8:47	South Carolina	+22 yd	Marcus Lattimore rush for 22 yards to the Alab 28 for a 1ST down.
Q1 7:20	South Carolina	+21 yd	Jay Wooten kickoff for 70 yards returned by Trent Richardson for 21 yards to the Alab 21.
Q1 7:20	South Carolina	+0 yd	Spencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q1 0:35	South Carolina	+26 yd	Stephen Garcia pass complete to Alshon Jeffery for 26 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 0:35	South Carolina	+24 yd	Jay Wooten kickoff for 70 yards returned by Trent Richardson for 24 yards to the Alab 24.
Q1 0:35	South Carolina	+0 yd	Spencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q2 13:52	South Carolina	+15 yd	Stephen Garcia pass complete to Alshon Jeffery for 15 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 13:52	South Carolina	+31 yd	Jay Wooten kickoff for 67 yards returned by Trent Richardson for 31 yards to the Alab 34.
Q2 13:52	South Carolina	+0 yd	Spencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q2 4:35	Alabama	+31 yd	Jeremy Shelley 31 yard field goal MISSED.
Q2 1:57	South Carolina	+28 yd	Spencer Lanning punt for 49 yards, returned by Marquis Maze for 28 yards to the SCaro 41.
Q2 0:38	Alabama	+8 yd	Greg McElroy pass complete to Julio Jones for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 14:49	South Carolina	-15 yd	TEAM 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 14:49	South Carolina	+31 yd	Spencer Lanning kickoff for 63 yards returned by Marquis Maze for 31 yards to the Alab 48.
Q3 9:37	Alabama	+39 yd	Jeremy Shelley 39 yard field goal GOOD.
Q3 1:42	South Carolina	+1 yd	Marcus Lattimore rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 1:42	South Carolina	+0 yd	Spencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:51	Alabama	+51 yd	Greg McElroy pass complete to Darius Hanks for 51 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 0:35	Alabama	+32 yd	Greg McElroy pass complete to Michael Williams for 32 yards to the SCaro 48 for a 1ST down.
Q4 14:51	Alabama	+0 yd	Jeremy Shelley extra point GOOD.
Q4 14:08	South Carolina	+0 yd	Stephen Garcia pass intercepted by Will Lowery at the SCaro 37, returned for no gain to the SCaro 37.
Q4 8:26	South Carolina	+45 yd	Stephen Garcia pass complete to Alshon Jeffery for 45 yards to the Alab 6 for a 1ST down.
Q4 7:01	South Carolina	+2 yd	Marcus Lattimore rush for 2 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 7:01	South Carolina	+0 yd	Spencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q4 7:01	South Carolina	+20 yd	Joey Scribner-Howard kickoff for 68 yards returned by Trent Richardson for 20 yards to the Alab 22.
Q4 6:47	Alabama	+21 yd	Greg McElroy pass complete to Julio Jones for 21 yards to the Alab 43 for a 1ST down.
Q4 0:05	Alabama	+26 yd	Greg 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

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	QBR
Stephen GarciaSouth Carolina	17/20	201	10.1	3	1	88.1
Greg McElroyAlabama	27/34	315	9.3	2	0	46.2
AJ McCarronAlabama	0/1	0	0.0	0	0	0.0

Rushing

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Marcus LattimoreSouth Carolina	23	93	4.0	2	22
Brian MaddoxSouth Carolina	5	28	5.6	0	17
Stephen GarciaSouth Carolina	7	11	1.6	0	13
Ace SandersSouth Carolina	1	-7	-7.0	0	0
Mark IngramAlabama	11	41	3.7	0	13
Trent RichardsonAlabama	6	23	3.8	0	8
Greg McElroyAlabama	12	-28	-2.3	0	6

Receiving

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Alshon JefferySouth Carolina	7	127	18.1	2	45
Tori GurleySouth Carolina	3	31	10.3	0	17
Ace SandersSouth Carolina	3	20	6.7	0	11
Marcus LattimoreSouth Carolina	2	16	8.0	1	9
Brian MaddoxSouth Carolina	2	7	3.5	0	5
Julio JonesAlabama	8	118	14.8	1	26
Darius HanksAlabama	2	55	27.5	1	51
Marquis MazeAlabama	4	41	10.3	0	20
Michael WilliamsAlabama	1	32	32.0	0	32
Preston DialAlabama	5	29	5.8	0	8
Mark IngramAlabama	4	16	4.0	0	11
Brad SmelleyAlabama	1	12	12.0	0	12
Trent RichardsonAlabama	2	12	6.0	0	8

Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Will LoweryAlabama	1	0	0

Kick Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG
Chris CulliverSouth Carolina	3	70	23.3	37
Trent RichardsonAlabama	6	142	23.7	31
Marquis MazeAlabama	1	31	31.0	31

Kicking

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Spencer LanningSouth Carolina	0/0	0.0	0	5/5	5
Jeremy ShelleyAlabama	2/3	66.7	39	1/2	7

Punt Returns

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Stephon GilmoreSouth Carolina	1	15	15.0	15	0
Marquis MazeAlabama	1	28	28.0	28	0

Punting

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Spencer LanningSouth Carolina	2	82	41.0	0	0	49
Cody MandellAlabama	2	68	34.0	0	0	53

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

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