The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2010 season / Reign #273 · Game 1,426 of 1,643
October 16, 2010 Week 7 · Regular Season Belt changed hands

Kentucky takes the belt, 31–28, at home over South Carolina.

Home · New Holder
Kentucky 31
AT
Away · Defending Holder
South CarolinaAP No. 10 28

AP poll, week 7: South Carolina No. 10 at Kentucky unranked · No. 1 that week: Michigan State. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Kentucky took the belt here, ending South Carolina’s run of 7 days and 0 defenses (reign #272) and starting reign #273. It lasted 7 days and 0 defenses, until Georgia took it on October 23, 2010.

For Kentucky this was its 18th shot at the belt; it had never held the belt — and this was the day it took it.

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

AI-Written

Recap

South Carolina dominated the first half, with Stephen Garcia leading an explosive offensive attack that resulted in four touchdowns by halftime. Garcia connected with Marcus Lattimore three times for scores (30-yard rushing TD, 47-yard passing TD) and found Alshon Jeffery for another, while Lattimore also punched in a 10-yard rushing touchdown to give the Gamecocks a commanding lead. Kentucky's Mike Hartline kept the Wildcats in the game with touchdown passes to La'Rod King in the second and third quarters, but South Carolina's early offensive onslaught and four turnovers proved costly as Kentucky's defense stiffened and the Wildcats chipped away. Despite South Carolina's statistical advantage in total yards and time of possession, turnovers and Kentucky's ability to move the ball efficiently through the air allowed the Wildcats to steal a 31-28 victory and claim the College Football Belt.

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
 KentuckySouth Carolina
Total yards401472
Rushing yards5290
Passing yards376391
First downs2117
3rd down conv.9/195/10
Turnovers04
Penalties–yards7–598–58
Time of possession20:5521:38

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 14:30South Carolina+25 ydStephen Garcia pass complete to Tori Gurley for 25 yards to the SCaro 48 for a 1ST down.
Q1 11:53South Carolina+0 ydSpencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q1 11:53South Carolina+30 ydMarcus Lattimore rush for 30 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 6:30South Carolina+42 ydStephen Garcia pass complete to Ace Sanders for 42 yards to the Kent 32 for a 1ST down.
Q1 4:40South Carolina+3 ydStephen Garcia pass complete to Alshon Jeffery for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 5:30South Carolina+30 ydStephen Garcia pass complete to Marcus Lattimore for 30 yards to the Kent 4 for a 1ST down.
Q1 4:40South Carolina+0 ydSpencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q1 4:40South Carolina+25 ydJay Wooten kickoff for 67 yards returned by Raymond Sanders for 25 yards to the Kent 28.
Q1 1:26South Carolina+0 ydStephen Garcia pass intercepted by Winston Guy Jr. at the Kent 44, returned for no gain to the Kent 44.
Q1 1:20Kentucky+24 ydMike Hartline pass complete to Chris Matthews for 24 yards to the SCaro 32 for a 1ST down.
Q2 13:10Kentucky+10 ydMike Hartline pass complete to La'Rod King for 10 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 13:10Kentucky+21 ydJoe Mansour kickoff for 68 yards returned by D.J. Swearinger for 21 yards to the SCaro 23.
Q2 13:10Kentucky+0 ydCraig McIntosh extra point GOOD.
Q2 9:55South Carolina+10 ydMarcus Lattimore rush for 10 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Spencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q2 11:18South Carolina+48 ydStephen Garcia pass complete to Marcus Lattimore for 48 yards to the Kent 24 for a 1ST down.
Q2 9:55South Carolina+29 ydJay Wooten kickoff for 67 yards returned by Randall Cobb for 29 yards to the Kent 32.
Q2 3:15Kentucky+23 ydJoe Mansour kickoff for 60 yards returned by D.J. Swearinger for 23 yards to the SCaro 38, KENTUCKY penalty 5 yard Offside accepted.
Q2 2:03South Carolina+47 ydStephen Garcia pass complete to Marcus Lattimore for 47 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. Spencer Lanning extra point GOOD.
Q2 2:03South Carolina+30 ydJoey Scribner-Howard kickoff for 63 yards returned by Randall Cobb for 30 yards to the Kent 37.
Q3 15:00South Carolina+21 ydJay Wooten kickoff for 64 yards returned by Raymond Sanders for 21 yards to the Kent 27.
Q3 11:55South Carolina+39 ydStephen Garcia pass complete to Lamar Scruggs for 39 yards to the Kent 41 for a 1ST down.
Q3 3:49Kentucky+5 ydMike Hartline pass complete to La'Rod King for 5 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 5:46Kentucky+37 ydMike Hartline pass complete to Donald Russell for 37 yards to the SCaro 11 for a 1ST down.
Q3 3:49Kentucky+31 ydJoe Mansour kickoff for 65 yards returned by Bryce Sherman for 31 yards to the SCaro 36.
Q3 3:49Kentucky+0 ydCraig McIntosh extra point GOOD.
Q4 13:09Kentucky+38 ydMike Hartline pass complete to Chris Matthews for 38 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 0:00Kentucky+21 ydMike Hartline pass complete to Chris Matthews for 21 yards to the Kent 41 for a 1ST down.
Q4 13:09Kentucky+25 ydJoe Mansour kickoff for 70 yards returned by Bryce Sherman for 25 yards to the SCaro 25.
Q4 1:15Kentucky+24 ydMike Hartline pass complete to Randall Cobb for 24 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 1:15Kentucky+0 ydTwo-point conversion attempt, Randall Cobb rush GOOD.
Q4 0:04South Carolina+0 ydStephen Garcia pass intercepted by Anthony Mosley at the Kent 0, returned for no gain for a touchback.

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

Kentucky

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Mike Hartline32/423498.34086.0

South Carolina

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Stephen Garcia20/3238211.92270.7

Rushing

Kentucky

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Donald Russell18412.309
Randall Cobb8273.4018
Moncell Allen294.507
Mike Hartline4-25-6.302

South Carolina

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Marcus Lattimore15795.3230
Brian Maddox3134.308
Connor Shaw199.009
Ace Sanders100.000
Stephen Garcia3-11-3.707

Receiving

Kentucky

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Chris Matthews1217714.8138
Donald Russell77010.0037
Randall Cobb8637.9124
La'Rod King4389.5212
Jordan Aumiller111.001

South Carolina

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Marcus Lattimore413333.3148
Ace Sanders27035.0042
Alshon Jeffery66510.8119
Tori Gurley24321.5025
Lamar Scruggs13939.0039
D.L. Moore11616.0016
Brian Maddox393.007
Patrick DiMarco177.007
Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Kentucky

PlayerINTYDSTD
Anthony Mosley100
Winston Guy100

South Carolina

No recorded stats in this category.

Kick Returns

Kentucky

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Randall Cobb37525.0300
Raymond Sanders24623.0250

South Carolina

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Bryce Sherman37525.0310
D.J. Swearinger36220.7230

Kicking

Kentucky

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Craig McIntosh1/1100.0262/25

South Carolina

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Spencer Lanning0/00.004/44

Punt Returns

Kentucky

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Randall Cobb3-5-1.750

South Carolina

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Stephon Gilmore581.6190

Punting

Kentucky

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Ryan Tydlacka624941.50052

South Carolina

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Spencer Lanning417744.30051

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 302890096) · This game in the downloadable dataset