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Shaw helps Gamecocks edge Tennessee

Oct 30, 2011 - 4:46 AM Knoxville, TN (Sports Network) - Connor Shaw threw for one touchdown and ran for another, and No. 14 South Carolina woke up from a slow start to beat Tennessee, 14-3, on Saturday night.

Brandon Wilds rushed for 137 yards and the Gamecocks (7-1, 5-1 SEC) came up with two big interceptions in the second half to win their third straight game since suffering their only loss October 1 to Auburn.

Tight end Rory Anderson had a 23-yard touchdown catch in the win, while Shaw was 10-of-18 for 87 yards and an interception.

South Carolina, playing without injured running back Marcus Lattimore, improved to just 2-14 all-time in Knoxville.

Freshman quarterback Justin Worley started for the Volunteers (3-5, 0-5), but came out after throwing two momentum-killing picks in the second half. He was 10-of-26 for 105 yards and Matt Simms went 5-for-12 for 46 yards.

Tennessee has lost four straight games -- a tough stretch against 22nd-ranked Georgia, No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Alabama and now the 14th-ranked Gamecocks.

Trailing just 7-3 at halftime, the Volunteers had a chance to take the lead when Prentiss Waggner intercepted Shaw and returned it 54 yards to the South Carolina 2.

But Worley was picked off two plays later at the goal line by D.J. Swearinger and the Gamecocks went 98 yards in 20 plays, taking their 14-3 lead when Shaw busted through the line for a five-yard touchdown run.

"We had just thrown the pick, so we were trying to run the ball and Brandon kept picking up third-and-shorts. Twenty-play drive, I've only had one other in my life that long and it happened right here in 1982, Duke University, we went from the same one yard line over there to this one yard line and killed the clock," said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier.

"That was the '82 Duke-Tennessee game, except we did it then in the fourth quarter. I think that's the two longest drives in my career as a coach, both of them happened right here."

In the fourth quarter, Brian Randolph's devastating hit on Wilds near the left sideline forced a fumble that Tennessee recovered at the South Carolina 28.

On the next play, Worley threw into double coverage in the front of the end zone and was picked off by Stephon Gilmore, who came down with the ball one- handed for another crushing Tennessee turnover.

Later, the Volunteers couldn't convert a 4th-and-1 in South Carolina territory and the Gamecocks ran out the clock for the win.

"We fought them hard, but we are just a mess on offense. We can't run it, we struggled to throw it. We had the ball twice in the red [zone] and we turned the ball over," said Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley.

"I don't know what else you can do defensively. We didn't stop the run very well in the second half, that's for sure. They went on a 98-yard drive. For the most part we just couldn't get anything going on offense. It was a real struggle. Give them a lot of credit. It's tough and we have to move on."

Tennessee had a 3-0 lead after the first quarter, scoring an early field goal after a fumbled kickoff by the Gamecocks led to Michael Palardy's 22-yard field goal.

Palardy had a 47-yarder deflected at the line of scrimmage later in the quarter.

Spurrier called a play-action pass on 4th-and-1 from the Tennessee 23, fooling the Volunteers defense and leaving Anderson alone behind the linebackers on the right side for his 23-yard touchdown and a 7-3 lead.

Game Notes

Tennessee still leads the all-time series, 23-5-2...South Carolina was coming off a bye after squeaking out 14-12 win over Mississippi State on October 15. In that game, Lattimore suffered a torn ligament in his knee, along with some cartilage damage. Matt Coffee, a backup fullback and kickoff cover team player, also tore a knee ligament.