Nashville, TN (Sports Network) - South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw dove
head first for a two-yard gain late in the second quarter and immediately
grimaced in pain while clutching his right shoulder. He was examined in the
locker room, missed half of the third quarter, but gutted it out and
guided the Gamecocks to the go-ahead score early in the final frame. Shaw's
toughness, along with a healthy Marcus Lattimore, led No. 9 South
Carolina to a 17-13 win over Vanderbilt in the season opener for both teams
on Thursday. Shaw completed 7-of-11 passes for 67 yards with an
interception and carried the ball 14 times for 92 yards for South Carolina
(1-0, 1-0 SEC), which has won 13 straight season openers and posted a school-
record 11 wins last year. Lattimore, who punched it in from a yard out
for the go-ahead score to conclude a nine-play, 76-yard drive, had 23
carries for 110 yards and two touchdowns. It was the junior's first game
back since tearing his ACL while blocking during a game against Mississippi
State last October. On his 24th birthday, Jordan Rodgers, the younger brother
of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, completed 13-of-23 passes
for 214 yards with a touchdown and interception for Vanderbilt (0-1, 0-1),
which went 6-7 last season.
The Sports Network