South Carolina Gamecocks vs LSU Tigers: The Gamecocks fall to the Tigers 45-24

The Gamecocks fell to 2-4 after dropping their fourth SEC game in a row. While there were a few big plays and things looked mildly encouraging early on, LSU eventually overpowered the Gamecocks. The Tigers outgained the Gamecocks 624 yards to 283 and benefited from a turnover late in the first half.

The Gamecocks made it to the red zone on the opening drive, but after three failed attempts to find the end zone they settled for a field goal. The Tigers took a 7-3 lead after scoring a touchdown on their opening drive. The Gamecocks turned it over on downs and the teams traded punts, but the Tigers found the end zone again in the second quarter to extend their lead to 14-3. On the first touch of his collegiate career, Rashad Fenton took the kickoff to the house for a touchdown that pulled the Gamecocks within four points of the Tigers. The defense then forced a punt to give USC a shot at taking a lead going to halftime, but an interception ended Carolina's chance and led to LSU kicking a field goal to go up 17-10 instead. It wasn't a bad first half for the Gamecocks. The defense did a good job of containing Fournette and held him to 49 yards. But there were still some big missed opportunities for the Gamecocks, and the offense left points on the field.

It didn't take long in the second half for things to take an unfortunate turn for the Gamecocks. Fournette finally broke off a long run to score a TD and more than double his rushing yards for the game. After a punt by the Gamecocks, the teams traded touchdowns, then traded touchdowns again. It was great to see Carolina being able to answer the Tigers offensively, but without any stops by the defense they didn't make any progress in cutting into the lead. With the Tigers up 38-24, the Gamecocks tried an onside kick which initially looked successful, but was called back. LSU scored again at the beginning of the 4th quarter to make the score 45-24 and put the game out of reach for the Gamecocks.

The Tigers were heavily favored coming into this game, but it was disheartening to see the Gamecocks put up a fight early and still let opportunities slip away. The Gamecocks will return home next week to face the Vanderbilt Commodores, who are also still looking for their first SEC win of the season.