Shaw engineers comeback victory in relief of Thompson
Connor Shaw wasn’t supposed to play Saturday against Missouri. Neither was Kelcy Quarles.
But with South Carolina down 17-0 midway through the third quarter and struggling to avoid turnovers, coach Steve Spurrier went up to Shaw and asked him if he could play.
“Sure,” Shaw replied.
What ensued was one of the biggest comebacks in recent Gamecock history, and both Shaw and Quarles played huge roles in it. Shaw led South Carolina to 17 straight points, all of them coming in the fourth quarter and the last of them coming on a two-yard touchdown pass to Nick Jones with 42 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and force overtime.
Then, with the Gamecocks trailing 24-17 in the first overtime and facing a 4th-and-goal from the 15, Shaw found junior wide receiver Bruce Ellington in the right corner of the endzone for a touchdown to force the second overtime.
Freshman kicker Elliot Fry gave South Carolina its first lead of the night when he nailed a 40-yard field goal to give the Gamecocks a 27-24 lead. Fry had missed a 40-yarder earlier in the game.
It appeared that Missouri was going to force a third overtime when kicker Andrew Baggett went out to attempt a 24-yard chip shot field goal. But the kick went left, hitting the goal post and falling harmlessly to the ground to give the Gamecocks their first-ever overtime win while keeping their SEC East hopes alive.
“Thank God he hit that yellow field goal post at the end of the game,” Quarles said.
Shaw completed 20-of-29 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns on just six possessions. Combined with Dylan Thompson, who started the game, the Gamecocks completed 35-of-56 passes for 423 passing yards, all highs in the Spurrier Era.
“First of all, Connor wasn’t even supposed to be out there playing; I wasn’t supposed to play either,” Quarles said. “For him to come out and do what he did, that’s amazing. I love that man to death and I wouldn’t take any NFL Hall of Famer or any other quarterback over him. I’m proud of what he did.”
The Gamecocks’ win on a field goal miss to end the game comes a week after Tennessee handed South Carolina a loss on a made field goal as time expired in regulation.
After the Tigers scored a touchdown on the first possession of overtime in just four plays, the Gamecocks came out, needing a touchdown.
A quick pass to Ellington for 16 yards gave South Carolina a 1st-and-goal at the nine-yard line. However, Shaw was taken down by standout Tiger defensive end Michael Sam for a loss of six yards. Two incomplete passes later, the team was facing the 4th-and-15.
Ellington took advantage of man-on-man coverage to get open and catch the touchdown.
Saturday’s victory was the Gamecock’s biggest comeback victory since they overcame a 17-point deficit to beat East Carolina in 2011. Shaw was on the opposite end of that game, as he was the one that was benched in favor of Stephen Garcia after falling behind.
“Just stay calm,” Shaw said, when asked about being put in the game with a 17-point deficit. “We’re not going to win a game in a series, so we just had to take it play-by-play. I’m so proud of our guys for battling throughout the game.
“God is great. I was considered to be out for two or three weeks. I give all the glory up top. I’m thankful to be able to play in this game and feel extremely blessed.”
It was also Spurrier’s first overtime win as a college head coach, having lost his previous three times, but it was one that he wasn’t expecting to win until Bagget’s kick hit the left upright.
“It was a game where I thought we were dead,” Spurrier said. “About three quarters of the game anyway, but we got some points there in the fourth quarter. Connor Shaw brought us back, guys made some catches, the defense stopped them and somehow, Elliot Fry made the field goal and their guy missed.”