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.
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 109 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 SEC).
GAME NOTES:
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