Navy edged by South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Marcus Lattimore ran for a career-high 246 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 10 South Carolina hang on for a 24-21 victory over Navy on Saturday night.

After Lattimore was stopped for a loss for the first time in the game on a fourth down, Navy got the ball at its 6-yard line with 5 minutes 34 seconds left. But Antonio Allen picked off a fourth down pass with a minute to go to seal the Gamecocks’ win.

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Lattimore carried 37 times and averaged 6.6 yards a carry. South Carolina (3-0) ran 37 plays in the second half, and the sophomore touched the ball on 26 of them.

“We figured the best way to try to win the game was to just hand it to him and keep blocking,” Coach Steve Spurrier said.

Navy (2-1) ran its option efficiently, rushing for 274 yards split among seven players.

South Carolina was 1-2 as a top 10 team under Spurrier and had a bad history against Navy. The Midshipmen beat a No. 2 South Carolina team in 1984 — Navy’s last win over a top 10 team.

Gamecocks quarterback Stephen Garcia again had an off night, overthrowing several receivers and making a bad decision by throwing the ball as he got hit, which led to an interception on South Carolina’s first possession of the third quarter.

Spurrier then turned the game over to his star running back. Lattimore touched the ball on 41 of his team’s 69 plays. He also caught four passes for 25 yards.

Lattimore’s 246 yards rank fourth in South Carolina history, and it’s the most yards a running back has ever gained for a Spurrier-coached team.

“A back like that can do anything he wants if you don’t gang-tackle him,” Navy defensive back Kwesi Mitchell said. “He’s shifty, he’s explosive and hits the smallest holes there are. You might think you have him bottled down but he sneaks through there.”

With the Gamecocks trailing 21-17 late in the third quarter, Spurrier kept giving the ball to Lattimore. He never ran the ball more than 10 yards and touched it 11 times on a 15-yard drive that ended with a seven-yard run that put South Carolina ahead 24-21.

Navy had two more possessions but couldn’t produce. Freshman defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney kept breaking into the backfield to hurry passes and cut off some of Navy quarterback Kriss Proctor’s options.

Fullback Alex Teich led the Midshipmen with 93 yards rushing and a touchdown. Proctor added 68 yards, as Navy ran for 274 yards against a defense that had allowed just 137 yards a game coming in.

Garcia was 18 for 25 passing for 204 yards, mostly on short passes. Star receiver Alshon Jeffery didn’t start because he broke a team rule and finished with two catches for 35 yards.

The difference in the game may have come at the end of the second quarter. Navy stopped Garcia on a keeper, forcing a fourth and seven from the Navy 49. The Midshipmen didn’t call a timeout, and the Gamecocks let the play clock run down before calling a timeout with 24 seconds to go.

Garcia then completed a 12-yard pass to Justice Cunningham and a five-yard pass to Lattimore, leaving enough time for Jay Wooten to kick a 48-yard field goal to end the half.

— Associated Press