SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

Rodrigo Blankenship’s kick sailed wide left. Gamecock players scurried over to the away stands and players carried a flag around on the field. Will Muschamp celebrated with his team.

The clock read 20-17 Gamecocks.

Will Muschamp, welcome to your signature win so far at South Carolina.

Muschamp, who came to South Carolina four years ago tabbed as a defensive guru responsible for building stalwart units at LSU, Texas and Florida, saw his first real dominant defensive showing in his time at South Carolina.

The Gamecocks forced four turnovers—including a pick six from Israel Mukuamu—as they held on to beat Georgia.

They’d weather storm after storm, watching starting quarterback Ryan Hilinski go down early in the second half with a knee injury, watched Georgia storm back and get into the red zone only to force a fumble and have TJ Brunson scoop it up.

Georgia scored to tie the game with 1:48 to play only to have the defense buckle down and force an incomplete pass as Georgia attempted a Hail Mary to end the game.

In overtime, the Gamecocks went on defense first and got a Mukuamu interception—his third of the game—before Parker White slotted a field goal in overtime, minutes after missing a potential game-winning one, before Blankenship missed the game-tying one.

Offensively, South Carolina did enough to win the game, taking advantage of a nearly-unstoppable double move from Bryan Edwards as he and Hilinski connected for a 46-yard touchdown before Parker White tacked on a career-high 49-yard field goal.

Hilinski finished his day 15-for-20 with 116 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game early in the third quarter.

South Carolina moves back to .500 on the year at 3-3 and picks up their first road win against a ranked team since 2013 against Missouri, the double-overtime thriller.

The Gamecocks get a much-needed win for Will Muschamp, who was without a win over a ranked opponent on the road.