LSU faced a must-win situation to keep hopes of competing for a national championship alive and was entering Death Valley with a makeshift offensive line to take on Steve Spurrier’s high-octane No. 3 ranked South Carolina squad, featuring college football’s most feared pass rusher, Jadeveon Clowney.

Behind the strength of an offensive line with two freshmen starting and the power of junior wrecking-ball FB J.C. Copeland, LSU rallied to a 23-21 victory, holding Clowney without a sack and set the tone in the run game, with powerful freshman Jeremy Hill plowing through one of the nation’s most talented defenses. 

Most impressive was the performance of LSU’s star-studded defensive line, which held South Carolina junior RB Marcus Lattimore to 35 yards on 13 carries (including a key stuff on 3rd-and-2), controlled the line of scrimmage and kept Gamecocks QB Connor Shaw out of rhythm and forcing the ball.

LSU junior DE Sam Montgomery, a South Carolina native who served as captain for the Tigers, came out playing with emotion from the outset and ratcheted up two sacks on the day, including one on a critical 3rd-and-11 situation with barely six minutes remaining in the game. With juniors DE Barkevious Mingo, DT Bennie Logan and sophomore Anthony Johnson also rushing hard, Shaw never looked comfortable in the pocket.

The turning point of the game came when junior WR Ace Sanders slipped along the sideline and Tigers junior FS Eric Reid intercepted the errant throw, setting up the Tigers for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter. Reid is not an elite athlete, but his instincts against the run and pass are outstanding and he has shown a knack for being in the right place at the right time throughout his career.  

Coming off a 14-6 upset loss to Florida last week and without senior ORT Alex Hurst, who was a no-show for the South Carolina contest amid speculation that he left the team earlier in the week, LSU showed the resolve to overcome a halftime deficit and stay in the race.