South Carolina standing tall in defeat

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- There are two kinds of football games in South Carolina defensive head coach Ellis Johnson's world.

And, no, not necessarily wins and losses. It transcends that.

There are games that leave Johnson with a good feeling in his gut. And there are games that leave Johnson with a bad feeling in his gut.

As for Saturday's 20-6 loss at now-No. 1 Alabama?

"I have a good feeling," Johnson said.

One reason for that is simply how good the Crimson Tide is.

Twenty-nine voters flip-flopped Florida and Bama on their AP ballots, and the Tide (7-0, 4-0 in SEC) supplanted the Gators for the No. 1 spot. Alabama got 39 of 59 first-place votes this week.

"We got beat by a very good team," USC coach Steve Spurrier said Sunday. "It's not embarrassing to lose to Alabama."

The pollsters didn't think so, either.

The Gamecocks (5-2, 2-2) -- their only losses on the road to top 25 teams -- slipped only one spot from 22 to 23 in the AP poll.

While it wasn't embarrassing, Spurrier did say it was irritating to know South Carolina could've played better.

The Gamecocks became the second straight foe that Alabama held out of the end zone.

They were knocking on the door in the final seconds, but that was after the Tide's Mark Ingram had put the game away on a night that vaulted his Heisman campaign.

Ingram rushed for 246 yards, the third-highest total in Alabama's rich football history.

Ingram already had nearly 200 rushing yards when he carried all six plays and 68 yards on the game-sealing touchdown drive. Five of the six plays had Ingram lined up at quarterback, in the Wildcat formation.

The Gamecocks had their chances against the Tide.

Alabama had four turnovers -- as many as it had in its first six games.

But USC didn't capitalize, scoring no points off the pair of interceptions and pair of fumbles.

Even fortuitous situations fell flat for USC.

Gamecocks corner C.C. Whitlock picked off a wobbly Greg McElroy pass, but Whitlock -- with nothing but green grass and the end zone in front of him -- was stripped by Bama receiver Julio Jones.

The Tide got the ball back and kicked a field goal.

It was just that kind of night when USC had the ball in its hands.

That much was evident when Stephen Garcia's first pass of the night went directly to Tide defensive back Mark Barron, who returned the interception 77 yards for Alabama's only score until late in the fourth.

Garcia had moments, good and bad, after that interception. But it was obvious afterward that he never shook off that errant pass. He often looked rattled, even when he had time to throw.

Garcia missed a lot of open receivers, including what would have been a sure 28-yard touchdown to Jason Barnes.

The sophomore finished the night 20 for 46 for 214 yards and no scores. He was sacked five times, as the Gamecocks' patchwork line struggled to protect at times. Others, Garcia held the ball too long.

"I feel like we gave them a good shot," said left guard Jarriel King, playing his first game at the position, "but I'm not impressed or happy with the way we played."

Heart and character were words used by those associated with USC's defense. Even though Ingram had big runs and a lot of yards, the Tide didn't score an offensive touchdown until the final minutes.

The defense, Spurrier said, put the Gamecocks in position to spring the upset. After all, they were down 13-6 with five minutes to play.

That's not bad against the Tide. But it wasn't good enough.

"That's an unbelievable team," Garcia said, "but I think we've got a pretty good team ourselves."

Batchelor note

Spurrier said "he's not sure" what's going on with offensive line Heath Batchelor. Batchelor, he said, was going to be suspended for the Alabama game because of missing too many classes.

But then Batchelor didn't show up Thursday for practice.

Batchelor told The Post and Courier on Friday that he has left the team, although Spurrier said he "isn't sure what his status is."

Extra points

Spurrier said Moe Brown was in good spirits for the flight home after suffering a concussion just before the half. As for the Vanderbilt game, the senior WR will be evaluated later in the week. ...Garcia took a shot late in the game, but Spurrier said he is OK. ... CB Akeem Auguste's three-game suspension is over; he'll be eligible for the Vanderbilt game. The same goes for RB Jarvis Giles, who sat for a one-game suspension.

Reach Travis Haney at thaney@postandcourier.com and check out the South Carolina blog at www.postandcourier.com/weblogs/gamecocks.