Greene heats up late to rescue Bulldogs

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- It's never easy for Georgia at

Williams-Brice Stadium.

The third-ranked Bulldogs came from 16 points down behind David

Greene's 213 yards and two touchdown passes to beat South Carolina

20-16 on Saturday night.

"Everytime we come here, it's really no fun at all," Bulldogs

coach Mark Richt said.

Two years ago, Georgia (2-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference)

defeated South Carolina 13-7 on the way to an SEC title.

Greene and the Bulldogs were flat early, but found their rhythm

in their first road test of the season.

"Sometimes we get better as the season goes on, sometimes we

start off hot, like we did last year," said Greene, who admitted

it wasn't his best performance. "I didn't play particularly well

today, don't know why. But when you're not having a great game,

you've just got to fight."

Greene finally began connecting with Fred Gibson and Reggie

Brown, whose 22-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter put the

Bulldogs up 20-16. The two receivers combined for 10 catches for

130 yards.

Greene was 19-for-38 with one interception. His first touchdown

was a 12-yard pass to Tyson Browning near the end of the third

quarter.

"When we finally scored that touchdown, we finally got

something positive going," Greene said.

South Carolina (1-1, 0-1) had a couple of chances to score late.

The Gamecocks drove to the Georgia 18, but Greg Blue stuffed

Dondrial Pinkins, forcing a fumble.

The Gamecocks got the ball back a couple of plays later when

Marcus Lawrence forced a fumble.

On fourth-and-one with five minutes to go, Georgia's defense

again held off Pinkins, and Paul Oliver ended the Gamecocks' final

threat with an interception near midfield.

"We have to learn how to win close games," South Carolina

coach Lou Holtz said. "This will be a good learning lesson for

us."

Georgia's three turnovers kept the Gamecocks in the game.

Browning mishandled his first punt return, which eventually led

to an early safety. The Bulldogs trailed 16-0 after freshman Ko

Simpson intercepted Greene and sprinted 57 yards untouched into the

end zone with his first career pick.

"I got a good look at the ball and got in front of it,"

Simpson said. "After that, I just ran and did what I could to get

in the end zone."

Georgia didn't score until Andy Bailey made a 26-yard field goal

with 6:47 left in the half, and he added another as the second

quarter ended.

Browning, who made the first of several Georgia mistakes, made

up for his miscue.

With standout freshman tailback Danny Ware out in the second

quarter with a bruised chest, Browning's offensive role grew, along

with Michael Cooper, last year's leading rusher who had dropped to

fourth on the depth chart.

But the Bulldogs had confidence in the two backs, and Browning's

12-yard score capped an 8-play, 73-yard drive that cut South

Carolina's lead to 16-13.

Richt said Ware was ready to go back into the game after X-rays

were negative but he began coughing up blood.

"We think he's going to be fine," Richt said. "We just

couldn't put him back in the second half."

His absence may have hurt, but Georgia held on. Browning had 11

carries for 54 yards and Cooper added 61 yards on 13 carries.

The Gamecocks took advantage of Bailey's 47-yard miss in the

first quarter. Three plays later, Pinkins hit Troy Williamson on a

short route, and Williamson broke free from two tacklers before

sprinting for a 65-yard score, diving into the end zone.

Pinkins was 13-for-21 for 200 yards. Williamson finished with 3

catches for 131 yards.

The Bulldogs were held to just 28 yards in the first quarter,

and found themselves in the Gamecocks' territory just once.

"We had some momentum," Holtz said. "But it was not a passing

grade for any of us. We lost to a very good football team, but we

lost."

Ware, the star in Georgia's 48-28 opening win at Georgia

Southern, didn't fare too well with his first carry from the

Georgia 3. He bumped into his lineman near the goal line and was

swarmed by several Gamecocks including Lawrence, who was credited

with the safety.

Ware left the game in the second quarter and didn't return. He

had eight carries for 41 yards.

South Carolina's heralded running back Demetris Summers also

struggled on his first carry, injuring his right ankle on a 3-yard

run. He returned but was never a factor.

Though recent games have been close, the Bulldogs still hold a

42-13-2 edge in the series and have won the past three meetings.

Georgia is 15-6-2 at Williams-Brice Stadium and under Richt, the

Bulldogs are 13-1 on the road.

"All I can say is we're not looking forward to coming back in

two years," Richt said.