South Carolina won a close game against Tennessee on Saturday, but the team had little reason to celebrate.
The conference win was crucial, but so was the loss of running back Marcus Lattimore to a devastating knee injury. The school announced on Sunday that Lattimore "hyperextended his right knee against Tennessee, causing injury to several ligaments."
After the injury he was taken to the hospital for observations.
"He's going to do wonderful things," coach Steve Spurrier said to the Associated Press, while acknowledging, "I don't know what field of life."
The injury could put his football career in jeopardy, but his head coach tried to put that speculation to bed following the game.
"We're optimistic his football days are ahead of him," Spurrier said.
Lattimore injured his knee while rushing on the left side of the offensive line and was struck in the knee by defensive back Eric Gordon. His leg could be seen wrapping back and hitting the turf. At the time Lattimore had 65 yards rushing on 11 carries and a touchdown.
"He knows what the road ahead is," said Spurrier, who visited Lattimore Sunday. "We're all hoping and praying he'll be back."
According to ESPN.com, "Lattimore has not used a redshirt season so he could take as long as necessary to recover and still return to the Gamecocks for the 2014 season."
"I just tried to tell him to stay mentally strong," said receiver Ace Sanders, whose eyes teared up when discussing Lattimore. "I saw the look in in his eyes when he was on the ground and he was really heartbroken."
During the game as Lattimore was on the field, the Tennesse team came onto the field to show they were pulling for him as well. After the game a lot of care and support came out on social media from athletes and fans.
"I don't know that I've ever seen anything like that," Spurrier said.
Last season Lattimore was injured and had to miss the final six games of the year. He tore knee ligaments, which required surgery. He was fully recovered by the start of the season, but now he will be out for an extended period of time.
The Gamecocks won the game 38-35, playing the second half without Lattimore. Quarterback Connor Shaw said the team was inspired by the running back. Shaw threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns to lead the tea, to its fifth SEC win.
This season Lattimore has been one of the best running backs in the conference. He has rushed for 662 yards and 10 touchdowns. He holds the school record with 41 career touchdowns, according to ESPN.com.
"We'd rather have Marcus on our team, that's for dang sure," Spurrier said. "In life, sometimes you've got to move on with whatever hand you're dealt."
Lattimore will be reevaluated this week, but it looks likely that he will be out until at least the 2014 season.
"We'll just go a day at a time and allow the doctors and Marcus and a lot of prayers do their work," Spurrier said.
South Carolina is ranked No. 8 in the BCS and at No. 11 in the AP Top 25. After starting out 6-0, the Gamecocks lost two straight to LSU and Florida. The team avoided a third straight loss against Tennessee to keep themselves alive in the SEC East.
South Carolina trails Florida and Georgia by one game in the division and could sneak into the conference title game if the other two falter.
The Gamecocks will have a much tougher time rushing the ball without Lattimore, but last year Kenny Miles helped greatly in his absence and will have to do the same this year. The team will also use freshman Mike Davis as a backup.
