Georgia kicker Marshall Morgan (13) and the rest of the kicking team jog off the field after Morgan missed a field-goal to tie their game on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014, in Columbia, S.C. South Carolina won 38-35.COLUMBIA, S.C. - It was a night Marshall Morgan expected to celebrate, not start from scratch.
Georgia's junior kicker set a Southeastern Conference record for field-goal consistency in the first quarter, but he will be remembered more for a 28-yard misfire with 4:24 remaining. The miss kept the Bulldogs from pulling even with South Carolina, and they never got the ball back in a 38-35 loss.
Morgan was lined up on the right side on his final kick and kept the attempt right, resulting in a roar from the Williams-Brice Stadium crowd.
"It didn't go my way, I guess," Morgan said. "I thought it was good. It was close, and I shouldn't have made it that close. It happens."
Morgan made a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter, which was his 19th consecutive kick dating back to last-season's 42-yard overtime game-winner at Tennessee. That broke a mark he shared with Tennessee's Fuad Reveiz, who made 18 straight during the 1984 season.
A 26-yarder midway through the second quarter to pull Georgia within 14-13 allowed Marshall to extend the new standard to 20, but the streak came to an end with a 44-yard miss with 2:16 before the half.
Then came his only try of the second half.
"We don't point fingers around here," Bulldogs quarterback Hutson Mason said. "I feel bad for him, because he's been so clutch, and he'll be clutch again in the future."
Georgia coach Mark Richt said he didn't say anything during the game to Morgan because he was focusing on the next play. Nor did he get a chance to see him in the locker room.
Morgan is 8-of-10 on field-goal attempts this season after going 22-of-24 a year ago.
"You can't make them all, and I'm definitely going to do my best to make the rest of them this season," Morgan said. "That's how many I missed last year, and I ended up having a great year, so I'm going to try and do the same thing."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.