The north endzone at Williams-Brice Stadium doesn’t look particularly imposing. It is the only side of the stadium that isn’t enclosed by multiple seating decks. But in each of the last three Georgia-South Carolina games in Columbia, this innocent-looking endzone has been the site of the key Gamecock meltdown that shut the door on their hopes of winning.

It’s not that the south endzone hasn’t had its moments. That’s where Pollack worked his magic, and it’s where the Gamecocks clanked a field goal off the upright last night.

But that north endzone has a much more sinister history.

2002: Gamecock tailback Andrew Pinnock drops a pitch at the Georgia goal line. A touchdown gives the Gamecocks a win, but Thomas Davis recovered the fumble to secure the Bulldog victory. It happened on the doorstep of the north endzone.

2004: On fourth-and-one inside the Georgia ten yard line with less than five minutes remaining, the Bulldogs stuffed Gamecock quarterback Dondrial Pinkins and held on for a 20-16 win. South Carolina had just fumbled on its last possession inside the Georgia 20 on the same end of the field. Which end? The north end, of course.

2006: Georgia’s 15-0 lead looked less solid as South Carolina drove the field in the third quarter. They seemed likely to take a big chunk out of the lead when they faced third and goal from the Georgia one. On third down, the Bulldogs stuffed Cory Boyd at the one. A video replay overruled a call that said that Boyd had fumbled, leaving the Gamecocks with fourth-and-one. The Gamecocks attempted to send Mitchell over the top, and as he reached the ball forward over the pile, Jarvis Jackson knocked it loose. The ball rolled into the endzone, that mystical north endzone, where by rule it became Georgia’s ball at the spot of the fumble. South Carolina seemed poised to pin the Dawgs against that goal line, but a 23-yard quarterback draw by Stafford on third down kept a drive alive that would eventually lead to Georgia’s final score of the day.

The north endzone strikes again.