South Carolina beats ECU 48-10 at home
Gamecock fans were understandably nervous about Saturday’s home opener against East Carolina of Conference USA when starting quarterback Connor Shaw was scratched from the lineup because of a lingering shoulder injury. But backup QB Dylan Thompson set off some air raid sirens in Columbia with an outstanding performance, leading the Gamecocks to a 48-10 rout of the Pirates. Thompson finished the day with 330 passing yards and three touchdowns, taking South Carolina to 2-0 on the season. (Back-up back-up)Quarterback Seth Strickland added another passing touchdown late in the game and wide receiver Ace Sanders showed off his own passing skills with a touchdown toss on a trick play. In total, 11 Carolina receivers racked up 397 yards with five touchdown catches. Running backs Marcus Lattimore and Kenny Miles combined for only 70 rushing yards with the passing game taking off but Lattimore tied George Rogers and Harold Green’s school record for most career rushing touchdowns with a six yard scoring run that gave him his 33rd TD in garnet and black.
The defense was determined to get a share of the spotlight, taking four interceptions from ECU and recovering a fumble. Cornerback Jimmy Legree took one of those interceptions all the way in for a touchdown as the entire defense held the Pirates to a field goal in the third quarter and a late touchdown in the fourth. Three Gamecocks on defense led the way with five solo tackles in the total team effort.
The big question now is who leads the Gamecocks onto the field next week. Head Coach Steve Spurrier says there is no quarterback controversy. After the game he told the media Shaw would be his starter if healthy enough to go, but he was glad, as we’re sure plenty of Carolina fans are, to know we have a backup capable of slinging the ball around the field.
South Carolina takes on another Conference USA opponent next week when the University of Alabama at Birmingham comes to town for a 7 pm EST kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Blazers are 0-1 after dropping their season opener to Troy last week. UAB will bring a strong passing attack against the Gamecocks so we hope to see more of what we had this week: an offense firing on all cylinders and a stout defense. Coach Spurrier will be looking for his 200th career win and the Gamecocks could make history of their own: South Carolina has never won four consecutive games while ranked in the Top 10.
– COURTESY OF M&M Snead for Gamecock Girls
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