South Carolina came into its season-opening game with Old Dominion as 21-point favorites, but had to score late to come away with a dramatic 23-19 win. Trailing 19-16 with 6:48 remaining in the contest, the Gamecock defense forced a Monarch fumble deep in their own end of the field. Carolina recovered the fumble on the Old Dominion 6-yard line.
Two plays later, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers scored on a 4-yard run to give the Gamecocks a 23-19 lead that they didn’t relinquish. Carolina defensive back Jalon Kilgore intercepted a Grant Wilson’s pass with 1:29 left to seal the victory.
The Gamecock defense played a big part in the first win of the season by forcing four Old Dominion turn overs, and sacking the Monarch’s quarterback five times. Kyle Kennard had an impressive debut for the Gamecocks with 2.5 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Freshman Dylan Stewart had two forced fumbles, including one that led to the game-winning score to go along with 1.5 sacks.
Kennard and Stewart shared Southeastern Conference Defensive Lineman of the Week honors for their performances in Saturday’s season-opening win. Debo Williams led Carolina with seven tackles.
“We had turnover takeaways on defense on back-to-back possessions to finish the game with Dylan (Stewart) and Jalon (Kilgore) as well, said Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer. “So, yeah, it was huge. It’s proven, our record around here is stupid good when we win the turnover battle. I know our record now is pretty good when we run for over 100 yards.
“But certainly the number one statistic in football is turnover margin, and we obviously won that tonight, and it was absolutely huge. Having said that, we’ve got to perform better in all three phases. To not have to rely on takeaways to win the football game either, but when they had to, they stepped up.”
South Carolina running back Rocket Sanders opened the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run with 13:22 left in the first quarter after Carolina recovered the first fumble. Sanders tied a career-high with 24 rushing attempts for 88 yards and a touchdown to lead the Gamecocks. Sellers, the freshman quarterback making his first start, had 22 carries for 68 yards and one touchdown. He shared what he learned from his first start.
“It is not as easy as you might think,” he said. “I need to prepare and make sure it’s the right way. I need to be more patient, be myself, and be more confident. Our game design was to go out and run the ball. Tonight, it was a three-man front and three safeties. It was a light box, and we took what we were given. We decided to run the ball. It will be dependent on the game plan week to week.”
Sanders made his debut as the Gamecocks running back after transferring from Arkansas.
“It is different here,” he said. “It is my first time being here. The atmosphere was crazy. I have only seen it in videos. I was like it is my first game back and I’m ready to show them what I got.
“The blocking was good. I hold myself to a high standard. It was my first game back and I feel I left a lot out. I was fighting for yards. I feel like I missed a couple of holes. I still feel like I was a little rusty out here.”
Carolina place kicker Alex Herrera hit on 3-of-4 field goal attempts in his first game as the starter. He connected on field goals from 46, 40 and 33 yards and also both PATs.
The game was delayed with 11:42 left in the second quarter due to lightning in the area. Play resumed after a 44-minute delay.
The Gamecocks will travel to Lexington, Ky. this week for the SEC opener against the Kentucky Wildcats.
