Thumbs up, thumbs down: USC vs. ECU

The junior tailback didn’t take an offensive snap against Mississippi State. He led the Gamecocks with 67 rushing yards, added a crucial 16-yard catch late and sealed the game with a fourth-quarter run on fourth down.

At times, the stops appeared almost miraculous, but between a pair of difficult interceptions and a fumble on the 5-yard line, the Gamecocks allowed only nine points on six ECU trips inside the 20.

His day was far from perfect, but there were a few plays that showed what the freshman is capable of. Back-to-back strikes of 19 and 36 yards late were throws not many can make, and he had just enough of those.

A week after South Carolina’s defense self-combusted in the first half, they harrassed the Pirates in the backfield. They sacked ECU quarterback Philip Nelson four times and had seven other tackles for loss.

South Carolina committed seven for 65 yards, but the timing and situations were often costly. That included a few in the defensive backfield to erase second- or third-and-longs.

Granted Will Muschamp said the goal was to allow mid-range gains instead of give up big ones, but ECU still had eight of 11 drives last at least eight plays.

The Gamecocks had to balance going fast with McIlwain and trying to keep ECU’s offense off the field. Things shifted toward the former as ECU had the ball for 38:25 and ran 91 plays on the South Carolina defense.

The USC staff took a bold gamble, going for a fourth-and-1 on their own 44 in the second quarter. The call wasn’t a bad one, but McIlwain was met behind the line as he dove up the middle.

This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 9:47 PM with the headline "Thumbs up, thumbs down: USC vs. ECU."