USC vs. Louisiana Tech: 14 things you might have missed
1. South Carolina’s 13-point comeback to defeat Louisiana Tech 17-16 on Saturday was the team’s biggest comeback since Sept. 20, 2014. That day, the Gamecocks were down 14-0 to Vanderbilt before scoring 48 points in the final three quarters to escape with a win.
2. The win gave the Gamecocks a victory against former assistant and offensive coordinator Skip Holtz. The son of the man who revitalized the South Carolina program in the early 2000s had not been back to Williams-Brice Stadium since that staff left in 2004, but he spoke warmly of seeing old faces in his return.
3. Quarterback Jake Bentley said when South Carolina went down by two points with less than a minute remaining, he went down the line to remind his fellow Gamecocks it wasn’t over. “Stay locked in, stay ready to go,” Bentley said he told teammates. “They did an unbelievable job.”
4. Kicker Parker White bounced back from missing his first two kicks of the day to drill a 31-yarder with under 5 seconds left for the win. It was his first career field goal made as a Gamecock. USC kickers are now 2-of-8 in field goals this season.
5. Seven true freshmen played against the Bulldogs: wide receiver OrTre Smith, cornerback Jamyest Williams, defensive end Brad Johnson, wide receiver Shi Smith, defensive end Aaron Sterling, linebacker Sherrod Greene and wide receiver Chad Terrell.
6. Sophomore defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw got his first start at USC. He was joined as a first-time starter by tailback Ty’Son Williams and OrTre Smith. Offensive lineman Sadarius Hutcherson saw his first action, going in at guard when Cory Helms got hurt.
7. Williams made the most of his start, rushing for a career high 95 yards and his first college touchdown. The North Carolina transfer got zero carries against N.C. State and Kentucky, but against Louisiana Tech and Missouri, he posted the Gamecocks’ two best yardage totals of the season.
8. As the Gamecocks try to replace Deebo Samuel, five wide receivers caught at least one pass and 10 players total had receptions. Of those five receivers, four were freshmen or true freshmen, and the fifth, sophomore Bryan Edwards, set a career high with 122 yards.
9. Defensive end Daniel Fennell got his first college sack to help snuff out one of Louisiana Tech’s late drives. He took a notable role in filling in for linebacker/Buck Bryson Allen-Williams, who announced after the game he’ll miss the rest of the season following shoulder surgery.
10. The Gamecocks’ defense didn’t have a perfect day, giving up several long drives, including a late one to allow a go-ahead field goal. But USC did allow only one touchdown on nine possessions and got four stops inside their own 40.
11. Linebacker Skai Moore moved into eighth place on South Carolina’s career unassisted tackles list with 176, passing Kenny Harney (1998-2001). Moore had 12 stops on the day, eight unassisted.
12. Tight end Hayden Hurst’s three receptions moved him to 67 for his career. That puts him fourth on South Carolina’s career tight end reception list, moving past Jerrell Adams.
13. South Carolina’s third win of the season in four tries marks the Gamecocks’ best start in three years. The 2014 team got to 3-1 before losing back-to-back games. The 2013 group started 3-1 as part of a 5-1 start. The Gamecocks needed seven games to get to three wins in 2015 and 2016.
14. Official attendance was 71,821, down from 82,493 a week earlier for the Gamecocks’ home opener against Kentucky.
This story was originally published September 24, 2017 at 3:29 PM with the headline "USC vs. Louisiana Tech: 14 things you might have missed."