5 things we learned about South Carolina from its win over SC State
No. 10 South Carolina notched a 38-10 win over S.C. State in a game that — because of a lengthy weather delay — began on Saturday and ended Sunday.
The Gamecocks are now 2-0 heading into SEC play. Vanderbilt (2-0) will travel to Williams-Brice Stadium next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:45 p.m.
But back to the Carolina-S.C. State game. Here are five things we learned from the 28-point Gamecocks win.
1. This offense needs a pick-me-up
The early stats were almost unfathomable.
Through the first quarter on Saturday, South Carolina had amassed just 12 total yards. It had zero first downs and zero completed passes. It was less of an offense than an opening act for punter Mason Love.
The final stats don’t paint a much-brighter picture: 253 total yards; 3 of 12 on third down, 3.5 yards per rush.
This is now two straight weeks the Gamecocks — led by Heisman hopeful QB LaNorris Sellers — have been lackluster. There is no rhythm. No flow. No consistency.
“I would say we were clicking a little bit better (during preseason practices),” Sellers said. “I’m not sure if it’s the competition. Or just the different looks from seeing our defense to looks from other teams.”
It was easy to write off the Virginia Tech game. To think the Hokies’ defense was solid. (They gave up 44 points to Vanderbilt on Saturday.) Or that it was because left guard Shed Sarratt was injured. Or that S.C. State would be a get-right game — a night to fix all the mistakes of Week 1.
Instead, the Gamecocks’ offense still hasn’t plenty of questions to answer as it starts SEC play.
2. Hard to find comparisons for Vicari Swain
Some folks on social media contended that Vicari Swain returned three straight punts for touchdowns — which could be right, depending on your definition.
He took the 64-yarder to the house against Virginia Tech last week. Then on Saturday, S.C. State’s first punt rolled out of bounds. Swain fair-caught the second. It was the next two that he returned for touchdowns — 65 and 42 yards, respectively.
The correct wording is likely: “He scored touchdowns on three straight returns;” rather than: “He returned three straight punts for touchdowns.”
And, well, this must be what its like to dine at a Michelin-starred restaurant and complain about the napkins. Sometimes you get so bogged down in the semantics or everything else — like the offense — and it takes your focus away from the greatness.
Swain could retire from football tomorrow and would probably go down as the most-prolific punt returner in South Carolina history. He tied the Gamecocks’ single-season record for punt TDs in a season ... in two games.
“We were kind of down,” Swain said of the S.C. State game, “so somebody had to spark the team.”
And let’s project. Say he houses another punt. That would make him just one of 18 players in history to score at least four punt return touchdowns in a season. (Only 66 have ever done it in a career.)
Among that group: Santana Moss (Miami), DeSean Jackson (Cal) and Ted Ginn Jr. (Ohio State).
3. Lot of injuries in the secondary
By the second quarter, redshirt freshman nickelback Kelvin Hunter was on the field for nearly every snap.
Which is wild considering his name wasn’t on the depth chart. But South Carolina had no other choice.
“Kudos to Kelvin Hunter,” coach Shane Beamer said. “He came in and I thought a really remarkable job. Didn’t even think he was gonna be playing.”
Starting nickel Jalon Kilgore missed the entire game with an undisclosed injury. Backup nickel Brandon Cisse, who started there on Saturday, sustained an injury in the first quarter and missed the rest of the game. Ditto for Jaquel Holman.
By the second quarter, the Gamecocks were down to their fourth nickelback.
Not only that, but without Cisse and Judge Collier — who was still on crutches after sustaining an injury against Virginia Tech — South Carolina was without its top two corners.
It wasn’t a massive deal on Saturday, but it’ll be something to monitor this week.
“It’s not good,” Beamer said of injuries.
4. Vanderbilt is going to be tougher than expected
A week after South Carolina needed an excellent fourth quarter to secure a neutral-site win over Virginia Tech, Vanderbilt went into Lane Stadium and smacked the Hokies around.
Its 44-20 victory went final just before 11 p.m. At his postgame press conference around 1 a.m., Beamer had caught up on the score between his alma mater and future opponent.
“We have a big challenge against the team that I saw scored 34 unanswered points in Blacksburg tonight,” Beamer said.
Before the season, The State projected South Carolina would start 5-0 and head into the LSU game undefeated. It felt like only the game at Missouri could trip up the Gamecocks. But that was naive. The Gamecocks have their hands full with Vanderbilt next week.
In Vandy’s win over Virginia Tech, the Commodores ran for 262 yards (over 7 yards a carry) and held Hokies quarterback Kyron Drones to just 134 yards passing.
It was a dominant performance, which would be easy to write off if South Carolina didn’t just play the same team. But it’s not easy to write off. And neither is Vanderbilt.
5. Rain, rain, people still stay
It was pretty astounding to watch the Gamecocks and Bulldogs kick off at 9:21 p.m. — almost two-and-a-half-hours later than scheduled — and see Williams-Brice Stadium still incredibly packed.
Perhaps some folks stayed only because the traffic outside the stadium looked like a miserable logjam. But let’s assume most stayed because that’s what you do.
“I think 99.9% of the schools in the country — if they had a weather delay they’d come out to a half-empty stadium,” Beamer said. “We came out to a packed stadium for pregame warmups. It’s amazing.”
By halftime, it was past 11 p.m. and most fans had been around the stadium for over eight hours. Naturally, folks trickled out. Still, thousands of South Carolina students — their socks probably still soaking from the rain storm — stayed way later than they expected and kept waving their towels.
This story was originally published September 7, 2025 at 9:50 AM.
