Thumbs up, thumbs down: Quick reaction from South Carolina vs. SC State
South Carolina handled in-state FCS foe S.C. State on Saturday night in the Gamecocks’ first game at Williams-Brice Stadium this season. With the 38-10 win, the Gamecocks are now 2-0 on the season.
Here are three positive things that stood out in South Carolina’s win, along with three things that could use some work.
Thumbs up
Vicari Swain: Last week, Swain logged South Carolina’s first punt return for a touchdown in over a decade. On Saturday, he returned two punts for touchdowns. The first was a 65-yard return to give South Carolina a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. On the ensuing drive, the Gamecocks blocked a S.C. State punt and Swain returned it, flipped the field and scampered for a 42-yard touchdown return. Swain now has three punt return touchdowns this season (in two games, no less) and has tied the South Carolina single-season record (three from Dick Harris in 1971).
Defense and special teams: South Carolina’s defense and special teams units played lights out against S.C. State. The respective groups accounted for all of South Carolina’s first-half points (and nearly all of them, for that matter). Swain returned two punts for touchdown and kicker William Joyce drilled a 49-yard field goal (bouncing back from a miss from 45 earlier in the night). Joyce also hit all of his extra-point attempts. The USC defense totaled four sacks, seven tackles for loss and four QB hits. The defense held S.C. State to just 10 points and even got in on the scoring itself thanks to a 46-yard scoop and score from linebacker Jaron Willis. The defense did give up 270 yards to S.C. State, which is arguably too much for an SEC team to allow against an FCS opponent.
Donovan Murph: He had another solid game against S.C. State. The highly touted freshman out of Irmo got his first start for the Gamecocks on Saturday. He was targeted three times and brought in two catches for 39 yards. His longest catch of the day was 27 yards. Murph finished second in receiving on the team. And all six freshman receivers saw game action Saturday.
Thumbs down
Sluggish offense: To put it bluntly, South Carolina’s first-quarter offense was abysmal. The Gamecocks went three and out on each of its first three drives and totaled just 11 yards of offense in the first quarter. USC’s third drive of the game — which started in the first quarter and leaked into the second quarter — nearly resulted in a safety. Some of the poor start can probably be chalked up to rust from a lengthy weather delay, as well as starting field position. South Carolina started its first drive of the game at its own 6-yard line and began the next two drives on its own 10-yard line. The Gamecocks showed improvement in the second quarter, cobbling together 96 total yards, but it wasn’t until the third quarter that the South Carolina offense was able to add points to the scoreboard.
Run game struggles: South Carolina couldn’t get much going in the run game on Saturday. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers led the team with 23 rushing yards, while the one-two punch of Rahsul Faison and Oscar Adaway combined for just 41 yards after combining for 100 against Virginia Tech. Adaway was able to record a five-yard touchdown. South Carolina only averaged 3.5 yards per play on the ground.
Playing the backups: In a perfect world, Sellers probably wouldn’t have played much in the second half of South Carolina’s matchup with S.C. State. Alas, USC was only leading 17-3 at halftime and was struggling offensively, so Sellers remained in for the entirety of the third quarter. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but games against FCS teams typically result in a blowout early, and that leads to backups getting substantial playing time. In South Carolina’s case, that didn’t really happen until the fourth quarter. Veteran Luke Doty, QB2 on the depth chart, and Air Noland each captained the offense for one drive in the fourth quarter.
This story was originally published September 7, 2025 at 12:53 AM.
