Quarterbacks Connor Shaw, Dylan Thompson both throw touchdown passes on first attempts
Quarterbacks Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson picked up right where they left off last season as the Gamecocks opened their highly anticipated 2013 campaign with Thursday night’s battle against North Carolina.
On the third play from scrimmage and on his first pass attempt, Shaw found sophomore wide receiver Shaq Roland streaking down the middle of the field for a 65-yard touchdown. It was the beginning of big plays for the Gamecocks as they routed the Tar Heels 27-10.
“In the first half, we only had five possessions, and we scored on four of them,” coach Steve Spurrier said. “So that’s not too shabby. We had a good little running game going, but the game could have been a lot closer.”
After South Carolina tacked on a field goal by freshman Elliot Fry to bring their lead to 10, Shaw and sophomore tailback Brandon Wilds again led the Gamecocks down the field. After Shaw found receiver K.J. Brent for a 9-yard completion to the North Carolina 29, Thompson stepped in.
On his first and only pass attempt, Thompson found receiver Kane Whitehurst, a walk-on who transferred from Arkansas, for a 29-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone to give the Gamecocks a commanding 17-0 lead at the end of one quarter. Whitehurst is the younger cousin of former Clemson star quarterback Charlie Whitehurst.
The 17 points South Carolina scored in the first quarter were the most in an opening game since 1996, when the Gamecocks put up 23 in their first quarter against Central Florida.
The Gamecock defense stymied the Tar Heel offense until North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner connected with receiver Quinshad Davis, a South Carolina native, for a 4-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 17-7.
But Fry pushed through a 26-yard field goal a few minutes before halftime to give the Gamecocks a 20-7 lead at the break. South Carolina had 260 total first-half yards to North Carolina’s 121.
“I was encouraged,” Shaw said. “I had some fun out there; I think we all did. It was fun to get me and (Thompson) in there and get the offense clicking.”
The Gamecocks carried their momentum into the second half, but the offense came out a little sluggish in the third quarter.
The Tar Heels came close to making it a one-possession game after putting together a 17-play drive to get into the Gamecocks’ red zone. UNC would only come away with a field goal, and South Carolina kept a 10-point lead.
The Gamecocks answered the Tar Heels’ field goal immediately, as sophomore tailback Mike Davis took a hand-off and raced down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown to make it 27-10 South Carolina with 7:38 left in the third quarter.
That would remain the score for the next two-plus hours. The contest was suspended for about an hour and 45 minutes because lightning struck in the area.
Neither team did much after the delay. North Carolina started off its first post-delay drive with a first down, but only went backward from there and was forced to punt on fourth and 47.
Spurrier said he wished the team could have put together something in the second half, but was glad they were able to hold off North Carolina.
“We managed to finish it out without doing anything on offense,” Spurrier said. “Our run-out-the-clock offense wasn’t very good in the fourth quarter, but we did some good running and obviously hit some big plays in the game.”
It was the Gamecocks’ 12th-straight win at home and 14th-straight win in season-opening games.
“I think we prepared very well for the game,” Davis said. “We just wanted to come out and show the world what we could do. I wanted to set the tone early, and I wanted to come out and punish guys.”