The South Carolina defense held Wofford to just 10 points en route to a 31-10 victory over the Terriers on Saturday night in Columbia.
Following the pre-game recognition of South Carolina seniors and a military jet flyover, senior Skai Moore proved once again why he will be missed by Gamecock fans at Williams-Brice next season.
South Carolina elected to receive the opening kick-off, but it was Wofford that managed to score the first points of the matchup with a 32-yard field goal. South Carolina failed to respond to Wofford’s 3-0 lead as the ensuing drive saw an incomplete pass from Jake Bentley mark a turnover on downs. On the first play of Wofford’s second drive, Skai Moore intercepted Brandon Goodson’s pass at the 50-yard line. It was Moore’s 14th career interception — tying him for the school record with Bo Davies.
"It felt good," Moore said of tying the record. "Hopefully, I can get another one, but yeah it felt good."
Moore’s turnover sparked the Gamecock offense to a drive that finished with Bentley's rushing touchdown and gave South Carolina a 7-3 lead.
Wofford received the ball at the start of the second half and managed to punch it in, narrowing Carolina’s lead to 14-10. South Carolina responded by going up 21-10. Looking to cut the lead back down, the Terriers ran on a critical fourth-and-one, but were surprised to find Moore plugging the hole for an important tackle.
This turnover allowed South Carolina to march down the field and kick a field goal that put Carolina out of reach with a two score lead, 24-10.
Wofford’s next drive started with a substitution at quarterback, with Joe Newman replacing Goodson. Newman broke loose on a run towards a first down, but senior Dante Sawyer popped the ball loose for a T.J. Brunson recovery. That marked Sawyer’s fifth forced fumble of the season, a statistic in which he ranks first in the nation.
Off Sawyer’s momentum, Carolina preceded to march the ball down the field putting the Gamecocks ahead at 31-10, which would ultimately become final.
Wofford’s option offense was a source of concern for South Carolina heading into the matchup because of the Terriers’ multiple running threats and tendency to eat up minutes of the clock.
Throughout the night Wofford had eight different players run the ball for a combined 155 rushing yards. Five of those players had 20 or more yards. Lennox McAfee led the way for the Terriers, with nine rushes for 49 yards.
Moore and Daniel Fennell both led the Gamecocks with five tackles. Chris Lammons, Keir Thomas and Javon Kinlaw each added four tackles of their own. Rashad Fenton also notched his second-career interception on Saturday. The 10 points that South Carolina allowed were the second-lowest scoring output for an opponent this season.
Muschamp later revealed that he awarded Moore with the game ball for the matchup to recognize his performance on the field.
“It was a good win on Senior Day," Moore said. "It was a good way to go out."