Leading up to Saturday’s game against FCS opponent Wofford, South Carolina quarterback Jake Bentley said he wasn’t going to lose focus of the task at hand.
Recording three touchdowns against the Terriers on Saturday, the sophomore lived up to his words in South Carolina’s 31-10 win at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Along with A.J. Turner’s rushing touchdown and Parker White’s two field goals, Bentley’s efforts helped secure South Carolina’s eighth win of the season.
"A very workman-like effort," head coach Will Muschamp said. "I thought our guys approached this game the right way. We had a couple drops early in the game that were disappointing that I thought put us behind the chains a little bit ... It's all a numbers game when you play an offense like that."
Bentley finished with 194 yards, completing 22 of his 28 passes. Bryan Edwards led the Gamecocks with 90 receiving yards, while Turner led the running back corps with 69 yards.
Wofford drove down to South Carolina’s 14-yard line on its first drive of the game. The Terriers couldn’t convert on third down after a tackle for loss from Keir Thomas, but settled for a 32-yard field goal.
"First drive of the game, they outnumbered us on the split side option," Muschamp said. "It was a good job on their part."
South Carolina answered Wofford in the second quarter after linebacker Skai Moore picked off quarterback Brandon Goodson in the second quarter, tying the school record for 14 career interceptions.
"We've been going over their passing game, their pass routes throughout the week," Moore said. "I kind of recognized what route they were running and just expanded to the flat and just got my eyes back on the receiver and to the quarterback."
Bentley capitalized off Moore's interception and rushed for one yard into the end zone. The Gamecocks added to their lead in the second quarter on Edwards’ 23-yard touchdown reception from Bentley.
The Gamecocks took a 14-3 lead into halftime, but Wofford came out firing in the second half. The Terriers marched 75 yards down the field on the opening drive, scoring a touchdown on Blake Morgan’s one-yard rush.
But South Carolina didn’t let the momentum lean in the Terriers’ favor.
"The guys really responded well," Bentley said. "No one got rattled. I think that's been something you can see all year. Offensively, we don't really shake when adversity strikes. We kind of respond well to it."
On the next drive, Turner ran 30 yards on a single rush, setting up Bentley’s one-yard touchdown run. The touchdown and extra point from White extended South Carolina’s lead to 21-10.
In the fourth quarter, South Carolina controlled the game both offensively and defensively. White added a 27-yard field goal, and Turner converted Dante Sawyer’s forced fumble on backup quarterback Joe Newman into a touchdown.
Muschamp said the Gamecocks produced a "balanced" offensive attack, tallying 194 passing yards and 195 rushing yards.
With the win, the Gamecocks improve to 8-3 on the season, and will set their sights on hosting in-state rival Clemson on Saturday for the annual Palmetto Bowl.