By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer
COLUMBIA -- Playing a Football Bowl Subdivision team was not a new experience for South Carolina State Saturday night.
Having to face the University of South Carolina before 73,095 screaming fans inside Williams-Brice Stadium, however, was another story and it showed in the 38-3 loss to the 17th-ranked Gamecocks.
In losing the first-ever meeting with its biggest in-state foe, SCSU (1-2, 1-0) once again only managed a field goal against an FCS team. Despite 112 rushing yards from William Ford and forcing six USC turnovers, the Bulldogs’ struggling offense was unable to put together scoring drives against the Gamecocks’ defense which intercepted quarterback Cleveland McCoy three times.
Meanwhile, USC (3-0, 1-0) capitalized on its opportunities as Blake Mitchell overcame three interceptions and the constant pressure up front by SCSU’s defensive line to throw three touchdowns on 14-21 passing for 147 yards.
In the second half, USC used its one-two punch of running backs Mike Davis and Cory Boyd to dominate the game on the ground. The duo combined for 234 rushing yards and two of the Gamecocks’ three touchdowns in the second half.
"They wore us down," said McCoy, who finished 9-18 passing for 62 yards and rushed for 58 yards. "Their depth wore us down. We came out fighting, but they came away with the win."
An even bigger factor working against SCSU was the crowd noise. In the first half alone, the Bulldogs were whistled for four false start penalties as the high decibel level made communication among the players and with the sidelines difficult.
"I’ve got to credit Carolina’s fans," SCSU head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough said. "They did a nice job at being very loud at just the right time for them, and we struggled. If you take the 5-yard penalties ... my foul sheet that the officials give after the game was two pages long and most of them were 5-yard stuff, procedure stuff, false starts, that kind of stuff, and that was all attributed to the crowd noise and that’s something we’ll have to get better at.
"We’ve got an experience dealing with it ... We haven’t had it quite to this extent before, but it was nothing like what we had done in our preparations. I guarantee you."
While Xavier Littleberry did not fulfill his promise of sacking Mitchell four times, finishing with just one tackle, the USC senior quarterback was harassed early by the Bulldog defense. On the first series, Mitchell was sacked by James Simmons and Keyon Brooks, then threw an interception to Markee Hamlin who returned it 41 yards to the Gamecocks’ 12-yard line.
A penalty-plagued opening drive forced SCSU to settle for a 37-yard field goal with 12:21 remaining in the first half by Aaron Haire of Orangeburg-Wilkinson. It came off the left goal post before landing through the nets.
The lead stood for 82 seconds as USC’s defense turned opportunistic. After SCSU’s third false-start penalty of the game pushed it back to the 21, McCoy’s pass was intercepted at the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle Nathan Pepper.
The 6-1, 291-pound junior rumbled 19 yards into the end zone for the touchdown. Pepper’s score came at a price as he suffered a sprained left knee on the score and did not return.
USC also lost senior safety Brandon Isaac of Blackville-Hilda, who reportedly reinjured his right shoulder in the first half. The former T&D Region Player of the Year sat out last season following surgery to repair the same shoulder.
As SCSU’s offense continued to struggle with the crowd noise, USC added a 40-yard field goal by Ryan Succup to make it 10-3 with 4:46 remaining in the first quarter.
After a 15-yard punt by Haire gave USC possession at the SCSU 41, Mitchell connected with Kenneth McKinley for two, 12-yard passes in leading the Gamecocks to their only offensive touchdown of the first half. The first reception by McKinley converted a fourth down and his second catch in the end zone put USC up 17-3 with 47 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
SCSU’s defense continued to keep the game within striking distance. Keyon Brooks forced and recovered two fumbles, Phillip Adams and Terrance Allen each collected an interception, and SCSU stopped USC on fourth down on a call overturned on an instant replay review.
The Bulldogs proceeded to put together their most consistent drive of the game. Runs of 14 yards by McCoy and 13 by Ford helped bring the Bulldogs to the USC 16. With 38 seconds remaining, USC’s Captain Munnerlyn stripped the football from running back Jonathan Woods and safety Darien Stewart recovered it at the 12-yard line to end the threat.
"That probably was the biggest play of the game for us because up to that point, we really had a chance to really get it down to a one score game," Pough said.
"Maybe if we had scored right before the half, this thing might have been different."
In the second half, USC began to overwhelm the wearied and injury-riddled SCSU defense on the ground. After forcing SCSU to punt, the Gamecocks went 91 yards relying strictly on Davis and Boyd picking up long yards on the ground. On the 10th play of the scoring drive, Davis’ number was called for a screen pass from Mitchell which he turned into a 9-yard touchdown.
The two teams traded interceptions on their next series, with Jasper Brinkley and Bailey Brinson collecting the picks for their respective teams. SCSU could not capitalize and after a fake punt attempt by Haire was stopped short on fourth down, USC took over on downs at the SCSU 38.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Boyd extended the Gamecocks’ lead to 31-3 with a 29-yard touchdown run. Almost five minutes later, Mark Barnes closed out the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell.
"As the game went along, because we played pretty good on defense for a while ... they softened our defense some because of the fact that we didn’t do enough on offense," Pough said.
With the two FCS games out of the way, the Bulldogs can finally turn their attention to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Up next is the home opener against conference newcomer Winston-Salem State, a game that does not figure in the MEAC standings as the school is still in the transitional period.
"We’ve just got to carry it over," McCoy said. "We’re going to win the conference hands down. We’re just going to have to play ball. We’re going to get it. We’ve taken a setback, but they’re Division I. They’re supposed to beat us."
BULLDOG NOTES: The victory improved USC’s all-time record to 518-517-44...Rafael Bush led the team in tackles with nine...Both defensive backs Markee Hamlin and Travance Jackson left the game on crutches...Quarterback Malcolm Long saw action on two series, completing just one pass for six yards. It was his first appearance in the stadium where he led Gaffney to back-to-back Class 4-A Division I teams...SCSU was penalized 14 times for 98 yards, compared to five penalties for 58 yards for USC...USC head football coach Steve Spurrier improved to 17-4 against Palmetto State teams in his coaching career.
COLUMBIA -- Playing a Football Bowl Subdivision team was not a new experience for South Carolina State Saturday night.
Having to face the University of South Carolina before 73,095 screaming fans inside Williams-Brice Stadium, however, was another story and it showed in the 38-3 loss to the 17th-ranked Gamecocks.
In losing the first-ever meeting with its biggest in-state foe, SCSU (1-2, 1-0) once again only managed a field goal against an FCS team. Despite 112 rushing yards from William Ford and forcing six USC turnovers, the Bulldogs’ struggling offense was unable to put together scoring drives against the Gamecocks’ defense which intercepted quarterback Cleveland McCoy three times.
Meanwhile, USC (3-0, 1-0) capitalized on its opportunities as Blake Mitchell overcame three interceptions and the constant pressure up front by SCSU’s defensive line to throw three touchdowns on 14-21 passing for 147 yards.
In the second half, USC used its one-two punch of running backs Mike Davis and Cory Boyd to dominate the game on the ground. The duo combined for 234 rushing yards and two of the Gamecocks’ three touchdowns in the second half.
"They wore us down," said McCoy, who finished 9-18 passing for 62 yards and rushed for 58 yards. "Their depth wore us down. We came out fighting, but they came away with the win."
An even bigger factor working against SCSU was the crowd noise. In the first half alone, the Bulldogs were whistled for four false start penalties as the high decibel level made communication among the players and with the sidelines difficult.
"I’ve got to credit Carolina’s fans," SCSU head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough said. "They did a nice job at being very loud at just the right time for them, and we struggled. If you take the 5-yard penalties ... my foul sheet that the officials give after the game was two pages long and most of them were 5-yard stuff, procedure stuff, false starts, that kind of stuff, and that was all attributed to the crowd noise and that’s something we’ll have to get better at.
"We’ve got an experience dealing with it ... We haven’t had it quite to this extent before, but it was nothing like what we had done in our preparations. I guarantee you."
While Xavier Littleberry did not fulfill his promise of sacking Mitchell four times, finishing with just one tackle, the USC senior quarterback was harassed early by the Bulldog defense. On the first series, Mitchell was sacked by James Simmons and Keyon Brooks, then threw an interception to Markee Hamlin who returned it 41 yards to the Gamecocks’ 12-yard line.
A penalty-plagued opening drive forced SCSU to settle for a 37-yard field goal with 12:21 remaining in the first half by Aaron Haire of Orangeburg-Wilkinson. It came off the left goal post before landing through the nets.
The lead stood for 82 seconds as USC’s defense turned opportunistic. After SCSU’s third false-start penalty of the game pushed it back to the 21, McCoy’s pass was intercepted at the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle Nathan Pepper.
The 6-1, 291-pound junior rumbled 19 yards into the end zone for the touchdown. Pepper’s score came at a price as he suffered a sprained left knee on the score and did not return.
USC also lost senior safety Brandon Isaac of Blackville-Hilda, who reportedly reinjured his right shoulder in the first half. The former T&D Region Player of the Year sat out last season following surgery to repair the same shoulder.
As SCSU’s offense continued to struggle with the crowd noise, USC added a 40-yard field goal by Ryan Succup to make it 10-3 with 4:46 remaining in the first quarter.
After a 15-yard punt by Haire gave USC possession at the SCSU 41, Mitchell connected with Kenneth McKinley for two, 12-yard passes in leading the Gamecocks to their only offensive touchdown of the first half. The first reception by McKinley converted a fourth down and his second catch in the end zone put USC up 17-3 with 47 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
SCSU’s defense continued to keep the game within striking distance. Keyon Brooks forced and recovered two fumbles, Phillip Adams and Terrance Allen each collected an interception, and SCSU stopped USC on fourth down on a call overturned on an instant replay review.
The Bulldogs proceeded to put together their most consistent drive of the game. Runs of 14 yards by McCoy and 13 by Ford helped bring the Bulldogs to the USC 16. With 38 seconds remaining, USC’s Captain Munnerlyn stripped the football from running back Jonathan Woods and safety Darien Stewart recovered it at the 12-yard line to end the threat.
"That probably was the biggest play of the game for us because up to that point, we really had a chance to really get it down to a one score game," Pough said.
"Maybe if we had scored right before the half, this thing might have been different."
In the second half, USC began to overwhelm the wearied and injury-riddled SCSU defense on the ground. After forcing SCSU to punt, the Gamecocks went 91 yards relying strictly on Davis and Boyd picking up long yards on the ground. On the 10th play of the scoring drive, Davis’ number was called for a screen pass from Mitchell which he turned into a 9-yard touchdown.
The two teams traded interceptions on their next series, with Jasper Brinkley and Bailey Brinson collecting the picks for their respective teams. SCSU could not capitalize and after a fake punt attempt by Haire was stopped short on fourth down, USC took over on downs at the SCSU 38.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Boyd extended the Gamecocks’ lead to 31-3 with a 29-yard touchdown run. Almost five minutes later, Mark Barnes closed out the scoring with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell.
"As the game went along, because we played pretty good on defense for a while ... they softened our defense some because of the fact that we didn’t do enough on offense," Pough said.
With the two FCS games out of the way, the Bulldogs can finally turn their attention to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Up next is the home opener against conference newcomer Winston-Salem State, a game that does not figure in the MEAC standings as the school is still in the transitional period.
"We’ve just got to carry it over," McCoy said. "We’re going to win the conference hands down. We’re just going to have to play ball. We’re going to get it. We’ve taken a setback, but they’re Division I. They’re supposed to beat us."
BULLDOG NOTES: The victory improved USC’s all-time record to 518-517-44...Rafael Bush led the team in tackles with nine...Both defensive backs Markee Hamlin and Travance Jackson left the game on crutches...Quarterback Malcolm Long saw action on two series, completing just one pass for six yards. It was his first appearance in the stadium where he led Gaffney to back-to-back Class 4-A Division I teams...SCSU was penalized 14 times for 98 yards, compared to five penalties for 58 yards for USC...USC head football coach Steve Spurrier improved to 17-4 against Palmetto State teams in his coaching career.
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