Tag: South Carolina Gamecocks
Chasing fifth straight win, No. 18 South Carolina hosts Wofford
No. 18 South Carolina will aim to keep its outside hopes of making the College Football Playoff alive when it hosts in-state FCS foe Wofford on Saturday in Columbia.
The Gamecocks (7-3) have to win their last two games and get plenty of help to leapfrog any of the Southeastern Conference schools currently ranked ahead of them: No. 3 Texas, No. 7 Alabama, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 10 Georgia, No. 11 Tennessee and No. 15 Texas A&M.
Since losing at Alabama on Oct. 12, South Carolina has won four games in a row, with three of them against AP or CFP ranked opponents. Most recently, the Gamecocks took down Missouri at home last Saturday, 34-30, behind a career-high five passing touchdowns from LaNorris Sellers.
Raheim Sanders hauled in Sellers’ go-ahead touchdown pass, a 15-yard shovel toss — with 15 seconds left. It was the first time since 2012, when Steve Spurrier coached the Gamecocks, that they have won four consecutive SEC games.
For his efforts, Sellers — a redshirt freshman from Florence, S.C. — was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week and the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week. He has piled up more than 2,200 yards of total offense this season and thrown 14 touchdowns to five interceptions.
“He’s just a really good quarterback, and he continues to get better every week,” Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer said of Sellers.
Outside of tight end Brady Hunt being out for at least two weeks with a lower body injury, Beamer didn’t have many updates to his injury report. Defensive back Judge Collier “should be fine” and left tackle Josiah Thompson “is back healthy,” Beamer said.
The game marks the final one of the season for Wofford (5-6), which has played five games against Top 25 teams in the FCS this season, winning just one. The Terriers, who carry 37 players on their roster from the state of South Carolina, are coming off a 31-17 home loss to The Citadel, which plays at Clemson this week.
“The bottom line is, you can’t turn the ball over, you can’t give up big plays, and you’ve got to get off the field on third down,” Wofford coach Shawn Watson said after the Terriers blew a halftime lead. “For us, right now, I’m just trying to move our program forward and get our football team better.”
Ryan Ingram leads Wofford’s offense this season with 650 rushing yards and six touchdowns, while wideout Kyle Watkins has 43 catches for 689 yards.
South Carolina is paying Wofford a $600,000 guarantee for this game. The Gamecocks are 20-4 all-time against the Terriers with 17 straight wins. This is the final home game of the season for South Carolina before its regular season finale at rival Clemson.
–Field Level Media
LaNorris Sellers passes for 5 TDs to lead No. 21 South Carolina past No. 23 Missouri
LaNorris Sellers passed for 353 yards and five touchdowns as the No. 21 South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the No. 23 Missouri Tigers 34-30 Saturday in Columbia, S.C.
Rocket Sanders scored the decisive touchdown on a 15-yard shovel pass reception with 15 seconds left as the Gamecocks (7-3, 5-3 Southeastern Conference) kept their College Football Playoff hopes alive.
Sellers completed 21 of 30 passes and also rushed for 45 yards.
Missouri quarterback Brady Cook returned from ankle and wrist injuries to complete 21 of 31 passes for 237 yards and a touchdown.
Nate Noel rushed for 150 yards and a touchdown for the Tigers (7-3, 3-3 SEC), and Blake Craig kicked field goals from 38, 37 yards and 25 yards.
Missouri took an early 3-0 lead on Craig’s 38-yard field goal. South Carolina answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive, capped by Sellers’ 26-yard pass to Nyck Harbor, to take a 7-3 lead.
Craig’s 37-yard field goal cut Missouri’s deficit to 7-6.
Sellers completed a 43-yard pass to Harbor to set up his 6-yard TD pass to Joshua Simon with 1:57 left in the half as the Gamecocks made it 14-6.
After a defensive stop, the Gamecocks extended their lead to 21-6 on Jared Brown’s 38-yard touchdown catch and run with 39 seconds left in the half.
Missouri cut its deficit to 21-12 in the third quarter on a 2-yard TD run by Marcus Carroll. Cook’s conversion run failed.
Craig’s 25-yard goal with 12:49 left cut South Carolina’ lead to 21-15.
Cook’s 49-yard pass to Marquis Johnson set up Noel’s 1-yard touchdown to put the Tigers up 22-21 with 9:12 left.
Sellers marched the Gamecocks back to a 27-22 lead with 5:04 left, hitting a 53-yard pass to Dalevon Campbell to set up his 5-yard TD pass to Michael Smith. South Carolina’s 2-point conversion try failed.
On a fourth-and-5 play, Cook hit Luther Burden III on a 37-yard touchdown pass with 1:15 left. Jamal Roberts’ 2-point conversion put Missouri up 30-27, but the Gamecocks responded with the winning six-play, 70-yard drive.
–Field Level Media
Clemson, Missouri, Florida – Week 12 College football Picks
LaNorris Sellers, Raheim Sanders lead South Carolina to easy win at Vanderbilt
LaNorris Sellers (238 passing yards, two touchdowns) and Rocket Sanders (178 yards from scrimmage) starred as South Carolina (6-3, 4-3 Southeastern Conference) beat Vanderbilt (6-4, 3-3) 28-7 Saturday in Nashville, Tenn.
South Carolina’s defense did its part, holding Vanderbilt to 274 yards of total offense and a season-low seven points thanks to a dominant performance by its front seven.
The Gamecocks sacked Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia (16-of-31 passing, 166 yards, 65 rushing yards) twice, hurried him eight times and broke up eight of his passes.
Meanwhile, South Carolina’s offensive line had allowed 32 sacks on the season coming into the game, but didn’t allow one to the Commodores.
It was Vanderbilt’s most lopsided defeat this year; previously, the Commodores hadn’t lost by more than four points.
On the second play of the second half, Sellers escaped the pass rush near his own goal line, rolled left and found a wide-open Jared Brown deep downfield for a 51-yard pass.
Two plays later, Sanders found a big hole left and dashed 31 yards for a score and a 14-0 lead.
Vanderbilt then sustained its first substantial drive, marching 75 plays in 10 yards and scoring when Pavia broke containment on a pass play and scrambled 17 yards for a touchdown.
But Sanders’ 39-yard run on the next drive set up his 1-yard scamper to extend the lead back to 14 points.
The Commodores moved the ball better in the second half, but the Gamecocks defense stiffened to force turnovers on downs on back-to-back drives.
Defensive back Peyton Williams broke up a Pavia pass on the first stop and Bam Martin-Scott broke free on a pass rush to get in Pavia’s face and knock down another throw to end the second drive at the Gamecocks 39.
After the latter, Sanders took a screen pass from Sellers and weaved his way through defenders for a 43-yard touchdown and a 28-7 lead with 7:55 left.
The Gamecocks dominated the first half, out-gaining Vanderbilt 187-83 while steadily pressuring Pavia.
Sellers found Nyck Harbor open for 23 yards to the Vanderbilt 17, then hit Josh Simon for a 17-yard touchdown on the next play for the game’s first score with 13:11 left in the second quarter.
–Field Level Media
South Carolina aims to continue dominance in series vs. Vandy
South Carolina will look to build on its momentum Saturday afternoon when it visits Vanderbilt for a Southeastern Conference matchup in Nashville, Tenn.
The Gamecocks (5-3, 3-3) totaled 530 yards in a 44-20 home upset of then-No. 10 Texas A&M last week.
Vanderbilt (6-3, 3-2), meanwhile, clinched bowl eligibility for the first time since 2018 with a 17-7 win at Auburn.
Now, the Commodores will try to snap their 15-game losing streak in their annual series with the Gamecocks.
Vanderbilt scored at least 27 points in its first five games this season but hasn’t eclipsed 24 in its last four. That said, the Commodores have won three of those games.
“They’re doing the things that teams have to do in order to win football games,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said of the Commodores. “I know they’re leading the league in time of possession, so they’re keeping the ball. They’re second in the SEC in turnover margin. They’re leading the league in not turning it over. They’re the least-penalized team in the SEC. So they’re doing a great job of not losing football games, playing winning football, finding ways to get games to the fourth quarter, and then finding a way to win it in the fourth quarter.”
The physicality of SEC football has started to take a toll on quarterback Diego Pavia and running back Sedrick Alexander. Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said he’s scaled practice back accordingly.
“I thought our team played really hard in the game (against Auburn) … the passion, the effort, all if it was there,” Lea said of Saturday’s win. “I was really proud of that. But I also saw a team that you could just sense the lag effect of a really physical season.”
South Carolina presents plenty of physical challenges, too.
That starts with a star-studded defense, including defensive ends Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart, linebacker Demetrius Knight, safety Nick Emmanwori and defensive back Jalon Kilgore for a unit that ranks 16th nationally in total defense (304.6 yards per game).
Defending 6-foot-3, 242-pound Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers can be a headache, too. The redshirt freshman has improved as a passer and ran for a career-high 106 yards and a touchdown vs. Texas A&M.
The Gamecocks also received a season-best game from Raheim Sanders, who had 236 yards from scrimmage on 25 touches (20 rushes, five receptions) last Saturday.
–Field Level Media
College Football Picks, BYU, South Carolina, Ole Miss
No. 7 Alabama rallies, survives South Carolina upset bid
Jalen Milroe rushed for two touchdowns and passed for one and No. 7 Alabama trailed in the fourth quarter before escaping with a 27-25 victory over South Carolina on Saturday in Southeastern Conference play at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Domani Jackson made the game-sealing interception as time expired for the Crimson Tide (5-1, 2-1 SEC), who rebounded from last week’s embarrassing 40-35 loss to Vanderbilt.
LaNorris Sellers completed 23 of 31 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns for South Carolina (3-3, 1-3) but also lost a key fourth-quarter fumble in addition to the interception on the final play.
South Carolina’s Nyck Harbor caught a 31-yard touchdown pass with 43 seconds left to bring his team within two, but the ensuing two-point pass failed.
However, Kai Kroeger’s spinning, wobbling onside kick avoided the grasp of two Alabama players and Colin Bryant recovered for the Gamecocks at the Alabama 49-yard line with 40 seconds left. But the Gamecocks were unable to get within field-goal range.
Germie Bernard caught a touchdown pass and Justice Haynes ran for a score for the Crimson Tide. Milroe completed 16 of 23 passes for 209 yards and two interceptions.
Raheim “Rocket” Sanders rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown, Mazeo Bennett Jr. had a scoring reception and Kyle Kennard had two sacks for the Gamecocks.
Alabama blew a 14-point lead before moving ahead 20-19 on Milroe’s 7-yard keeper with 10:42 left in the game.
The Crimson Tide added on when Milroe connected with a wide-open Bernard on a 34-yard score with 1:54 remaining.
South Carolina rebounded from a two-touchdown deficit by scoring the next 19 points.
The Gamecocks were facing fourth-and-9 when Bennett caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from Sellers with 1:36 left in the first half.
Nine seconds later, Kennard broke in free and was about to tackle Milroe in the end zone when the Alabama quarterback threw the ball away before landing. Intentional grounding was called and the safety pulled South Carolina within 14-9.
In the final seconds of the half, John Kilgore intercepted Milroe and returned it 31 yards to the Crimson Tide 19 with one second left. Alex Herrera kicked a 37-yard field goal to pull the Gamecocks within two.
South Carolina began the second half with a massive 16-play, 85-yard drive that took 8:35. Sanders capped it with a 1-yard run to give the Gamecocks a 19-14 lead.
Early in the fourth quarter, South Carolina’s O’Donnell Fortune intercepted Milroe in the end zone to snuff out an Alabama drive. However, Sellers lost a fumble 12 seconds later that LT Overton recovered at the Gamecocks’ 31 with 12:05 left. Overton’ recovery set up Milroe’s go-ahead score.
Alabama looked sharp early as Milroe scored from the 1 to cap a game-opening drive. The Crimson Tide made it 14-0 on Haynes’ 2-yard run with 4:38 left in the half.
–Field Level Media
Week 7 College Football Picks: Ole Miss, Oregon, South Carolina
LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina take aim at Akron
South Carolina expects to have the services of quarterback LaNorris Sellers for Saturday’s nonconference game against Akron at Columbia, S.C.
Sellers departed last weekend’s 36-33 loss to then-No. 16 LSU with a sprained ankle. Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer said Tuesday the injury isn’t serious.
“LaNorris assures me he’s good and will be ready to go,” Beamer said.
Sellers was injured late in the second quarter against LSU and returned for one series in the third before calling it a day.
He completed 9 of 16 passes for 113 yards and one interception and rushed 10 times for 88 yards and two touchdowns. His 75-yard scoring run was the longest by a quarterback in school history.
The Gamecocks (2-1) likely would turn to Robby Ashford if Sellers can’t play. He was 2-of-4 passing for 42 yards and rushed 11 times for 24 yards against LSU.
Raheim “Rocket” Sanders rushed for 143 yards and two TDs on 19 carries, including a 66-yard scoring run. Sanders leads the Gamecocks with 285 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
The Zips (1-2) overcame a 17-point first-quarter deficit last weekend while posting a 31-20 victory over visiting Colgate.
Ben Finley set career highs of 358 passing yards and four touchdowns. He had passed for a total of 191 yards in season-opening setbacks against Ohio State and Rutgers.
“Excited to see Ben build off of his performances against Ohio State and Rutgers,” Akron coach Joe Moorhead said. “Made a bunch of good decisions, threw the ball with accuracy — short and medium — and certainly pushing the ball down the field. Gotta continue to work on quieting his feet down in the pocket and improving his accuracy a little bit.”
Moorhead is familiar with SEC country — he was head coach of Mississippi State in 2018-19.
“We’re going to control what we can control, which is how well we prepare our level of effort and execution,” he said. “The department gets to pay some bills, the equestrian team gets some new saddles, and everybody wins. So we’re going to be fired up to go down there in certainly a very challenging environment.”
South Carolina won the lone previous meeting 28-3 late in the 2018 season.
–Field Level Media