South Carolina beats NC State 7-3

By AARON BEARD, AP Sports Writer Sep 3, 10:45 pm EDT

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP)—Brian Maddox had a short touchdown run while Stephen Garcia completed a key third-down pass in the final minutes to help South Carolina beat North Carolina State 7-3 on Thursday night.

Garcia threw for just 148 yards on a frustrating night for both offenses, but the sophomore came through with a 33-yard completion to Moe Brown that allowed the Gamecocks to run out the final 2 1/2 minutes of the game. It gave South Carolina a second straight season-opening victory against the Wolfpack, who were shutout 34-0 in last year’s meeting and failed to reach the end zone in the rematch.

Maddox scored from a yard out in the first quarter and finished with 66 yards rushing, which ended up being about the most reliable form of offense for typically pass-happy coach Steve Spurrier. Garcia completed 13 of 22 passes with an interception that gave the Wolfpack a needed burst of momentum and led to N.C. State’s only scoring drive.

It was just one of numerous mistakes for the Gamecocks, the most costly being an offensive pass interference penalty on Tori Gurley that negated his 38-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. There was also a low snap that killed a second-quarter field-goal attempt and a missed 27-yard kick from Spencer Lanning in the third.

Then again, the Gamecocks had plenty of wiggle room considering the how defense bottled up Russell Wilson and the Wolfpack’s offense all night.

N.C. State managed just 133 yards, with Wilson—who last year became the first freshman named first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference quarterback— completing just 12 of 23 passes for 74 yards while facing steady pressure from the speedy South Carolina pass rush. He got no help from the Wolfpack’s ground game, either, with Toney Baker’s first-quarter fumble setting up Maddox’s early TD run.

Still, the Wolfpack had a chance for the go-ahead score, pushing to South Carolina’s 32 with about 4 minutes left. Wilson evaded the rush and lofted the ball toward Jay Smith in the end zone despite the reserve receiver being in double coverage, but the ball slipped over both defenders and bounced off Smith’s hands near the back of the end zone.

That drive ended with Wilson’s fourth-down incompletion, and Garcia soon found Brown behind two Wolfpack defenders to seal the win.

Wilson set an ACC record with 272 consecutive passes without an interception. Florida State’s Drew Weatherford held the record with 270 set in 2007.

Updated Sep 3, 10:45 pm EDT
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Head to Head - Week 1

Team Total Yds Pass Yds Rush Yds First Downs 3rdD% Pen./Yds Turnovers Time of Poss.
South Carolina 256 148 108 16 33.3% 3/45 1 32:25
North Carolina State 133 74 59 11 35.7% 4/23 1 27:35
NCAAF

59 Comments

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  1. <i>tremone21</i>
    59. Posted by tremone21 Mon Sep 7 1:01pm EDT

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    Lol, NC State has a weak schedule. They got lots of cupcakes on their schedule. Lol, they will win their next 2 games.
  2. Skol
    58. Posted by Skol Sun Sep 6 10:44pm EDT

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    What a snoozer this game was, two bad teams to boot!

    Did anybody watch their paint try at halftime? LOL
  3. James M
    57. Posted by James M Sun Sep 6 10:33am EDT

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    SC Lame@#$% might get lucky and win 6 if that many. The best team in CFB is again The Texas Longhorns and if they would have played them Gators it would have been a better game than playing the sooners. Texas would have given Tebow plenty of reasons for wondering why he was on his backside. Texas will win the Big 12 and be in the BCS Championship Game and be Victorious!!!!!!!
    Hook Em U GO HORNS
  4. Rev. Matthew Hughes
    56. Posted by Rev. Matthew Hughes Sat Sep 5 3:25am EDT

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    SC- starts off great then they started to turnover the ball. but the def was pretty good on rushing the QB and a few sacks. the plyers thats was good QB-s.Garcia had 12/23 and RB B.maddoxs had 23 rushs and 66yds. and WR M.BROWN 3catchs for 54yds.
    NCST-started off very badly they hardly got the 1st downs and that had to mine turnovers and fumbles then they got couple runs.
  5. Distillery Dave
    55. Posted by Distillery Dave Fri Sep 4 6:09pm EDT

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    OK, here's my for what it's worth! Hard to find a lot to get excited about on offense except that the receiving corps looks pretty stable. Defense was obviously ahead of offense, which is not unusual early in the season. Told my brother before the game I wasn't sure how much we'd know about our Game@#$% even if they won and I stand by that. The up side was very few bonehead penalties like personal foul or illegal procedure that have been a problem during the Spurrier era. Were there some missed calls? Probably, but I'm not so sure that offensive pass interference penalty could not have gone the other way. The back definitely made first contact. As much as fans want to see an offensive spectacular, Spurrier plays football games to win and last night was a perfect example. Bottom line, a win (especially on the road) is immeasurably better than a loss and I'm not so sure past Gamecock squads would not have found a way to lose a game like that.
  6. patrick w
    54. Posted by patrick w Fri Sep 4 5:22pm EDT

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    Good win for SC on the road and first game of the season. It shouldn't have been as close as it was but hey nothing is easy on the road. Ask Oregon. Keep the running game going and it'll open up things for Garcia.
  7. Richard S
    53. Posted by Richard S Fri Sep 4 3:17pm EDT

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    UGLY!!!!!!!!! Looks like another mediocre season for a mediocre team perhaps culminating in a mediocre bowl in some rinky-dink city no one gives a whoot about. All this from a die-hard Gamecock fan, but after forty years of wandering in the wilderness, just once I'd like to see the Promised Land.
  8. Richard M
    52. Posted by Richard M Fri Sep 4 3:06pm EDT

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    Steve s should give it up. 5 seasons as the Game@#$% coach and he can't get a quarterback that can play above the JC level. I thought he was a QB GENIUS ! The Game@#$% will be lucky to go 6 and 6. They ahve a very good defens but they aren't deep and they looked winded later in the 3rd quarter. If Norwood gets hurt,the defense is in trouble.

    Looks like the Chicken Curse is back in full swing !
  9. Hard-liner
    51. Posted by Hard-liner Fri Sep 4 3:03pm EDT

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    Hey, for you LSU historians, that was a MIKE ARCHER coached defense that held South Carolina to seven points! Remember him???
  10. Hard-liner
    50. Posted by Hard-liner Fri Sep 4 2:57pm EDT

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    When we Gamecock fans (and others) look back in the rear-view mirror at that game, all we're going to see is a "W" in the win column. Winnin' UGLY is much better than losing in any capacity! WITHOUT A DOUBT Georgia is going to be a supreme challenge, so let's hope we can improve on this week and be more consistent on offense against the DAWGS. GO@#$%S!
  11. Martin
    49. Posted by Martin Fri Sep 4 2:39pm EDT

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    My worries for SC start and end with Garcia. He tends to pull the ball down quickly and run. Problem is once he does, he quits looking down field for a reciever. Understandable, because when he does attempt to pass to an open receiver while on the run, we find he is terribly inaccurate. Spurrier needs a viable leader and has none.
  12. nobama
    48. Posted by nobama Fri Sep 4 2:08pm EDT

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    Keep in mind that SC came into this game the underdog and on the road. With that being said SCs offence had to face a team with one of the best defensive lines in the ACC so they say, along with that walk on water quarterback Wilson. I guess the other thing is how can anyone really talk about one teams performance when their team hasn't played yet. Like the one person said about SC playing Georgia it would be a long night for them, how do you know Georgia is good. They have yet to play and are missing serveral key players that were there last year.
  13. Delta
    47. Posted by Delta Fri Sep 4 2:00pm EDT

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    Ralph - That schedule is the very reason why S. Carolina will end up at about 5-7 or even 4-8 this year.
  14. Ralph
    46. Posted by Ralph Fri Sep 4 1:32pm EDT

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    ok everyone..south carolina has had the toughest schedule in the nation. Thats not me saying that,, its a fact..so despite all that we usually muster up a damn good season. If ya dont believe me about the schedule, look it up..FACTS
  15. LetsgoHawks
    45. Posted by LetsgoHawks Fri Sep 4 1:14pm EDT

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    Even with the win, SC played about as good as they did in their last bowl game.
  16. Delta
    44. Posted by Delta Fri Sep 4 12:04pm EDT

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    Steve J. - I love your enthusiasm. That's what being a true fan is all about! Hopefully Garcia learns to slide. ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!
  17. Steve J
    43. Posted by Steve J Fri Sep 4 11:25am EDT

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    First of all, I have been a Gamecock fan for over 30 years. NO! They did not look spectacular. However, with that said, anyone who follows Gamecock football knows last year was a disaster. We had big problems at the QB position. No leadership and players who were not dedicated to being a team player. I see a different team this year. Championship quality? No. However, I think they at least have chance to be competitive and maybe a bit more. Only time will tell. It's not about how you start, but how you progress and finish. Anybody that knows anything about our running game could see it is head and shoulders above last year. Garcia played much better (don't know if he could have been any worse) than he did in the bowl game from last year. I see potential. Only time will tell.

    BTW, the officiating was an SEC crew. SEC refs have always been terrible when it comes to officiating a game. Bad or missed calls on both sides. With that said...............GO@#$%S, BEAT DOGS!!!!
  18. JCW W
    42. Posted by JCW W Fri Sep 4 11:18am EDT

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    I feel sorry for North Carolina State fans. That poor school is inept in about everything.
  19. Jeff S
    41. Posted by Jeff S Fri Sep 4 11:14am EDT

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    Yipes - USC slipping to the ranks of Vandy and Kentucky
  20. E A
    40. Posted by E A Fri Sep 4 11:11am EDT

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    that's a 1940s score. But I'd rather see a 7-3 game against FBS border rivals than a 69-0 whipping of an outmatched FCS team.
  21. Delta
    39. Posted by Delta Fri Sep 4 11:06am EDT

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    Dallas S. - McElroy (QB) isn't a freshman, he's a junior. Most people don't know this tidbit, but McElroy has sort of been primed for this situation at QB. He sat behind Chase Daniel in high school at a QB driven program in Texas. Played his senior season with 56 TD passes and broke some of Chase Daniel's single season records. He WILL have a much better season than most expect barring any injuries and assuming that Bama gets solid O-line play. By the way, he is a junior that has already graduated, so his focus can be solely on football now.
    Also, the defense is back with even more power than they had last year. I agree that Bama may be ranked a little high considering the end to their season last year, but if they come out and go 10-2 or 12-0 again, nobody will think that they over achieved either.
  22. Mr Common Sense
    38. Posted by Mr Common Sense Fri Sep 4 10:46am EDT

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    Hey, Posted by "the rat" Florida has earned the righto to play anyone they want. So do not beat yourself up over Charleston Southern. Tems like Tennessee that are lousy, are also playing cup cakes.
  23. JAMIE F
    37. Posted by JAMIE F Fri Sep 4 10:30am EDT

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    If the Game@#$% bring that same offense into Athens next week it's gonna be a long night for them!
  24. -
    36. Posted by - Fri Sep 4 10:21am EDT

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    Glad I missed this one.
  25. Dallas S
    35. Posted by Dallas S Fri Sep 4 10:08am EDT

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    Lets face it, BOTH teams looked like CRAP!! ACC fans, sorry, buy you have NOTHING on the SEC..even if VT beats Bama this weekend, it's still a week conference...Bama is overrated this year..Freshmen QB and they have them 5th? Anyways, ACC fans, just stick to basketball..us SEC fans have nothing on ya there
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Top Performers

 Top Performers
 South Carolina
B. Maddox B. Maddox, RB
23 Rush, 66 yds
1 TD
 N.C. State
J. Eugene J. Eugene, RB
9 Rush, 36 yds

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