Nursing a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter, Steve Spurrier paced the South Carolina sideline, trying to ignore the horrors of last season circulating underneath his visor.

The Gamecocks, after all, had been here several times, in need of a stop to secure a victory against a quality opponent.

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This was Jon Hoke’s money down in his debut, a chance to prove his value on a revamped unit.

Dante Sawyer squashed North Carolina quarterback Marquise Williams on a sack to set up a fourth-and-goal from the 8-yard line with less than four minutes to play. Hoke elected to drop seven and rush four, knowing the Tar Heels had just taken a timeout to draw something up.

Harassed in the pocket, Williams rushed a throw over the middle into the hands of Skai Moore, the second time he had been picked off in the end zone by the Gamecocks senior linebacker, and the South Carolina sideline erupted.

For a moment, last season’s defensive demise was a distant afterthought on the heels of a complete performance against a border rival.

There were tackling issues in the open field and a couple major openings between the tackles that led to big gains for Elijah Hood, but South Carolina largely avoided the fatal errors that defined last season’s defense with a heavy Cover 2 look from Hoke.

Vanilla works, apparently.

The Gamecocks limited one of the nation’s fastest offenses to only five third-down conversions, held North Carolina scoreless in the second half and most importantly, dominated inside the red zone. Last fall, opponents scored touchdowns on 60 percent of trips inside the 20 against South Carolina, but the Tar Heels finished 0-for-4 in that regard.

Four sacks and three interceptions were the difference in disappointment and optimism for a defense in dire need of an outing to build on.

There’s plenty of football left to play, but after one night in Charlotte, South Carolina’s defense was up for the challenge.