Even against Chattanooga, A.J. Turner won’t forget this game any time soon.

The South Carolina running back who, like much of the team, has battled injuries this season, scored the first three touchdowns against Chattanooga as the Gamecocks cruised to a 49-9 victory on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. With an injury list encompassing almost every position on the field, South Carolina tried to fix some lingering mistakes and get ready for next week’s game against Clemson.

Turner is one of several running backs who have alternated big performances with inconsistency and injuries this season. But this was easily his best game. He didn’t play against Texas A&M and didn’t register a carry against Tennessee. Entering the Chattanooga game, he had 229 rushing yards and one TD in 2018. Against the Mocs, Turner had eight rushes for 65 yards and three catches for 34 yards, with a combined three TDs.

The performance came on a day when the Gamecocks were without fellow RBs Rico Dowdle and Ty’Son Williams. They joined a host of teammates who weren’t even dressed for the game, including Nick Harvey, Bryson Allen-Williams, Randrecous Davis, Aaron Sterling, Jaylin Dickerson and J.T. Ibe.

But even Turner left injured, so Mon Denson came on to share some of the load in his place. The Gamecocks had such a hit to their depth that they put in walk-on Jason Senn at safety after Jaycee Horn limped off in the first half, further shuffling the secondary. The Gamecocks also used a walk-on at fullback.

When he was still healthy, Turner started with a 16-yard TD catch from quarterback Jake Bentley, his second career catch and Bentley’s 16th of the season. Bentley found Turner again on a play that took a long time to develop. It resulted in a 6-yard TD after Bentley rolled away from the rush on his blind side and threw back across the field to the back of the end zone, where Turner was wide open and caught it just inside the line.

As South Carolina emptied the bench late in the third quarter, the Gamecocks could take pride in a starting lineup that kept Chattanooga to less than 100 yards rushing.

Clemson will obviously be a far tougher opponent next week, but South Carolina needed a week to reset itself with all the injuries. The Gamecocks also needed to work on tackling and other defensive problems that cost them a possible victory against Florida.

Meanwhile, Bentley turned in another efficient outing: 25-for-29 passing for 339 yards and four touchdowns, punctuated by a 61-yard TD to Deebo Samuel early in the fourth quarter.

For South Carolina to threaten Clemson, Bentley will need to have that kind of performance; he largely has struggled in that rivalry game in his career.