Rapid Reaction: South Carolina bounces back, routs Coastal Carolina
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For the second week in a row, South Carolina’s offense exploded for a monster first half. The difference, week-over-week? South Carolina didn’t give it all back in the second half.
The Gamecocks were bludgeoned in the second half on the road at Texas A&M last weekend. With that loss slamming the door to the postseason shut, it would have been natural to come out a little lethargic on Saturday against Coastal Carolina and spin the wheels at the tail end of a lost season.
Credit to Shane Beamer and his group. That didn’t happen. South Carolina scored 20 points in the first quarter, went to the locker room up 37-0 at the break, and cruised to a 51-7 victory over the Chanticleers.
The 51 points were a season-high. The 579 yards of offense were a season-best. Prior to Saturday, South Carolina hadn’t gained 400 yards in a game yet this year. The Gamecocks had 419 in the first half.
On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback LaNorris Sellers hit his brother, Jayden, for a 75-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Sellers ended the day 16-for-20 passing for 274 yards and 2 scores. He also ran 8 times for 82 yards and 2 more scores.
The Gamecocks didn’t commit a turnover. They went 6-for-11 on third down. They went 6-for-6 in the red zone — all of them touchdowns. Six of their 8 first-half possessions resulted in points. Only 1 failed to produce a first down.
In the second half, South Carolina milked the clock. It had a 13-play, 6-minute touchdown drive on its first possession of the second half, and then a 15-play, 7-minute touchdown drive on its final possession.
As a dress rehearsal for next week’s Palmetto Bowl against Clemson, Beamer couldn’t have asked for a better performance from his offense.
South Carolina 51, Coastal Carolina 7
Here’s the South Carolina-Coastal Carolina box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
