Rapid Reaction: South Carolina dominates fourth quarter to beat Virginia Tech in opener
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Just 2 points separated Virginia Tech and No. 13 South Carolina through 3 quarters on Sunday. At the Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta, “shoulda, woulda, coulda” was the theme of the opening 45 minutes.
A first-quarter interception immediately turned into a safety. South Carolina had a touchdown taken off the board late in the first half because of a controversial review. The offense wasn’t exactly firing on all cylinders.
Things changed in the fourth quarter. Vicari Swain returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown, Nyck Harbor hauled in a 64-yard touchdown reception, Peyton Williams picked off Virginia Tech’s Kyron Drones, and South Carolina walked off the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium with a 24-11 victory.
The South Carolina offense had largely been underwhelming through the first 3 quarters of the game. Across the first 45 minutes, South Carolina had been outgained 254-230. The Gamecocks’ ground game had been grounded, save for a few runs from LaNorris Sellers. The offense was averaging just 5.3 yards per play and had been forced to punt on 5 of its first 8 possessions of the game.
Sellers got the Gamecocks on the board less than 3 minutes into the game with a 15-yard touchdown run, but a field goal after a 13-play, 70-yard drive was all the Gamecocks could muster on offense from then on.
Swain’s return gave South Carolina a shot in the arm. Harbor’s big-play touchdown came less than 6 minutes later.
For South Carolina, the victory gets a season with massive expectations off to a positive start. South Carolina is hoping to make a push for the College Football Playoff. It’ll try and move to 2-0 next Saturday when it hosts South Carolina State at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
South Carolina 24, Virginia Tech 11
Here’s the South Carolina-Virginia Tech box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
LaNorris Sellers vs Kyron Drones
A statistical breakdown of how South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers outperformed Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones:
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.
