LaNorris Sellers threw two touchdown passes and South Carolina made good use of limited offensive spurts to pull away and defeat host Kentucky 31-6 in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams Saturday in Lexington, Ky.
The Gamecocks were stout defensively, even scoring off a turnover on Nick Emmanwori’s 24-yard interception return on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Sellers completed 11 of 15 passes for 159 yards with an interception in his first career road start.
Kentucky’s passing attack produced only 44 yards on 6-for-17 success. Running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye gained 70 yards on 17 carries for the Wildcats (1-1), who were 3-for-14 on third-down conversions and 0-for-2 on fourth downs.
South Carolina (2-0) managed only 86 rushing yards, led by Raheim Sanders’ 54 yards. That low production from the offense didn’t matter because the Gamecocks had things locked down on defense.
Sellers threw 16 yards to Joshua Simon for a third-quarter touchdown as the Gamecocks stretched their lead to 17-6. Sanders’ 6-yard run in the final minute of the third quarter pushed the margin to 24-6.
South Carolina, which struggled a week earlier to dispatch visiting Old Dominion, turned a close game into a decisive victory.
South Carolina led 10-6 at halftime despite managing only four first downs and 101 yards of offense.
Sellers connected with Mazeo Bennett Jr. for a 24-yard scoring play for the game’s first points. That came as part of a four-play, 61-yard possession.
Alex Herrera’s 29-yard field goal made it 10-0 midway through the second quarter after the Gamecocks were gifted stellar field position by stopping Kentucky’s fourth-and-one play at the Wildcats’ 31.
Kentucky got on the board with two field goals in the final two minutes of the first half as Alex Raynor connected from 32 and 39 yards. The Wildcats used 12 plays to go 57 yards to set up the first scoring chance.
–Field Level Media