Gamecocks' defense carries them to opening victory

RALEIGH, N.C. — Steve Spurrier wasn’t going to complain about his South Carolina defense’s start to the season, even if it’s not the way he most wants to win.

Brian Maddox had a short touchdown run for the Gamecocks’ only score while the defense shut down Russell Wilson to beat North Carolina State 7-3 on Thursday night. It gave South Carolina a second straight season-opening victory against the Wolfpack, who were shut out 34-0 last year and failed to reach the end zone in the rematch.

Stephen Garcia did just enough to help the Gamecocks hang on, completing a third-down pass in the final minutes to help them run out the clock in a mistake-filled performance. But on this night, the ol’ ball coach’s defensive unit deserved almost all the credit after holding N.C. State to just 133 yards.

“We’re very thankful,” Spurrier said. “We gave a great ovation to our defensive team because we all realized they won the game for us. But it’s a team victory, though. We’re all going to take the win. But hopefully someday we can win a 42-39 game around here.”

Maddox scored from a yard out in the first quarter and finished with 66 yards rushing, while Garcia completed 13 of 22 passes with an third-quarter interception that gave the Wolfpack a needed burst of momentum and led to its only scoring drive.

That was just one of numerous mistakes for the Gamecocks, the most costly being an offensive pass interference penalty on Tori Gurley that negated his 38-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. There was also a low snap that killed a second-quarter field-goal attempt and a missed 27-yard kick from Spencer Lanning in the third.

“Our offensive guys, I guess we tried, but we didn’t do very well,” Spurrier said. “We had a chance to score some points here and there, but we didn’t.”
Garcia threw for just 148 yards, but he came through with a 33-yard completion to Moe Brown that allowed the Gamecocks to run out the final 2½ minutes of the game.

“Thank God it was complete because if it wasn’t, I might have been kicked off the team,” Garcia said.

Then again, the Gamecocks had plenty of wiggle room considering the how defense bottled up the Wolfpack’s offense, which had its lowest total since managing just 123 against Florida State almost five years ago.

Wilson — who last year became the first freshman named first-team all-Atlantic Coast Conference quarterback — completed just 12 of 23 passes for 74 yards.

He also faced steady pressure from the speedy South Carolina pass rush, which managed six sacks against a quarterback whose mobility frustrated almost every defense he faced last season.

“We knew what we had to do,” defensive tackle Travian Robertson said. “We knew he was a runner and we just outran their guys. We played fast out there and that’s why we got him on the ground.”

Wilson got no help from the Wolfpack’s ground game, either, with Toney Baker’s first-quarter fumble setting up Maddox’s early TD run. As Wolfpack coach Tom O’Brien said, “Sometimes you get an opening game and it hits you in the mouth a little faster than you think it will.”

Still, the Wolfpack’s defense held up OK despite being considered the team’s biggest question mark after losing linebacker Nate Irving for the year due to injuries from a June car wreck. And after pushing to South Carolina’s 32 with about 4 minutes left, N.C. State even had a chance to steal a victory despite being outplayed all night.

The Wolfpack’s best chance came when Wilson evaded the rush and lofted the ball toward Jay Smith in the end zone despite the reserve receiver being in double coverage. The ball slipped over both defenders and bounced off Smith’s hands near the back of the end zone.

That drive ended with Wilson’s fourth-down incompletion, and Garcia soon found Brown behind two Wolfpack defenders to seal the win.

“We always though we could get it back,” Wilson said. “We didn’t, but you keep believing in your offense, keep believing in your defense. ... We’ve just got to capitalize.”

Wilson set an ACC record with 272 consecutive passes without an interception. Florida State’s Drew Weatherford held the record with 270 set in 2007.