SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 18, 2014
South Carolina 41, Furman 10: Mike Davis ran for a
pair of touchdowns, Dylan Thompson threw for two more and the Gamecocks forced
a season-high three turnovers in a homecoming win over the visiting Paladins.
Davis rushed 18 times for 111 yards for his
fourth straight 100-yard game, while Thompson, the first of three South
Carolina quarterbacks to play in the contest, was 14-of-22 for 262 yards. The
Gamecocks (4-3), who only had five takeaways entering the game, had an
interception and recovered two fumbles as they notched their 17th
straight non-conference win, dating back to a loss to Florida State in the 2010
Peach Bowl.
FCS member Furman (2-5) got 106 rushing yards and
a touchdown on 13 carries from Hank McCloud but came up empty on three of its five drives into South Carolina territory and suffered its fifth straight
defeat. Freshman quarterback P.J. Blazejowski, making his third career start,
was 10-of-15 for 85 yards for the Paladins, the defending Southern Conference
champions who fell to their in-state rivals for the 13th time in the
last 14 games.
After trailing 28-7 at halftime, Furman forced a
fumble on the Gamecocksกฏ first possession of the third quarter and closed to
within 28-10 on Hunter Townesกฏ 29-yard field goal. But Shon Carson capped an
84-yard drive with 1-yard scoring plunge on South Carolinaกฏs ensuing possession,
and safety Chris Moody intercepted a halfback option pass on the Paladinsกฏ very
next play to set up the first of Elliott Fryกฏs two field goals to close out the
scoring.
The game was tied at 7 with 7:29 remaining in the
first quarter after McCloud raced 60 yards for a touchdown on Furmanกฏs second
possession. But the Paladins lost a pair of fumbles and missed a field goal on
three of their next four possessions and the hosts took full advantage, scoring
on a pair of short runs by Davis sandwiched around a 45-yard TD strike from Thompson
to Jerell Adams to give South Carolina a 28-7 lead at the break.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The one-sided score allowed the
Gamecocks to play a number of reserves in the second half, including backup QBs
Perry Orth and Connor Mitch and freshman tailback David Williams, who ran for a
career-high 110 yards on 11 carries. กญ South Carolina has now won 35 straight
games against teams from outside the กฐPower Fiveกฑ conferences, dating back to a
1999 loss to East Carolina. กญ With the defeat, Furman has lost nine straight
against SEC foes since a 1963 win over Vanderbilt.