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LaNorris Sellers throws for 3 TDs as South Carolina whipped Kent State 57-0 to begin season
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- LaNorris Sellers throws for 3 TDs as South Carolina whipped Kent State 57-0 to begin season
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — LaNorris Sellers threw three touchdown passes among five TD drives as South Carolina whipped Kent State 57-0 on Saturday in the season-opener for each team.
Sellers, beginning his third season as starting quarterback under a third offensive coordinator, showed no hesitation in running the system installed by Kendal Briles, the Gamecocks' new $2 million-plus OC. He looked smooth and sure as the first quarterback in an attack that piled up 645 yards and featured scores by six different players.
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Sellers finished 19 of 23 for 270 yards.
Donovan Murph caught two touchdowns while Jabree Coleman rushed for two for South Carolina. Mazeo Bennett, Mike Tyler, Matt Fuller and Isaiah Augustave also scored one TD each.
Dru DeShields passed for 63 yards and rushed for 27 to lead Kent State.
"You know, are they 57 points better than us? That is my question, I thought, offensively," Kent State coach Mark Carney said. "Second down was our bugaboo. I thought we were efficient on first down."
Fuller started the scoring in the first quarter with a 7-yard jaunt into the end zone, after receiver Nyck Harbor was ruled to have stepped out of bounds on a TD pass from Sellers. The Gamecocks scored three more touchdowns in the second, highlighted by a 60-yard sprint from Coleman, a transfer from Penn State thought to be at best the third-string running back on the roster.
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South Carolina also showed off some trickery by having fullback Mo Brown take a step into the line on a two-point conversion, stop and loft a jump pass to Brady Hunt in the end zone.
The Gamecocks were able to play many of their subs after leading 29-0 at the half.
The takeaway
Briles' arrival conjured images of high-flying, up-tempo offenses, especially after South Carolina fired OC Mike Shula after nine games last year. There was only some of that on Saturday, as USC huddled at times and worked quickly at other times.
Briles said earlier in the week he wouldn't be trying to "hold anything back" for the rest of the season, stating that everything was on the table in order to win the game. But whether by design or circumstance, South Carolina didn't get too tricky or off the rails.
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Rookie
Offensive lineman Darius Gray was South Carolina's second highest-rated recruit, but didn't report until the summer. Yet there was no evidence of being behind the rest of the Gamecocks' OL class that went through spring practice, many of which were experienced transfers.
Gray started at left tackle in his first game.
Record-setter
It was the hottest game on record at Williams-Brice Stadium, with a temperature of 95 degrees at kickoff. That beat the previous record of 94, tied in three games, most recently in 2024.
After the Gamecocks scored to make it 29-0 shortly before halftime, the great majority of the fans left. The aluminum bleachers had turned the stadium into a kiln, registering 98 degrees at halftime with a heat index of 110.
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Coaches and school officials agreed to shorten the fourth quarter to 10 minutes.
Up next
Kent State: Hosts Wofford on Sept. 12.
South Carolina: Hosts Towson on Sept. 12.
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