South Carolina got a 36 yard Parker White Field Goal as time expired to edge East Carolina 20-17 on Saturday. ECU led the entirety of the 1st half and most of the game. The Pirates scored on their 1st play from scrimmage on a trick play, as WR Tyler Snead found fellow WR Jsi Hatfield on a 75 yard TD pass. In the second quarter, East Carolina would extend their lead to two scores when Holton Ahlers ran for a 3 yard TD.
South Carolina got on the board right before the half when Damani Staley scored on a 63 yard pick 6. ECU would take a 14-7 lead into the halftime locker room. After the break, both defenses would hold until less than a minute remaining in the 3rd quarter. That's when South Carolina QB Zeb Holland would find Dak Joyner for a 13 yard TD hook up to tie the game at 14 after three quarters.
ECU would put together a long methodical drive in the 4th quarter. The Pirates would chew up 7 minutes on a 14 play, 67 yard drive that was capped off by a 26 yard FG from Own Daffer to lead 17-14. South Carolina's Juju Mcdowell would return the ensuing kickoff 63 yards into ECU territory. That set up a 39 yard FG from Parker White to tie the game at 17. The South Carolina defense would get a stop and the offense would take back over. The Gamecocks would go on a 10 play 54 yard drive that would set up the game winning field goal from 36 yards out.
Despite being outgained on the ground and being minus 1 in the turnover margin, South Carolina found a way to pull one out. Both offenses struggled mightily on 3rd down, SC was 2 for 12 on 3rd down. However, their defense held ECU to just 2 of 16 on 3rd down conversions. South Carolina did win the battle at QB, as Zeb Holland was 13 of 24 for 214 yards passing with a TD and a pick. His counterpart Holton Ahlers was 11 of 24 for just 77 yards passing and two interceptions, finishing with a QB rating of four.
South Carolina Freshman RB Juju McDowell had 71 yards on 11 carries and had a the big kick return on special teams. Gamecock WR Josh Vann had 5 catches for 116 yards. The Pirates got 70 rushing yards on 14 carries from Rahjai Harris. Pirate WR Jsi Hatfield had two catches for 90 yards and a TD.
South Carolina moves to 2-0 on the season. The Gamecocks have a "measuring stick" game in week 3, as they will take on Georgia between the hedges on Saturday night. That game will be a nationally televised primetime match up set for a 7 PM kickoff.
