Defense lifts No. 6 Gamecocks
Clowney fails to impress in win over Tar Heels
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina All-American Jadeveon Clowney looked less than dominant against North Carolina, not that it mattered to him or the sixth-ranked Gamecocks.
Clowney shook off a stomach virus earlier in the week — and some sluggish play — to help South Carolina’s defense hold North Carolina to its lowest point total under coach Larry Fedora in a 27-10 victory to open the season Thursday night.
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Mike Davis ran 75 yards for a touchdown while Connor Shaw and Dylan Thompson each threw long scoring passes to put the Gamecocks in front. Clowney and company made it all stand up.
“As long as we get the win, that’s all that matters to me,” Clowney said.
South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was disappointed at his team’s conditioning on defense, including Clowney.
“Did you watch what I was watching?” he said when asked about Clowney. “No, I don’t have to say it. You write what you see. We’ll try and work on our conditioning for the entire team.”
Clowney did not have a sack and finished with three firsthalf tackles. The Tar Heels’ fast-paced offense wore him down and forced him to the sideline for several pit stops, yet he and the defense mostly hemmed in North Carolina.
Shaw and Thompson put South Carolina up 17-0 in the first quarter. Shaw found Shaq Roland for a 65-yard TD on the game’s third play. Thompson threw a 29-yard TD to Kane Whitehurst later in the quarter.
The game was delayed with 8:20 remaining when lightning closed in. Fans filed out quickly, and rain and thunder pelted the field for about an hour.
TOP 25 No. 24 Southern California 30, Hawaii 13 — At Honolulu, Justin Davis ran for 74 yards and a touchdown, and the Trojans’ defense covered for a shaky offense in a victory over the Rainbow Warriors.
USC quarterbacks Cody Kessler and Max Wittek had mixed performances. Kessler salvaged a bad start with a 19-yard TD pass to Nelson Agholor, then gave way to Wittek early in the third quarter. Wittek handed off to Davis more often than throwing.
USC’s defense intercepted Hawaii’s Taylor Graham four times and sacked him seven times, directly setting up each USC score. Tre Madden had 18 carries for 109 yards while starting for injured Silas Redd.
MOUNTAIN WEST Fresno State 52, Rutgers 51 OT — At Fresno, Calif., Derek Carr threw his fifth touchdown pass on the first play of overtime, and the Bulldogs stopped a 2point try on the next possession to beat the Scarlet Knights.
Carr completed a Mountain West and school-record 53 of 74 passes for 470 yards.
After Kyle Federico missed a 43-yard field goal on the final play of regulation for Rutgers, Carr capitalized right away in overtime by lobbing a 25-yard TD pass to Greg Watson.
Gary Nova answered with his fifth TD pass of the game to Brandon Coleman. Coach Kyle Flood opted to go for the win, and Nova’s conversion pass tipped off Coleman’s fingertips.
Utah 30, Utah State 26 — At Salt Lake City, sophomore Travis Wilson passed for 302 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Utes past the Aggies.
Wilson completed 17 of 28 passes and ran for a key first down on Utah’s final drive. Anthony Denham had six receptions for 113 yards for the Utes.
San Jose State 24, Sacramento State 0— At San Jose, Calif., David Fales passed for two TDs in the second quarter and the Spartans’ defense did the rest, blanking the Hornets.
Fales, who threw for 225 yards, connected with Chandler Jones for a 31-yard touchdown and threw a 15-yarder to Noel Grisby in the final minute of the half to make it 17-0.