COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina recovered two fumbles inside the 10 leading to its only two touchdowns and the Gamecocks used the Old Dominion miscues to beat the Monarchs 23-19 on Saturday night.
South Carolina freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers ran for a 4-yard touchdown with 6:11 to go to finally push the Gamecocks (1-0) past the Monarchs (0-1), picked to finish sixth in the seven-team Sun Belt Conference East Division.
Sellers did not have a stellar debut. He completed just 10 of 23 passes for 114 yards and carried the ball 22 times for 68 yards.
“The biggest thing is just let's not beat ourselves and I thought we had too much of that tonight,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said, ticking off poor perimeter blocking, dropped passes, costly penalties and players not being in the right places.
Old Dominion quarterback Grant Wilson struggled too. He had both fumbles deep in his own territory, threw a second quarter interception in the end zone and ended the Monarchs last chance with another interception with 1:29 left in the game.
“I didn't have the ball secured like I should have,” Grant said about his last fumble that led to South Carolina's winning touchdown. “I'm going to work extremely hard so it doesn't happen again.”
Beamer called South Carolina's play unacceptable, starting with his coaching, but said he will never keep his team from celebrating a win.