When D.J. Smith saw Ryan Finley roll out of the pocket inside the Gamecock 10-yard line and the clock wind down under 10 seconds, he had a decision to make.

He could step up to the line of scrimmage to protect against the run and give cornerback JaMarcus King less help in the end zone, or he could hold back in coverage.

He opted for the latter, much to his team’s relief; he swatted Finley’s pass down. And as the ball dribbled to the ground and N.C. State turned the ball over on downs, his next decision was a lot easier: celebrate a 35-28 Gamecock win.

“He threw it just into my range,” Smith said, smiling, “and I threw my arm up there and knocked the ball down.”

Also see: Josh Low's instant analysis from a dramatic Gamecock win

The Gamecocks used a dominant six-minute stretch in the third quarter to jump out to a 14-point lead with 24 minutes of game time left Saturday and had to rely on an unproven defense to hold on for the win.

And, after the Wolfpack cut into the lead with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the defense really buckled down. Defensive coordinator Travaris Robinson’s group shut out the Wolfpack over the last 12 minutes and forced two turnovers on downs in three drives.

On the final drive, the Gamecocks were backed up to their own eight-yard line with the clock under a minute and N.C. State needing just seven points to force overtime.

“Don’t nobody make any outstanding plays and jump out of their gaps,” Dante Sawyer said about the final drive of the game. “Just play our defense, do what we need to do and that’s what happened.”

What happened next was the defense bowing its neck and not allowing anything good to happen for what head coach Will Muschamp called an efficient offense.

On first down, Finley fired incomplete and South Carolina called a timeout. On second down, as Finley scanned the field, the pocket broke down, he tried to scramble and here came Bryson Allen-Williams off the edge for the sack.

The next two plays were incompletions forced by the secondary, and the Gamecocks would cling to a 35-28 victory and improve to 18-2 in openers over the last 20 seasons.

The second down take down was Allen-Williams’s first of the season as one of the Gamecocks’ BUCK pass rushers. He finished with five tackles and a tackle for loss.

“He takes a lot off me a little bit,” Sawyer said. “Just having him there, doing everything he can is amazing.”

Also see: Five key plays from Saturday's win

Sawyer, like Allen-Williams, helped set the edge on what looked like a rejuvenated defensive line. He picked up seven tackles, including a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. He forced two fumbles and was credited with two quarterback hurries.

The defensive line finished with 40 total tackles, four sacks and nine tackles for loss. One of those sacks and a quarterback hurry came on the team’s final drive as they clung on to win.

“They fought their butts off. And the only drive in the second half really was the final drive. I told T-Rob, ‘Make them extend time. They got to score a touchdown, so make them eat the clock.’ That’s what we wanted; that was the plan,” Muschamp said.

“We got to get more production, and I thought when we did rush four guys in a more of a drop-back setting we did a much better job than a year ago.”

The line rotation was able to hold up throughout the game despite N.C. State’s up-tempo, quick offense despite being on the field for 99 plays defensively.

Muschamp wanted to make sure before the game no lineman was on the field too much because big players don’t refuel once they’re out of gas in a game. So, the team rotated nine different linemen into the game to stay fresh.

Sawyer joked he could “feel it” after the game playing close to 100 snaps, but conditioning over the offseason helped the line. So what did playing snap No. 99 feel like?

“Just like snap number one,” Sawyer said, shaking his head. “Ain’t nothing changed.”

Also see: Gamecock Central's game day headquarters

The Gamecocks picked up four sacks Saturday against an N.C. State passing attack that liked to get the ball out quickly to the flat. For reference, it took South Carolina three games to pick up four sacks last season.

That kind of pass rush, regardless of if it gets to the quarterback, can impact everything on the field. Hurrying the passer can force errant throws that creates easier opportunities for the secondary.

The Gamecocks had five quarterback hurries and four pass breakups.

“The D-line played well, they forced them to get a good amount of sacks,” Smith said. “It took some pressure off the back end. I appreciate them boys.”