South Carolina finally scored a first-quarter touchdown and jumped out to a 22-0 lead in a 50-10 Thursday night home victory over South Carolina State. It was an all-around performance including 404 yards of total offense, three interceptions, and even two more tipped punts on special teams that nearly added to the team’s block tally from the Georgia State game.

The Gamecocks (3-2) snapped a stretch of over 70 minutes of first-quarter football without finding the end zone when Spencer Rattler hit MarShawn Lloyd on a five-yard screen pass he took to the corner of the end zone. Defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway put an exclamation point on the series by rushing in for a two-point conversion.

Rattler snapped a two-game streak without a touchdown by putting up another efficient performance, going 21-of-27 passing with 212 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He did throw two more interceptions, but both hit wide receiver Xavier Legette in the hands before turning into tipped picks.

After finally breaking the first-quarter scoring streak, the offense continued the momentum with a nine-play, 95-yard drive that took just under five minutes off the clock to extend the lead. A 54-yard pass to Jalen Brooks took the top off the defense to get it going, and then Marcus Satterfield flipped all the way to the other end of his playbook and busted out a wishbone play for Jaheim Bell. The junior tight end powered the ball home from a yard out to make it 15-0 Gamecocks, and Rattler even added a rushing score of his own later in the second quarter.

South Carolina State (1-3) did snap the shutout when big-play wide receiver Shaquan Davis ripped off a 34-yard chunk to set up a one-yard Nick Tyrece score, but the offense immediately quelled any possible comeback with an efficient drive.

Rattler evaded pressure better than he has all season taking zero sacks and even started stepping up in the pocket a little bit more than he has on the year. One particular play where he shook his way around a rusher and stepped up happened midway through the third quarter when he delivered a strike to former Oklahoma teammate Austin Stogner on a 15-yard touchdown.

Christian Beal-Smith scored his third touchdown in two games after missing late in the third quarter, putting the finishing touches on a solid all-around offensive performance. A season high 11 players had at least one reception, led by Brooks and his 61 total yards. Antwane Wells Jr. paced the group with seven receptions on eight targets, going for 23 yards on his longest chunk of the night.

Clayton White’s defense recorded three interceptions for the second week in a row, giving it seven turnovers forced on the season. Sherrod Greene picked up his first interception since the 2018 game against Missouri, Marcellas Dial had his second of the season and Bam Martin-Scott nearly scored South Carolina’s first defensive touchdown of 2022 when he took a fourth-quarter interception back inside the five. Lloyd cleaned up the finish with a two-yard score.

Backup quarterback Luke Doty rushed in 13-yard touchdown with 1:46 remaining, giving South Carolina back-to-back 50+ point performances for the first time since reaching the mark in three consecutive weeks back in 1995.

The only blemish on the night was another injury concern for the defense. Starting defensive tackle Alex Huntley — who suffered an injury against Arkansas and missed the Georgia game — left the game in the second quarter and was wearing sweatpants on the sideline in the second half.

South Carolina will now have two extra days off before a critical trip to undefeated Kentucky next Saturday.