Recap: Gamecocks rally in second half but fall in Starkville, 27-14

After posting a 13-10 victory over Vanderbilt nine days ago in the season opener, South Carolina returned to action Saturday night in Starkville, Miss. against Mississippi State. How did the Gamecock fare in their quest to improve to 2-0?

FINAL: Mississippi State 27, South Carolina 14

USC: 0- 0-7-7 = 14

MSU: 7-17-0-3 - 27

FIRST QUARTER: Mason Zandi was beaten on the edge as Perry Orth was sacked on third down as USC’s first possession was a 3-and-out. Mississippi State promptly drove 55 yards in 7 plays for a TD to take a 7-0 lead. Starting quarterback Nick Fitzgerald was 3-for-3 for 33 yards on the drive, including a 6-yard TD pass to Fred Ross, the SEC leader in receptions per game last season, with 11:00 left in 1Q. After USC picked up a first down on a throw to TE Jacob August on its second possession, Orth was sacked on third down again by DE A.J. Jefferson, forcing the Gamecocks to kick the ball way for the second time. MSU QB Nick Fitzgerald bounced off Gamecocks LB Bryson Allen-Williams near the line of scrimmage and raced 74 yards to the USC 5. But the defense came up with a big stop as Dante Sawyer batted down a fourth down pass to hand the ball back to the Gamecocks at the 4-yard line. The Gamecocks drove as far as the MSU 37-yard line with multiple big plays, including AJ turner’s 10-yard run, a sensational leaping catch by Deebo Samuel on third down and Hayden Hurst’s 15-yard reception moments later. Fry fell a yard or so short on a 55-yard field goal attempt with 15 seconds left in the first quarter.

END FIRST QTR: Mississippi State 7, South Carolina 0.

SECOND QUARTER: Mississippi State took possession late in the first quarter and drove 63 yards in nine plays for a tricky double pass touchdown as the left-handed Ross caught a short screen pass, stepped back and lofted a 17-yard TD pass to Donald Gray in the left corner of the end zone to give MSU a 14-0 lead with 12:15 left in the 2Q. Needing a score, USC picked up one first down before Orth’s deep pass down the middle of the field was intercepted by MSU FS Jamal Peters. A personal foul penalty on MSU at the end of a 22-yard run killed the momentum of a drive and the Bulldogs eventually punted. On USC’s second play from scrimmage, Turner fumbled and Miss. State recovered at the USC 14. Highly touted DE Jeffery Simmons was credited with a forced fumble. But the Gamecocks turned the tables moments later as TJ Holloman, roaming the middle of the field, intercepted a Fitzgerald pass at the goal line. Rod Talley was inserted into the game at RB and gained two yards on his first carry. USC went 3-and-out and punted for the third time. A 15-yard penalty on DJ Smith allowed the Bulldogs to start at the USC 36. Mississippi State drove to the USC 3 when on first-and-goal Fitzgerald lofted a pass into the right corner of the end zone, where Bulldogs backup TE Jordan Thomas (6-5, 295) outmuscled and outjumped the smaller D.J. Smith (5-11, 195) for the ball, scoring a touchdown and giving MSU a 21-0 lead with 3:21 left in 2Q. Terry Googer almost made a fantastic catch along the sidelines, but had a portion of his foot out of bounds. The Gamecocks punted and MSU took over at its 22 with 1:07 left. Back-to-back completions for 17 and 22 yards moved the Bulldogs into position for a field goal attempt, then a pass interference on Rashad Fenton moved the ball inside the red zone. Westin Graves booted a 27-yard field goal at the halftime buzzer to increase MSU’s lead to 24-0.

HALFTIME: Mississippi State 24, South Carolina 0.

STATS: Mississippi State outgained USC, 324-90 in the first half as quarterback Nick Fitzgerald completed 14-of-18 passes for 118 yards and ran for 134 yards on 10 carries, including the 74-yard burst. Perry Orth was 9-of-17 passing for 83 yards. A.J. Turner led USC with 22 yards rushing on 12 carries. The Gamecocks averaged less than 3.0 yards per play.

THIRD QUARTER: After a 75-minute delay due to lightning in the area, the teams resumed the game about 9:45 p.m ET. Mississippi State got the ball first and attempted a fake punt. But the Gamecocks stopped them near midfield. Brandon McIlwain came on at quarterback and the first snap sailed over his head. However, instead of running out of the pocket and throwing the ball away, McIlwain ran out of bounds for at the USC 42 for a 14-yard loss. USC faced a third-and-26 and McIlwain scrambled out of the pocket and threw the ball towards Hayden Hurst well out of bounds. Fitzgerald ran for 25 yards on MSU’s first snap of their second possession, but the drive stalled and the Bulldogs punted. After the teams exchange punts (MSU’s was a booming 68-yarder), USC began at its 25. McIlwain connected with Hurst for a 22-yard pass before racing outside for 9 yards into MSU territory. Soon, the Gamecocks penetrated the red zone, where they gambled on fourth-and-1. McIlwain carried for 2 yards and a vital first down. On third down, McIlwain hit Turner in the right flat and the redshirt freshman caught the pass, avoided a MSU defender and raced into the end zone for USC’s first points of the night.

END THIRD QTR: Mississippi State 24, South Carolina 7

FOURTH QUARTER: When the Gamecock defense had to get a stop, they couldn’t do it as Mississippi State, mostly keeping the ball on the ground, powered their way down the field into the red zone as time drained off the clock. Eventually, the Bulldogs kicked a 28-yard field goal to culminate a 13-play, 62-yard drive that took 5:30 off the clock. When the Gamecocks got the ball back, they trailed 27-7 with 9:24 left. Three straight incompletions brought out Sean Kelly again. After Miss. State punted, McIlwain began USC’s next possession with completions to Bryan Edwards (his first catch of the night) and Randrecous Davis, meaning a true freshman quarterback was completing passes to true freshmen receivers. On fourth-and-10, McIlwain connected with Edwards for 24 yards as he made a leaping grab. A pass interference call gave USC a first down at the MSU 13. McIlwain flipped a well executed 4-yard TD pass on fourth-and-1 to TE K.C. Crosby for USC’s second TD of the night. When the drive ended, McIlwain was 11-of-22 passing for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Miss State drove down the field into the red zone and ran out the clock as the cow bells clanged

FINAL STATS

Total Yards: USC 243, MSU 485

Passing Yards: USC 209, MSU 195

Rushing Yards: USC 34, MSU 290

TOP: USC 30:05, MSU 29:55

Third Downs: USC 6-17, MSU 6-14

NOTES

-- The Gamecocks have now lost seven of its last eight road games with last week’s win at Vanderbilt being the lone occasion USC has won away from Williams-Brice since the 2014 season.

-- Trailing 24-0 at halftime, the Gamecocks extended its streak of not leading at halftime to 14 games. Last time USC led at halftime? The 2014 Independence Bowl win over Miami (Fla.) when they held a 17-6 advantage at intermission.

-- Hayden Hurst was USC’s leading receiver with 8 catches for 68 yards. Miss. State QB Nick Fitzgerald ran for 195 yards and threw for 178 on 19-29 passing.