South Carolina defeats the Monarchs 23–19 thanks to Old Dominion errors.
AP/COLUMBIA, S.C. The Gamecocks defeated the Monarchs 23-19 on Saturday night by exploiting the Old Dominion’s mistakes and recovering two fumbles inside the 10 that resulted in their only two touchdowns.
With 6:11 remaining, South Carolina’s rookie quarterback LaNorris Sellers scored a 4-yard touchdown to help the Gamecocks (1-0) defeat the Monarchs (0-1) and secure sixth place in the Sun Belt Conference East Division, which consists of seven teams.Sellers’ debut was not particularly impressive. He rushed the ball 22 times for 68 yards and completed only 10 of 23 throws for 114 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.
