Two punt returns, 103 yards, 14 points
Vicari Swain did not need the offense. The junior defensive back took a punt 58 yards for the opening score inside the first five and a half minutes, then broke a 45-yarder in the closing seconds of the third quarter to make it 31-9. South Carolina beat Towson 45-9 on Saturday night in Columbia.
Swain fielded three of Towson’s eleven punts and gained 122 yards on them. Eleven punts from one team tells the story of the evening as plainly as the scoreboard does, and it handed the Gamecocks a field-position advantage they never had to earn.
The ground game did the rest. Matt Fuller ran for 125 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown in the second quarter. LaNorris Sellers added 119 on the ground with a 58-yard score that opened the second half on a three-play possession.
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Sellers through the air is still a question
Sellers finished 10-of-23 for 96 yards with an interception. For a quarterback whose legs outproduced his arm by 23 yards, that is a number worth holding onto as the SEC schedule arrives. South Carolina are 2-0 and have not yet been asked a hard question by anyone.
Weather interrupted proceedings less than three minutes into the second half, and some of what followed came down in heavy rain. Towson took advantage first, Andrew Indorf finding Aaron Enterline for 23 yards and a touchdown. Indorf threw for 171 yards on the night.
The Tigers managed 203 total yards and fell to 0-3. South Carolina held a 254-81 edge in first-half yardage and widened it after the break. Jabree Coleman scored from three yards out in the fourth quarter and Isaiah Augustave broke a 55-yard run, both against a defense by then facing reserves.
What it settles
Max Kelley’s 33-yard field goal and Zaydaan Faridi’s 41-yarder were the only kicking of consequence. South Carolina emptied the bench for the final quarter, which is the clearest verdict available on a game special teams had decided long before anything else did.
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