The No. 6 South Carolina Gamecocks jumped to a 17-point first quarter lead and ran to a weather-hampered 27-10 win over North Carolina Thursday night. With 8:20 left to play in the fourth quarter, a lightning storm broke out, delaying the game for nearly two hours before the skies cleared.
The Gamecocks opened the scoring with a 65-yard pass to Shaq Roland. After a 39-yard field goal and a Kane Whitehurst touchdown catch, South Carolina held a comfortable 17-0 lead.
North Carolina staged a brief comeback, with a Brynn Renner touchdown pass and Thomas Moore 20-yard field goal capping two long Tar Heel drives and narrowing the South Carolina lead to 20-10 halfway through the third quarter. Just three plays later, though, Gamecocks running back Mike Davis broke a run down the right sideline for a 75-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach.
South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw finished 11/19 passing for 149 yards and a score. Mike Davis ran for 115 yards and a touchdown, with Brandon Wilds adding 64 yards on the ground. Shaq Roland led the Gamecock receivers with 75 yards on two catches.
For North Carolina, quarterback Bryn Renner went 26/43 for 194 yards and a touchdown. Romar Morris led the Tar Heels with 69 yards rushing, while A.J. Blue added 37 yards on eight carries. Quinshad Davis caught four passes for 39 yards. Eric Ebron and Mark McNeil each caught three passes.
More from SB Nation:
Follow @SBNationCFB Follow @SBNRecruiting
• The prettiest, smartest college football preview collection anywhere, by Bill Connelly
• How to stop Jadeveon Clowney: actual coaches build a game plan
• Why we love college football: a beautiful SB Nation longread
•Bama-Oregon title game, plus all 34 other bowl projections
•The conference megapreview series begins: ACC | Big Ten | Pac-12 | SEC