South Carolina cruises to win over Eastern Illinois

The South Carolina Gamecocks pulled off a Week 1 win with relative ease.

The Gamecocks defeated Eastern Illinois 46-0 on Saturday night. The win snapped a six-game losing streak dating back to last year and is the first season-opening win for the Gamecocks since 2018.

Zeb Noland, an assistant coach who stepped in for injured quarterback Luke Doty performed very well. Given the circumstances, SC will absolutely take the four touchdowns he threw and his 13-for-22 day passing the ball. His showing was likely a surprise to many, but in this case, it was a very delightful shock for South Carolina fans.

Zaquandre White put up numbers on the ground himself meanwhile. White rushed for 133 yards and a score on just 12 rushing attempts. The Gamecocks ran the ball 47 times on the night, gaining a total of 263 rushing yards on the night. Freshman running backs MarShawn Lloyd and JuJu McDowell carried the ball 26 times for a combined 101 yards elsewhere.

White was also the team’s leading pass-catcher with four receptions for 39 yards. He pulled in one of Noland’s passing touchdowns, while the others went to three different receivers. Jaheim Bell, Josh Vann, and Nick Muse were the other three pass-catchers to haul in receiving touchdowns.

On defense, Jaylan Foster and Jordan Burch each had interceptions. Aaron Sterling, Brad Johnson, and Zach Pickens were each credited with sacks.

South Carolina will play ECU, who ate a 33-19 loss to Appalachian State on Thursday, in a Week 2 contest next week.