CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Thirteen seconds.
That’s all it took for South Carolina to take its first lead of the 2017 season, courtesy of a Deebo Samuel 97-yard kickoff return on the opening play of the game Saturday. While the North Carolina State Wolfpack would tie the game three times, they never were able to take the lead.
Samuel added two offensive touchdowns, including a stunning one-handed grab of a 39-yard pass from Jake Bentley that gave the Gamecocks the lead for good three minutes into the second half, and South Carolina opened the season with a 35-28 win.