No. 13 South Carolina pulls away in season opening win over Virginia Tech

South Carolina opened its 2025 regular season under the bright lights of Mercedes-Benz Stadium after a long offseason of growing expectations. The only game on Sunday afternoon, the nation watched the Gamecocks take on Virginia Tech in the Aflac Kickoff Game.

South Carolina fans entered with two questions in mind: Would sophomore star LaNorris Sellers live up to the Heisman hype? Would South Carolina rise to their newfound expectations?

The Gamecocks, despite making some mistakes along the way, answered both with an emphatic “Yes.”

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South Carolina’s offense rolled out the gates with a hot start on the opening drive. However, grounded to a halt for the remainder of the opening quarter.

Quarterback LaNorris Sellers opened the 2025 regular season the same way he closed 2024’s, taking a 15-yard carry into the endzone on third down. The sophomore quickly showed how important he is to the Gamecock offense, recording 87 of South Carolina’s 96 first-quarter yards.

Outside of Sellers’ opening drive touchdown, the Gamecock run game struggled in the opening quarter. During the first, South Carolina rushed for a total of 39 yards on 11 carries. 28 of those yards were from Sellers.

After a three-and-out, the Hokies’ offense found life, driving all the way into the red zone. However, linebacker JayR Johnson intercepted the ball in the endzone, returning it to the Gamecock two-yard line.

Johnson’s decision to take it out of the endzone ended poorly for South Carolina, as shortly later, Sellers was sacked for a safety. While his return led to a safety, Johnson was a bright spot in a difficult game for the Gamecocks.

Johnson finished Sunday with a team-high 10 tackles alongside his interception. However, he was closely followed by Dylan Stewart’s seven tackles, including a pivotal third quarter sack.

Business picked up on the ground as the second half progressed, upping the total to 96 yards, including 50 from Oscar Adaway III on nine carries.

However, the Gamecocks’ only time finding the endzone in the quarter ended as an incompletion after replay review. The play, a connection from Sellers to Nyck Harbor, was originally ruled as a nine-yard touchdown.

The drive ended in a field goal, pushing the Gamecock lead to 10-5. Minutes later, Hokies kicker John Love answered with a 56-yard field goal to end the half, 10-8.

The defensive slugfest continued into the second half, as both teams’ opening drives stalled out in plus territory. When the Hokies finally started moving, a huge sack by Dylan Stewart, followed by an unsportsmanlike penalty on Hokies wide receiver Donavan Greene, gave momentum back to South Carolina

The Gamecock defensive line was key in the Gamecock victory. While the secondary struggled, giving up multiple big plays on contested balls through the air, the defensive front kept South Carolina alive as the offense sputtered.

However, following the big sack, the Gamecock offense was unable to capitalize on the defensive success, punting after four plays. In total, South Carolina picked up only 45 yards in the third quarter.

The weirdness of Sunday afternoon’s contest continued after a formation penalty forced a re-punt from the Hokies.

Virginia Tech punter Nick Veltsistas initially punted the ball out of bounds to the South Carolina 25-yard line. However, his second attempt at the punt spelled disaster for the Hokies as Vicari Swain returned it for a touchdown.

The touchdown unlocked the South Carolina offense again. After the Hokies made a field goal, a 60-yard touchdown from Sellers to Harbor gave the Gamecocks a 24-11 lead.

The touchdown pushed the junior wide receiver to a career-high 99 yards on three receptions and a touchdown, not including his overturned touchdown reception in the second quarter.

A South Carolina interception by Peyton Williams with five minutes to go sealed the Gamecocks’ win as momentum fully entered the Gamecock sideline. Sellers even dipped back into his bag of tricks on third down, the sophomore broke two tackles behind the line of scrimmage on his way to a first-down gain late.

Despite South Carolina driving to just outside the redzone, the Gamecocks elected to kneel out the clock following the two-minute timeout.

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