Vicari Swain’s 2 TDs on punt returns propel No. 10 South Carolina past SC State

Vicari Swain returned a pair of second-quarter punts for touchdowns, helping No. 10 South Carolina overcome a slow start and pull away with a 38-10 win over South Carolina State on Saturday night in Columbia, S.C.Swain, who padded South Carolina’s lead last Sunday in a 24-11 home win over Virginia Tech with an 80-yard punt-return touchdown, once again delivered a special teams spark for the Gamecocks (2-0).With South Carolina facing a 3-0 deficit on Saturday, Swain returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown to get the Gamecocks on the board with 5:01 left in the first half. Less than two minutes later, he again housed a punt, this one a 42-yard return after it was partially blocked, to make it 14-3 over the Bulldogs (1-1).Two games into the season, Swain has tied the South Carolina single-season record with three punts returned for a touchdown, and already has the most punt-return touchdowns in a season by any player since Washington’s Dante Pettis returned four punts for touchdowns in 2017.With William Joyce’s 49-yard field goal as time expired, the Gamecocks scored 17 points over the final 5:01 of the first half to distance themselves from their tepid offensive start.The Gamecocks were outgained 89-12 in the first quarter, with no first downs to four penalties committed for 35 yards. Starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers was 0-for-3 in the opening 15 minutes.While the Gamecocks were sputtering, the Bulldogs took an early lead by marching down the field on a nine-play, 54-yard drive to set up a 21-yard field goal for Nico Canavillas Alti.SC State QB William Atkins IV got the start and completed 10 of 14 passes for 118 yards. He was replaced in the third quarter by Ryan Stubblefield, who was 8 of 14 for 90 yards and a touchdown.

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