Furman Paladins vs South Carolina Gamecocks Match Player Stats On Oct 18, 2014

South Carolina 41, Furman 10: Mike Davis ran for a pair of touchdowns, Dylan Thompson threw for two more and the Gamecocks forced a season-high three turnovers in a homecoming win over the visiting Paladins.

Davis rushed 18 times for 111 yards for his fourth straight 100-yard game, while Thompson, the first of three South Carolina quarterbacks to play in the contest, was 14-of-22 for 262 yards. The Gamecocks (4-3), who only had five takeaways entering the game, had an interception and recovered two fumbles as they notched their 17th straight non-conference win, dating back to a loss to Florida State in the 2010 Peach Bowl.

FCS member Furman (2-5) got 106 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries from Hank McCloud but came up empty on three of its five drives into South Carolina territory and suffered its fifth straight defeat. Freshman quarterback P.J. Blazejowski, making his third career start, was 10-of-15 for 85 yards for the Paladins, the defending Southern Conference champions who fell to their in-state rivals for the 13th time in the last 14 games.

After trailing 28-7 at halftime, Furman forced a fumble on the Gamecocks’ first possession of the third quarter and closed to within 28-10 on Hunter Townes’ 29-yard field goal. But Shon Carson capped an 84-yard drive with 1-yard scoring plunge on South Carolina’s ensuing possession, and safety Chris Moody intercepted a halfback option pass on the Paladins’ very next play to set up the first of Elliott Fry’s two field goals to close out the scoring.

The game was tied at 7 with 7:29 remaining in the first quarter after McCloud raced 60 yards for a touchdown on Furman’s second possession. But the Paladins lost a pair of fumbles and missed a field goal on three of their next four possessions and the hosts took full advantage, scoring on a pair of short runs by Davis sandwiched around a 45-yard TD strike from Thompson to Jerell Adams to give South Carolina a 28-7 lead at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The one-sided score allowed the Gamecocks to play a number of reserves in the second half, including backup QBs Perry Orth and Connor Mitch and freshman tailback David Williams, who ran for a career-high 110 yards on 11 carries. … South Carolina has now won 35 straight games against teams from outside the “Power Five” conferences, dating back to a 1999 loss to East Carolina. … With the defeat, Furman has lost nine straight against SEC foes since a 1963 win over Vanderbilt.