Gamecocks Down Tar Heels, 17-13

Shon Carson ran for 75 yards and a touchdown, linebacker Skai Moore intercepted two passes in the end zone and South Carolina defeated border state rival North Carolina 17-13 on Thursday night.

Carson, the Gamecocks' third-string running back, made an immediate impact when he entered the game in the fourth quarter, breaking free around right tackle and racing 48 yards for the go-ahead touchdown.

The Gamecocks intercepted Tar Heels quarterbackMarquise Williams three times. Moore helped seal the game when he stepped in front of Williams' pass on a fourth-and-goal at the South Carolina 8 with 3:40 remaining.

For Moore it was the eighth and nine interceptions of his career. He also finished with a team-high 10 tackles.

Williams finished 19 of 31 for 232 yards and one touchdown. Elijah Hood led UNC with 139 yards on 12 carries and Bug Howard had six catches for 114 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown reception.

South Carolina quarterback Connor Mitch was 9 for 22 for 122 yards and a touchdown in his first career start before leaving with a hip injury in the fourth quarter.

Mitch started slow but improved as he became more comfortable in the pocket.

Known as a traditional pocket passer, Mitch showed some surprising mobility rushing for a team-high 47 yards on seven carries in the first half.

He also showed some feistiness, penalized 15 yards for taunting after completing a first down pass in the third quarter.

The Tar Heels were coming off a horrendous season on defense allowing a school record 39 points and 497.8 yards per game in 2014.

But under new defensive coordinator Gene Chizik they tackled better and applied more pressure for three quarters, shutting out the Gamecocks in the first quarter and taking a 13-10 lead into fourth quarter.

"Their defense got the best of our offense," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. "We were very fortunate."

But the game changed when Carson took a handoff from backup quarterback Perry Orth and raced around right tackle and down the sideline untouched for a 48-yard touchdown on his first carry of the game.

Williams, on the other hand, couldn't seem to find a rhythm for the Tar Heels.

On North Carolina's first drive he didn't appear to see Moore step in front of his intended receiver in the end zone and was picked off. In the second half, he overthrew an open Ryan Switzer on a simple receiver screen and then followed that with an interception on the next play.

North Carolina Tarheels Season Preview

North Carolina should again be good on off ense with 10 starters returning led by Williams, WRs Switzer, Hollins, Quinshad Davis and Bug Howard and a running back corps led by T.J. Logan (582 yds) but including Ellijah Hood, Romar Morris and Khris Francis...Most importantly all fi ve starters on the off ensive line also return and four of them--Ts Jonathan Heck and John Ferranto, G Caleb Peterson and C Lucas Crowley--are juniors joining senior G Turner, though sophomore Bentley Spain emerged from spring as the starter at LT while sophomore G Jared Cohen is pushing Peterson for playing time ...Talented backup QB Mitch Trubisky also returns to provide quality depth...It is on defense, though, that the Tar Heels must improve in order to challenge for the Coastal Division title...New coordinator and former Auburn head coach Gene Chizik brings with him a new 4-3 defensive scheme and the credentials to improve a unit that was ranked 117th in total defense last fall...Chizik will have a couple of young, promising players in Drennon (5.5 TFLs) and Nazair (7.5 TFLs) who saw signifi cant action as freshmen...Senior DT Justin Th omason also returns upfront where he started all 13 games a year ago...Also returning is DE Junior Gnonkonde, DE Jeremiah Clarke and DT Tyler Powell and they will be pushed by January enrollee Jalen Dalton...Senior LB Jeff Schoettmer (74 tackles, 6 TFLs) was the second leading tackler on the team a year ago and returns to lead a LB corps that includes Shakeel Rashad, Joe Jackson, Cayson Collins, Tyrell Tomlin, Cole Holcomb and January enrollee Andre Smith...Two of the three starting CBs return in Brian Walker (3 INTs) and Des Lawrence (71 tackles), but they ended spring in battles with M.J. Stewart and Malik Simmons (34 tackles at Ram) for starting honors, while Sam Smiley (52 tackles, 1 INT) heads into the fall as the leader at free safety with freshman J.K. Britt and junior Dominqiue Green (41 tackles) in the running at strong safety.