WATCH: Two big touchdown catches give South Carolina lead to start Duke's Mayo Bowl
South Carolina is off to an exciting start in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.
Less than five minutes into the game against North Carolina, the Gamecocks lined up in the wildcat formation, snapping the ball to converted quarterback and now-wide receiver Dakereon Joyner. Joyner subsequently threw a beautiful 69-yard downfield touchdown pass to tight end Jaheim Bell.
The score gave the Gamecocks a 7-0 lead over their neighbors to the north, and they are now up 15-0 after an additional 66-yard touchdown pass from starter Zeb Noland to Bell.
They converted a two-point conversion following the play. South Carolina has thrown just two passes, and they have 135 passing yards and two touchdowns.
UNC has just 30 total yards, 23 of them attributed to quarterback Sam Howell. This is presumably Howell’s last game for the Tar Heels, as it is expected he will declare for the NFL Draft.
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SEC, ACC off to slow start in bowls
One of these squads will finish above .500, while they other will have a losing season on the books in 2021; they both entered the game with a 6-6 record. First-year South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer would love to finish with that 7-6 mark.
If South Carolina wins, they will be the first SEC team to notch a victory this postseason. The nation’s top conference started bowl season 0-4; Missouri, Florida, Auburn and Mississippi State all fell to their opponents.
In the ACC, Clemson’s win on Wednesday over Iowa State snapped a 13-game postseason losing streak for the conference. The previous last team to win a bowl was Louisville. They topped Mississippi State in the 2019 Music City Bowl. Due to multiple COVID-related cancellations, Louisville and Virginia Tech are the only two teams to have played this postseason so far. They lost to Air Force and Maryland, respectively.