Taylor’s four TDs rally Mississippi St. from 16-0 down to 41-34 win at South Carolina in SEC opener

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Even as South Carolina’s points piled up early, Mississippi State never thought it was out of it — not with the potent offense led by quarterback Kamario Taylor and a defense that stayed focused when backed up near the end zone.

Taylor threw for 251 yards and four touchdowns as Mississippi State rallied from 16-0 down to open Southeastern Conference play with a 41-34 victory at South Carolina on Saturday night.

“As long as we stick together as this brotherhood, the world is ours, for real,” Taylor said.

It sure looked it was theirs to lose in the first 24 minutes as the Gamecocks advanced deep in Bulldogs territory four times, but came away with just one touchdown and three field goals.

“We knew as long as we do our jobs and make them kick field goals,” Mississippi State linebacker Jalen Smith said, “we knew we were going to score.”

And Taylor and the high-tempo offense did that in bunches, outscoring South Carolina 41-7 over the next 24 minutes to take control.

Taylor had scoring throws of 30 yards to Sanfrisco Magee and 43 yards to Zion Ragins to start the comeback. Taylor’s 23-yard TD pass to Marquis Johnson drew the Bulldogs within 23-21 and then moved in front on a five-yard scoring toss to Anthony Evans. Receiver Gracen Harris threw a 7-yard TD pass to tight end Sam West and Kyle Ferrie closed the scoring with a 49-yard field goal.

South Carolina could not respond behind Sellers, who threw interceptions inside Gamecock territory on consecutive drives that the Bulldogs turned into a field goal and a 7-yard touchdown pass from receiver Harris to tight end Sam West.

Mississippi State tailback Fluff Bothwell ran for a season-high 115 yards, his second straight game over 100 yards rushing. Taylor finished 18-of-24 passing with an interception on his first throw of the game. His four touchdowns tied his career high.

Mississippi State coach Jeff Lebby said his team had not faced much adversity, but stood strong when it counted. “There were a ton of opportunities for it not go right,” he said. “But it went right.”

“I’m so proud of these guys,” Lebby said.

Sellers went 25-of-40 passing for 282 yards, two touchdowns with the two costly interceptions after the Gamecocks lost the lead. Tailback Matt Fuller ran for a 6-yard score and had a 25-yard TD pass that cut the Bulldogs lead to 41-31 with under four minutes to play.

Orson hit a career-long 52-yard field goal with 52 seconds left to make it 41-34, but that was as close as South Carolina could get in losing its sixth straight SEC game.

The game’s start was delayed an hour and 20 minutes due to persistent lightning near Williams-Brice Stadium. South Carolina’s 45-9 win over Towson last week was halted for more than hour due to inclement weather.

Takeaways
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs showed they may have the staying power on both sides of the ball to make some noise in the SEC. Mississippi opened 4-0 a year ago before losing its last eight. Taylor came into the game as the SEC’s leader in passing yards and successfully led an attack that had fallen into an early hole.

South Carolina: The Gamecocks were tops in the SEC in points allowed after victories against Kent State (57-0) and Towson (45-9). But South Carolina’s defense was steadily worn down by Taylor and the Bulldogs’ high-speed offense.

South Carolina attitude
The Gamecocks were looking for a 3-0 start for the first time since 2012 under coach Steve Spurrier. Current coach Shane Beamer promised his team would fight this off and return to the field for winning football. “This moment won’t define this football team,” said Beamer, who knew what the public response would be to losing this lead. “We will respond the right way.”

Two long ones
Gamecock first-time kicker Malik Orsan made all four field goals including from 51 and 52 yards. He became the first South Carolina kicker with two made, 50 yarders since Mitch Jeter hit kicks from 51 and 53 yards in a win over Georgia State in 2022.

Up next
Mississippi State: Returns home to face No. 20 Missouri on Saturday night.

South Carolina: Plays its first road game of the season at No. 10 Alabama on Saturday night.