Sept. 28, 2013

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GENERAL NOTES

• South Carolina defeated UCF 28-25 to improve to 3-1 on the season. The Gamecocks return to action on Saturday, October 5 vs. Kentucky at Williams-Brice Stadium with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. on FSN.
• Captains for South Carolina were sophomore linebacker No. 21 Marcquis Roberts, sophomore tailback No. 22 Brandon Wilds, junior cornerback No. 27 Victor Hampton and senior offensive guard No. 67 Ronald Patrick.
• With the victory, South Carolina is now 4-0 against UCF in the all-time series history. South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier moves to 2-0 against the Knights as head coach of the Gamecocks and 3-0 in his career. His previous win was his first game at South Carolina, a 24-15 victory on September 1, 2005. He also defeated the Knights as head coach at Florida with a 58-27 win on September 11, 1999.
• With the win, South Carolina extends winning streak against non-conference opponents to 12 games. South Carolina’s last non-conference loss came to Florida State in the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl. South Carolina’s regular season non-conference winning streak increases to 18 games as well. The Gamecocks last regular season non-conference loss was at Clemson in the final game of the 2008 regular season.

OFFENSIVE NOTES

• Junior wide receiver Bruce Ellington surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for career receiving yards at South Carolina. Ellington had four receptions for 88 yards vs. UCF and has 12 receptions for 199 yards in the last two games. He now has 71 career receptions for 1,040 yards.
• Junior wide receiver Damiere Byrd caught a career-high five receptions. Byrd finished with 74 receiving yards, his second highest total of receiving yards in a game in his career.
• Sophomore tailback Mike Davis carried 26 times for a career-high 167 yards. His previous career-high was 149 yards at Georgia on September 7, 2013. Davis’ 53-yard touchdown run in the third quarter was his fourth career carry of 50 or more yards as well as his third of the season. He added a pair of 13-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter for his first career multi-TD game and he tied a school record for rushing touchdowns in a game with three that is held by many. The last Gamecock to have three rushing touchdowns in a game was Marcus Lattimore on September 17, 2011 vs. Navy. Davis now has six career rushing touchdowns; all have been recorded this year.
• Junior quarterback Dylan Thompson was 15-for-32 in the air for 261 passing yards. That is his third-highest passing yard total in a game in his career.
• South Carolina’s 11-play 97-yard drive in the third quarter was the longest scoring drive by yards in the season for the Gamecocks and the third scoring drive of the season of 90 or more yards. The drive was capped by Dylan Thompson’s 3-yard touchdown run, his second touchdown run of the season.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

• South Carolina tallied three interceptions in Saturday’s game, the most interceptions by the Gamecocks since four vs. East Carolina on September 8, 2012.
• South Carolina limited UCF to just 69 net rushing yards, the lowest total of the season by an opponent. It is the lowest total by an opponent since Vanderbilt rushed for 62 yards on August 30, 2012.
• Junior cornerback Victor Hampton recorded his first interception of the season in the second quarter and his third career interception. His last interception came in October 27, 2012 vs. Tennessee.
• Senior cornerback Jimmy Legree’s interception in the third quarter marked the second straight game he has intercepted a pass. Legree now has five career interceptions.
• Freshman linebacker T.J. Holloman tallied his first career interception in the fourth quarter.

SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES

• Junior punter Tyler Hull punted three times for 141 yards including a long punt of 47 yards. Two of three punts he was credited with were inside the 20-yard line.