Bentley's 4 TDs Lift South Carolina to 49-9 Win Over Mocs

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Quarterback Jake Bentley chatted with one of his favorite targets in receiver Deebo Samuel, honored on Senior Night who reflected on how much he’d miss playing at South Carolina.

“I told him in winning this game, we’d have a little bit more time together,” Bentley said.

Bentley threw for 339 yards and tied his career best with four touchdowns as the Gamecocks became bowl eligible with a 49-9 victory over Chattanooga on Saturday night.

A.J. Turner, a junior with eight career touchdowns coming in, accounted for three TDs for the Gamecocks (6-4) against the Mocs (6-5) of the Football Championship Subdivision.

“It’s not about the touchdowns, it’s about us being able to play together,” Turner said.

The win was an important one for the Gamecocks (6-4), whose time was running out at trying to make the postseason.

South Carolina goes to powerhouse state rival No. 2 Clemson next week where it will be heavy underdogs. Without the Chattanooga win, the Gamecocks’ postseason hopes would’ve rested on a makeup contest with Akron on Dec. 1.

“We’ve been through adversity this year,” Bentley said. “It’s great to know we’ve got some postseason ball ahead of us.”

The Gamecocks, who fell to FCS opponent The Citadel here three years ago, didn’t want to mess around with Chattanooga. Bentley and Turner made sure they started fast with touchdowns on their first three possessions.

Bentley was 5-of-6 passing on South Carolina’s opening possession, including a 16-yard TD throw to Turner.

He was at it again the next time he got the ball with a 12-play drive that ended with a 6-yard TD throw to Turner.

Turner was front and center on the next drive, too, finishing the series with an 11-yard scoring run.

Turner had only one touchdown in eight games this season before breaking out big against Chattanooga in the opening half.

Bentley, who was 25 of 29 passing, didn’t stop after the break in adding scoring throws of 53 yards to Shi Smith and 61 yards to Samuel.

Bentley tied his career high of four touchdowns first accomplished in a win over Coastal Carolina in September.

Samuel finished with five catches for 112 yards, his second straight game with over 100 yards receiving.

Chattanooga was overmatched from the start. The Mocs had a field goal and an extra point blocked. They were just one of eight on third-down tries in the opening half.

Chattanooga’s lone TD came when receiver Bryce Nunnelly threw a 2-yard scoring pass to a wide open quarterback Nick Tiano with less than five minutes left in the game.

They were in the thick of the Southern Conference race the first two months of the season, but fell to 0-3 in November with this loss.

Mocs coach Tom Arth was pleased with his team’s effort.

“I thought we left some plays out there,” he said. “That’s the hard part.”

A.J. Turner was on the receiving end of two touchdown passes from Jake Bentley in the first quarter of the win over Chattanooga. Turner caught three passes for 34 yards and rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown as the Gamecocks never trailed in the 40-point win.

602 — The Carolina offense had 602 yards in the win over the Mocs as Jake Bentley went 25-for-29 for 339 yards while Deshaun Fenwick, who played in his first career game as a Gamecock, eclipsed the 100-yard barrier, rushing for 112 yards on 17 carries as South Carolina earned its sixth win of the season, becoming bowl eligible.

Carolina faces Palmetto State rival and #2/2 Clemson Saturday night (Nov. 24) at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.