Football Falls to Mississippi State in SEC Opener

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kamario 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.

The Gamecocks (2-1, 0-1 SEC) created a double-digit lead on LaNorris Sellers’ touchdown pass and three field goals by first-time kicker Malik Orson.

Once Taylor got going, so did Mississippi State (3-0, 1-0). He had scoring passes 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.

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.

Sellers went 25-of-40 passing for 282 yards, two touchdowns with the two interceptions. 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.

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.