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- Vicari Swain's 2 TDs on punt returns propel No. 10 South Carolina past SC State</p>
<p>Field Level MediaSeptember 7, 2025 at 5:55 AM</p>
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<p>Sep 6, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks defensive back Vicari Swain (4) celebrates his second punt return touchdown against the South Carolina State Bulldogs in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images (Jeff Blake-Imagn Images)</p>
<p>Vicari Swain returned a pair of second-quarter punts for touchdowns, helping No. 10 South Carolina overcome a slow start and pull away with a 38-10 win over South Carolina State on Saturday night in Columbia, S.C.</p>
<p>Swain, who padded South Carolina's lead last Sunday in a 24-11 home win over Virginia Tech with an 80-yard punt-return touchdown, once again delivered a special teams spark for the Gamecocks (2-0).</p>
<p>With South Carolina facing a 3-0 deficit on Saturday, Swain returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown to get the Gamecocks on the board with 5:01 left in the first half. Less than two minutes later, he again housed a punt, this one a 42-yard return after it was partially blocked, to make it 14-3 over the Bulldogs (1-1).</p>
<p>Two games into the season, Swain has tied the South Carolina single-season record with three punts returned for a touchdown, and already has the most punt-return touchdowns in a season by any player since Washington's Dante Pettis returned four punts for touchdowns in 2017.</p>
<p>With William Joyce's 49-yard field goal as time expired, the Gamecocks scored 17 points over the final 5:01 of the first half to distance themselves from their tepid offensive start.</p>
<p>The Gamecocks were outgained 89-12 in the first quarter, with no first downs to four penalties committed for 35 yards. Starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers was 0-for-3 in the opening 15 minutes.</p>
<p>While the Gamecocks were sputtering, the Bulldogs took an early lead by marching down the field on a nine-play, 54-yard drive to set up a 21-yard field goal for Nico Canavillas Alti.</p>
<p>SC State QB William Atkins IV got the start and completed 10 of 14 passes for 118 yards. He was replaced in the third quarter by Ryan Stubblefield, who was 8 of 14 for 90 yards and a touchdown.</p>
<p>The Gamecocks scored their elusive first offensive touchdown on the opening drive of the second half. Oscar Adaway III punched in a 5-yard run to make it 24-3.</p>
<p>A 46-yard fumble-return touchdown by Jaron Willis extended that lead to 31-3 midway through the third quarter, and Sellers' only touchdown pass of the night, a 35-yard deep ball to Vandrevius Jacobs, made it 38-3 late in the third quarter.</p>
<p>Sellers was 11-for-19 (57.9 percent) for 128 yards with 23 rushing yards on eight carries.</p>
<p>With 12:32 left, the Bulldogs reached the end zone on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Stubblefield to Nicholas Sowell. It was the first touchdown the Gamecocks have allowed this season after starting out with seven quarters of touchdown-free play.</p>
<p>The Gamecocks won handily on the scoreboard despite being outgained 270-253 by the Bulldogs.</p>
<p>--Field Level Media</p>
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