South Carolina steamrolls North Carolina en route to 38-21 Duke's Mayo Bowl victory

By Lauren Brownlow, WRALSportsFan columnist/reporter

Charlotte, N.C. — UNC (6-7) did not have the regular season it wanted to, but showed enough promise and improvement down the stretch that getting into a bowl game seemed to be a great chance to go into next season with momentum.

That will not happen, though, as the Tar Heels were steamrolled by South Carolina (7-6) 35-21 in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.

A 14-point margin doesn't seem like a big one, but South Carolina entered the game with the 108th-ranked offense in yards per play and down its two most experienced quarterbacks and its leading rusher.

After the dust had settled, the Gamecocks had piled up a season-high 544 yards and averaged 8.6 yards per play,

The Tar Heels played in last year's Orange Bowl without a lot of its players that would move on to the NFL. This year, the shoe was on the other foot and they were facing a team decimated by transfers and COVID.

It didn't look that way, though.

In what was likely Sam Howell's final game as Carolina's record-setting quarterback, he had a rough afternoon, completing 12 of 20 passes for 205 yards and a score but amassing just three yards on 13 rushing attempts, four of which were sacks.

The Tar Heels went down 18-0 after just one quarter of play and 32-13 early in the second half, and had plenty of chances to get it closer but couldn't manage to do it.

UNC got first downs on its first two plays of the game, but wouldn't get another the entire rest of the first quarter. South Carolina, though, didn't have such problems.

South Carolina racked up 312 first-half yards, 230 of which came in the first quarter. It scored on all three of its first-quarter possessions and did all of this with a converted wide receiver seeing most of the snaps at quarterback (Dakereon Joyner) who had not thrown a pass all year.

South Carolina's first two plays were runs up the middle that went for 20 yards and then nine yards as Jaheim Bell and then Kevin Harris got the first two carries for the Gamecocks. Then after a false start, South Carolina put Joyner in at quarterback and he found Bell for a 69-yard touchdown strike, putting the Gamecocks up 7-0.

UNC got the ball back and tried to go for a deep strike of its own, but Howell couldn't connect with Josh Downs. UNC punted, and South Carolina hit a big play again as starting quarterback Zeb Noland found Bell again for a 66-yard touchdown strike. South Carolina went for two points and got it, taking a 15-0 lead with 7:45 to go in the first quarter.

UNC proceeded to go 3-and-out again and South Carolina marched down the field again with seeming ease, but the Gamecocks' drive stalled out at the UNC 12-yard line. Parker White made a 30-yard field goal to give South Carolina an 18-0 lead with 27 seconds to go in the first quarter.

British Brooks managed to get UNC's offense started again early in the second quarter as he ran for a 63-yard score, the longest in UNC bowl game history and a record in the Duke's Mayo Bowl. That cut South Carolina's lead to 18-7 with 13:11 to go in the second quarter.

UNC's defense followed that up with its first stop of the game on South Carolina's ensuing drive. Then the offense kept it going, with Howell finding leading receiver Downs for a 34-yard strike to get UNC to the South Carolina 13-yard line. But he took a sack two plays later and couldn't convert a 3rd and 20, so UNC settled for a field goal to make it an 18-10 game with 5:44 remaining in the half.

But UNC's burst of complementary football seemed short-lived, and South Carolina's offense got back to doing what it had done all game — move the ball at will, seemingly.

Joyner led the Gamecocks on a six-play, 75-yard drive to that ended in a 35-yard Juju McDowell run for a touchdown to put South Carolina up 25-10 with 2:27 to go in the half.

UNC's offense nearly scored another touchdown before the half, as Howell completed 4 of 4 passes for 57 yards, including a spectacular grab by Green for a 27-yard gain.

UNC faced a 4th and 1 at the South Carolina 14-yard line with 48 seconds left, and it looked like the Tar Heels would go for it. But in a trend of penalties coming at the worst possible moment, Jordan Tucker was whistled for a false start and the Tar Heels kicked a field goal instead.

In the second half, South Carolina picked up where it left off and mounted a 9-play, 75-yard drive to take a 32-13 lead with 9:53 to go in the third quarter. UNC got on the board on its next drive as well after a trick play touchdown let Howell find Garrett Walston wide open for a 37-yard score. The ensuing 2-point conversion cut South Carolina's lead to 32-21 with 7:24 to go in the third.

UNC's defense managed to get a stop after an 11-play, 23-yard South Carolina drive ended in a punt, but it did take 6:11 off the clock. South Carolina had the ball for 11:18 to just 3:32 for UNC in the third quarter, and the total time of possession margin was 39 minutes for South Carolina to 21 for North Carolina.

UNC punted early in the fourth quarter, then South Carolina went on yet another long drive that ended in a field goal to give the Gamecocks a 35-21 lead with 7:44 remaining. UNC faced 4th and 16 with 5:52 to go at their own 31-yard line and punted. They would not see the ball again until less than a minute remained.

The Tar Heels ran just 50 plays, and their 333 yards of offense were a season low.

Joyner, who had not thrown a pass for the Gamecocks since 2019, has completed all of his passing attempts. South Carolina did not have his first incomplete pass until the third quarter of play. Joyner himself did not have any incompletion, finishing 9 of 9 passing for 160 yards and a touchdown, adding 64 yards on the ground on 10 carries.

South Carolina had 242 yards passing to 205 for UNC and out-rushed the Tar Heels 301-128.

UNC did not convert a third-down attempt until the fourth quarter and finished 1 of 10.