South Carolina didn't just open the LaNorris Sellers-Kendal Briles era, it obliterated a Kent State team that never showed up.
This one was over by the time most fans found their seats. South Carolina scored on its opening drive, an 87-yard march capped by Matt Fuller, and from there Kent State had no answer for a Gamecocks offense running a brand-new scheme for the first time in a live setting.
−Untested chemistry with new coordinator's playcalling
LaNorris Sellers was the story. In his first game under new offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, the junior quarterback looked comfortable and aggressive from the jump, hitting Mazeo Bennett Jr. for a touchdown before finding Donovan Murph on a 29-yard strike. Jabree Coleman added a 60-yard run to set up another score, and by halftime South Carolina led 29-0 at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Kent State, meanwhile, simply couldn't get anything going against a Gamecocks defense that pitched a shutout across all four quarters. The Golden Flashes were shut out entirely, unable to muster points in any period, which tells you everything about how one-sided this was.
The 92-degree sunshine at kickoff did nothing to slow South Carolina down, and the home crowd got to see exactly what Briles' new-look attack can look like when it's clicking on all cylinders.
For Kent State, this was always going to be a tall order walking into an SEC building against a team retooling with a new play-caller and a returning starter at quarterback. The scoreboard reflected the gap in talent and depth about as plainly as it could.
For South Carolina, the debut answers a lot of the offseason questions cleanly: Sellers looks the part in the new system, the skill players are getting the ball in space, and the defense didn't allow a single point. It's one game against overmatched competition, but it's the kind of opener a program wants when it's trying to build belief heading into a tougher slate.
