One of the best games of college football’s Week 1 turned out to be the NC State-South Carolina neutral-site match in Charlotte. The Gamecocks won, 35-28.
South Carolina stoned NC State on 4th down to cap a bonkers final 5 minutes
South Carolina won, 35-28. It was a whale of a finish.
South Carolina’s defense stood tall on a fourth-and-goal from its own 10-yard line. The Gamecocks flushed Wolfpack QB Ryan Finley out of the pocket and forced an incompletion on the game’s decisive play:
Finley almost pulled off a miraculous game-tying touchdown pass. He kept himself from getting sacked against a lot of pressure, and his throw could’ve bounced into a receiver’s arms. But it didn’t, and Will Muschamp’s Gamecocks are 1-0.
Two officiating decisions set the stage for the wild finish.
Facing a fourth-and-five with about four and a half minutes on the clock — and down a touchdown — NC State receiver Jaylen Samuels caught a pass just short of the first-down line. Samuels stretched, and it really looks like he had enough reach to give the Wolfpack a first down at the Gamecocks’ 30. But the refs felt differently, and a video replay crew didn’t see enough to overturn the call. So the Gamecocks took over.
ESPN
The NC State defense held after that, though, and forced a three-and-out, driving the Gamecocks two yards backward in the process.
When the Wolfpack got the ball back, running back Nyheim Hines lost the ball going to the ground at the end of a 14-yard run to just across midfield. That was initially ruled a fumble, but this time, replay officials overturned the call.
Overturning the fumble ruling was the right thing. Hines had the ball tucked as his rear hit the turf, and it would’ve been a reach to let that stay a fumble. I’m not sure how “indisputable” it is that Hines didn’t fumble, but the correct call’s the correct call.
NC State kept the ball, and Finley kept marching the Pack downfield. That’s what made the dramatic finish possible. It just wasn’t enough to actually win the game.
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