Caden Durham rushed for two touchdowns and Josh Williams ran 2 yards for a winning touchdown with 1:12 remaining as No. 16 LSU rallied to edge South Carolina 36-33 on Saturday afternoon in Columbia, S.C.
Garrett Nussmeier passed for 285 yards and two touchdowns and drove the Tigers (2-1, 1-0 SEC) 55 yards to the winning score.
The Gamecocks (2-1, 1-1) passed for just 155 yards as starting quarterback LaNorris Sellers (9-for-16 passing, 113 yards) injured his right ankle on the second-to-last play of the first half and played just one possession in the second half.
Backup Robby Ashford drove South Carolina to the LSU 31, but Alex Herrera missed a 49-yard field goal as time expired.
On LSU’s second possession of the third quarter Durham ran 9 yards for a touchdown but a two-point conversion failed, leaving South Carolina with a 24-22 lead at the end of the period.
On the first play of the fourth quarter Nussmeier threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Mason Taylor and LSU took its first lead at 29-24.
Three plays later Raheim Sanders, who finished with 143 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries, ran 66 yards for a touchdown that gave the Gamecocks a 30-29 lead.
Nussmeier fumbled four plays later and Dylan Stewart recovered the ball for South Carolina at the Tigers’ 24, leading to Herrera’s 42-yard field goal and a four-point lead.
On the game’s first possession Sellers rushed 4 yards for the first of his two touchdown runs and the score remained 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Herrera kicked a 28-yard field goal to push the lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter before Maurice Brown II’s punt block led to Sanders’ 10-yard touchdown run and a 17-0 Gamecocks lead.
On the ensuing possession Durham ran 26 yards for a touchdown that trimmed the lead to 17-7. Harold Perkins recovered a fumble at the Gamecocks 18, leading to Damian Ramos’ 28-yard field goal that cut the lead to seven.
On the next offensive play Sellers ran 75 yards for a touchdown and a 24-10 lead. The scoring run was the longest by a quarterback in team history.
Nussmeier’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Kyren Lacy pulled LSU within 24-16 at halftime.
