COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Wofford College football team ended the season with a 56-12 loss at South Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium. The Terriers scored first and trailed 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. The Gamecocks took a 21-9 lead at the half and scored the first two touchdowns of the third quarter on the way to the victory.
 
Wofford ends the season at 5-7 overall. South Carolina, ranked #19 in the nation, is 8-3 overall.  Kyle Watkins led the Terriers with six catches for 133 yards and Ryan Ingram with 25 rushing yards. Amari Odom was 15-of-28 passing for 215 yards and he had one touchdown pass to Dylan Djete. The Gamecocks were led by LaNorris Sellers with 23-of-27 passing for 307 yards and three touchdowns.
 
"My first thought is that I am proud of our kids," said head coach Shawn Watson. "They came out and played a really spirited first half. We just got worn down in the second half by a really good football team. We have a resilient bunch and I am really proud of them and the way they played. I appreciate our seniors who have allowed us to begin to turn the program around. They have been through a lot and seeing what we have been able to accomplish this year, they have gotten us going in the right direction."
 
On the first play of the game, Amari Odom found Kyle Watkins for a 63-yard completion to move the ball inside the 20. After a fumble on third down, the Terriers recovered and Devery Cagle had a 27-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead at 12:14 in the first quarter. On third down by the Gamecocks, Amir Annoor intercepted a pass, and Wofford took over at the 39-yard line. The Terriers went three-and-out and punted.
 
After three first downs, the Gamecocks had a 50-yard touchdown pass called back by penalty at 6:21 in the first quarter. They had three more first downs and capped the 17-play drive with an eleven-yard touchdown run to take a 7-3 lead with 1:48 on the clock in the first quarter. Amari Odom was intercepted on third down on the ensuing drive, but a roughing the passer penalty gave Wofford a first down. After a Terrier punt, the Gamecocks had a 58-yard completion to move to the 14-yard line. LaNorris Sellers capped the drive with a one-yard touchdown run for a 14-3 lead with 12:02 left in the first half. With the ball back, Kyle Watkins had a first down reception. Faced with a fourth-and-two, Jon Schaffer had a quick pass to Kyle Parsons for a first down. On fourth down again, the Terriers lined up for a 53-yard field goal. On the fake, a throw by Bryce Corriston for a touchdown was nullified by a false start penalty and Wofford had to punt.
 
Beginning at the two-yard line with 7:58 on the clock in the second quarter, the Gamecocks went three-and-out and punted. After a first down run by Ryan Ingram, Kyle Parsons had a 29-yard first down reception from Amari Odom. Isaiah Scott added a first down reception and after a penalty Wofford had first down on the five-yard line. After a false start penalty, Dylan Djete caught a six-yard touchdown pass. The two-point try was intercepted and Wofford trailed 14-9 with 1:48 left in the first half.  The Gamecocks had two first downs before a sack by Jalen Marshall was for a loss of seven yards. They had two more first downs and scored with a one-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds on the clock for a 21-9 lead. Wofford took a knee to end the first half.
 
To open the second half, the Gamecocks had three quick first downs and scored on a 26-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 28-9 with 11:31 on the clock. Wofford had one first down on a reception by Rickie Shaw before punting. With the ball back, the Gamecocks had three first downs and extended the lead to 35-9 with a 13-yard touchdown pass with 3:00 remaining in the third quarter. Wofford went three-and-out and punted, but the ball was touched by the Gamecocks and recovered by Kyle Parsons to give Wofford the first down. Parsons added a rushing first down and Kyle Watkins caught a first down pass to move into the redzone on the final play of the third quarter. A 28-yard field goal by Devery Cagle made it a 35-12 game with 13:29 left in the fourth quarter.
 
The Gamecocks responded with a seven-play drive that covered 70 yards and was capped by a five-yard touchdown run for a 42-12 lead with 10:27 on the clock. Kyle Watkins had a 23-yard first down catch and a pass interference call picked up another first down. A 48-yard field goal attempt by Devery Cagle was short and the Gamecocks took over with 8:36 left in the game. They needed only five plays to cover 70 yards as a 27-yard touchdown run by Jawarn Howell made it a 49-12 game with 7:04 remaining. Kyle Watkins had a first down catch, which gave him the school's single-season receiving record. After a Wofford punt, the Gamecocks put together a ten-play drive that ended with a five-yard touchdown with nine seconds left for a 56-12 score. Wofford took a knee to complete the game.  
 
Wofford had 247 total yards, with 219 receiving yards. South Carolina had 608 total yards, with 343 of those passing yards. Wofford had 14 first downs to 34 for the Gamecocks. Wofford was 2-of-12 on third down and 1-of-1 on fourth down. South Carolina was 10-of-12 on third down. South Carolina was called for eight penalties, while Wofford was called for six. South Carolina had a 32:00 to 28:00 time of possession advantage.
 
Wofford vs. South Carolina Post-Game Notes
This was the 25^th meeting between Wofford and South Carolina. The Gamecocks have won the last 18 meetings.  
 
Ryan Ingram had 25 rushing yards in the game, giving him 2,020 for his career. He is the 17^th player in school history to reach the 2,000-career rushing milestone.
 
Kyle Watkins had a 63-yard reception on the first play of the game. He ended the day with six catches for 133 yards, his fifth 100+ receiving game of his career. He set the school single-season receiving record with 814 yards, which topped the previous record of 804 by Landon Parker in 2022. His 49 receptions this season are tied for second in school history.
 
C.J. Coombes led the defense with seven tackles. Jalen Marshall had six tackles and a sack, while Benny Radicia added one sack.
 
Amir Annoor had his third interception of the season and the fifth of his career.
 
The game was the 27th against an FBS team and Wofford is 1-26 in those games. The 12 points scored were the most against an FBS opponent since scoring 14 against Clemson in 2019.
 
Game captains were John Boyles, Jordan Davis, Ryan Ingram, and Maximus Pulley.
 
Attendance at Williams-Brice Stadium was 79,078, the fourth-largest crowd ever to see the Terrier play.