South Carolina football beats Mississippi State as Spencer Rattler throws for three TDs

COLUMBIA — South Carolina football has its first SEC victory of 2023 after beating Mississippi State 37-30 in a shootout at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday.

The Gamecocks (2-2, 1-1 SEC) took an early lead, scoring a touchdown on their first drive for the third game in a row, but they combined with the Bulldogs (2-2, 0-2) for 30 points in the second quarter and led by just three at halftime. Though Mississippi State tied the game twice, once at 17 points and again at 27, the Gamecocks held on wire-to-wire.

Quarterback Spencer Rattler went 18-of-20 passing for 288 yards and three touchdowns. His lone incompletions were an end zone pass to sophomore O'Mega Blake on a questionable uncalled pass interference and a drop by Trey Knox.

Passing offense shreds Bulldogs' secondary

Senior wide receiver Xavier Legette continued his dominance with Juice Wells still out due to a foot injury. He caught a short pass from Rattler that he took to the end zone for a 76-yard touchdown on the Gamecocks' opening drive, then kicked off the second half with a 75-yard touchdown catch on the team's first play. He finished with 189 yards on five catches.

Rattler continues to put up elite stats and had already surpassed 100 passing yards by the end of the first quarter. He had his third game of the season without an interception and was highly explosive, recording five throws of 15-plus yards for 200 of his 288 total yards.

What's wrong with the Gamecocks' defense?

Mississippi State's passing game was always going to pose a challenge, but the Gamecocks could hardly do anything to slow it down. South Carolina held star running back Jo'quavious Marks to 21 yards but sacrificed 487 yards to Rogers through the air. Even with nine tackles for loss, it only pushed back the Bulldogs 37 yards total, while Mississippi State's defense moved South Carolina 25 yards on five TFLs.

Bulldogs receiver Tulu Griffin broke the program's single-game receiving record with 256 yards, averaging nearly 37 yards per catch. His performance was headlined by a 65-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and he burned standout safeties Nick Emmanwori and DQ Smith multiple times on deep shots.

Mario Anderson gets run game going

The Gamecocks surpassed 100 rushing yards for the first time this season against a Power Five opponent largely thanks to a massive increase in touches for Newberry transfer Mario Anderson. The senior running back logged 88 yards on 26 carries, including 17 before halftime, after running the ball just eight times over the first three games.

Rattler also had a solid showing on the ground, recording 43 yards including his losses on four sacks. The Gamecocks combined for 144 rushing yards, the most they have logged this season.

Follow South Carolina football beat reporter Emily Adams on X @eaadams6 and subscribe to The Greenville News for exclusive Gamecocks content: https://subscribe.greenvilleonline.com/offers.

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This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina football beats Mississippi State behind Spencer Rattler