COLUMBIA, S.C. (Sports Network) - Stephen Garcia threw a pair of touchdowns as 13th-ranked South Carolina downed Furman, 38-19, at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Garcia went 13-for-20 for 150 yards with two interceptions while Marcus Lattimore had 19 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown for the Gamecocks (3-0), who were coming off an impressive victory over Georgia last week.
Cody Worley was 17-for-29 for 189 yards and two interceptions while Adam Mims had 10 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown for the Paladins (1-1), who defeated Colgate last week by a score of 45-15.
Trailing by 18 points early in the fourth, the Paladins struck quick as a 72- yard touchdown catch by Mims from Tersoo Uhaa, coupled with a failed two-point conversion, made it a 31-19 game with under 12 minutes to play.
South Carolina, though, answered later in the frame with a big play of its own to seal the victory. With Furman driving, Stephon Gilmore stepped in front of a Worley pass and took it 80 yards the other way for a 38-19 score with 6 1/2 minutes to play.
After an exchange of punts to start the game, the Gamecocks got on the board when Garcia found Tori Gurley from 15 yards out for a 7-0 lead with 7 1/2 minutes left in the first.
South Carolina held Furman to a three-and-out, and started the next drive at its own 26. It took 11 plays and over five minutes, but Lattimore put the ball in from four yards out for a 14-0 lead with 12 second left in the first.
Furman got a pair of 37-yard field goals from Ray Early, with the second one coming with 3:41 left to play in the first half to make it a 14-6 contest.
The Gamecocks, though, moved 62 yards in six plays and made it a 21-6 game at the break when Brian Maddox punched the ball into the end zone from nine yards out.
On their first touch of the second half, the Gamecocks made it a 28-6 game as Garcia and D.L. Moore got together on a six-yard score with 8:50 to play in the third.
About four minutes later, the Paladins got a defensive score when Shawn Boone picked off Garcia and took it into the end zone from three yards out to make it a 28-13 game.
South Carolina countered with a 51-yard field goal off the foot of Spencer Lanning to take a 31-13 lead into the final quarter.