Brian Maddox had a short touchdown run while Stephen Garcia completed a key third-down pass in the final minutes to help South Carolina beat North Carolina State 7-3 on Thursday night.
Garcia threw for just 148 yards on a frustrating night for both offenses, but the sophomore came through with a 33-yard completion to Moe Brown that allowed the Gamecocks to run out the final 2 1/2 minutes.
It gave South Carolina a second straight season-opening victory against the Wolfpack, who was shut out 34-0 in last year's meeting and failed to reach the end zone in the rematch.
Maddox scored from 1 yard out in the first quarter and finished with 66 yards rushing.
The Wolfpack managed just 133 yards, with all-Atlantic Coast Conference quarterback Russell Wilson throwing for just 74 yards while under steady pressure from South Carolina defenders.
