If there were any roses blooming when the college football season started, they were trampled into a fine paste after the first game of the college football season. When the North Carolina Tar Heels and South Carolina Gamecocks met at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, you knew this would be a brutal slobber-knocker.

North Carolina got off to a strong start in the game, as Marquise Williams showed some prowess. However, the Tar Heels went through a meat grinder in the 2nd half, with the USC defense stepping up in a big way to put the hammer down, holding UNC completely scoreless. South Carolina would win the game 17-13, and the Old Ball Coach Steve Spurrier showed why he's still one of the best coaches in the SEC with some great play calls throughout.

In the first half, North Carolina gave the Gamecocks an impressive run, as Marquise Williams brushed off an early interception to throw a 21 yard touchdown pass to star receiver Bug Howard, giving the Heels the early lead. However, USC's Connor Mitch led the Gamecocks on a long drive down the field to start the 2nd half, connecting with one of the best WRs in the SEC Pharoh Cooper in the endzone to knot things up at 7. The rest of the half would showcase some strong defensive stands in the redzone by both defenses, resulting in 2 converted field goals for UNC and 1 for USC as the score was 13-10 Tar Heels at the half.

Jon Hoke's South Carolina defense knew that it would have to tighten up the tackling and get down and dirty to win the football game, and they did just that. USC stopped UNC multiple times on 3rd down, and 4th down when the Tar Heels decided to roll the dice. One particular play stuck out, a booming hit by Gamecock DB Isaiah Johnson that knocked the ball out of a UNC receiver's hands to get the defense off the field.

Coverage was tight, and the pressure was constantly on Marquise Williams to make big plays. However, he cowered in the spotlight, showing immaturity by pouting after referee calls that went against the Tar Heels, letting them impact his play. He cracked multiple times, throwing three interceptions on the night, two to Skai Moore in the end zone.

South Carolina's new quarterback Mitch had a rough start to the game showing many miscommunications with his receivers. Coach Spurrier changed the game plan by giving Mitch some short throws and utilizing the QB draw play often, in which Mitch would succeed at running by rushing for some critical 1st downs throughout the night. But, it was the rushing game that ultimately put the 'Cocks over the top, as Shon Greene zipped up the sidelines in the 4th quarter for a 48 yard touchdown dash.

With 3 and a half minutes left in the game, UNC was in the red zone, but it was 4th down. Instead of settling for a field goal, Larry Fedora's bunch went for the touchdown, but the effort went down in failure as Williams threw his 2nd interception to Moore on the night, all but ending the Tar Heels' hopes. Sure enough, South Carolina held on to the ball for the remainder of the game, grabbing an important win over their rival.

Spurrier after the game: "Our defense was sensational in the red zone. Offensively I came up with some lousy plays tonight, I'll try to get better as a play caller, but somehow or another we won, so we're very happy."

Indeed that is true, as the Gamecocks will be able to build on this performance as they head into a matchup at home against Kentucky next week, looking to avenge a surprising loss to the Wildcats last year. As for North Carolina, the team showed some flashes tonight, and they will get some easier battles in the next few weeks to work on team chemistry before ACC play. UNC next plays North Carolina A&T in Chapel Hill next week.