Zeb Noland was never supposed to be here. Heck, if all had gone according to plan this past spring, the former Iowa State signal-caller might still be starting at North Dakota State — the second stop on his college football odyssey.
Instead, the South Carolina graduate assistant-turned-quarterback torched Eastern Illinois for four first-half passing touchdowns as the Gamecocks (1-0) throttled the Panthers (0-2) 46-0 for the first win of the Shane Beamer era.
Noland, who was named after a mountain man his father knew during his days as a quarterback at Appalachian State, gifted South Carolina a Paul Bunyan-esque effort in the Gamecocks’ most explosive offensive performance since scoring 42 points in a Nov. 28 loss at Ole Miss that resulted in Will Muschamp’s firing.
Twice Noland silenced the “throw to the tight end” crowd with strikes to, first, Nick Muse and, second, a diving Jaheim Bell for South Carolina’s first two scores of the evening.
Following the Gamecocks’ opening touchdown, offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield delivered a delectable dose of trickeration with a direct toss to Muse, who scampered three yards into the end zone for a two-point conversion.
Gifted a short field after a blocked punt by freshman linebacker Debo Williams, Noland found the end zone for the third time just over 18 minutes into the contest as he found receiver Josh Vann on a crossing route to give South Carolina a 22-0 lead shortly into the second quarter.
Noland completed his quartet when he hit running back ZaQuandre White in the left-hand flat. White then hopped over an Eastern Illinois defensive back to find pay dirt with 34 seconds remaining in the half.
Following a 36-yard Parker White field goal, White added an exclamation point on his dynamic night with a 63-yard scamper for his second touchdown of the night in the fourth quarter.
Former five-star recruit Jordan Burch added the final exclamation point on Saturday’s slaughtering with a 60-yard pick-six with just under eight minutes remaining.
Trotting off the field to give way to backup quarterback Jason Brown at the end of the third quarter, Noland departed the playing surface at Williams-Brice 13 of 22 for 121 yards and four scores.
In short, South Carolina should’ve dominated Eastern Illinois. The Gamecocks headed into Saturday’s game as a more than 40-point favorite. Thanks to an all-time performance from a player who was added to the roster less than three weeks ago, they did just that.
First Down
With Kevin Harris sidelined as he continues to recover from an offseason back procedure, White kept his hype train motoring right along.
White led all Gamecocks rushers with 133 yards on 12 touches, while his 63-yard score was South Carolina’s longest scoring play of the evening. He also recorded four receptions for 39 yards to lead all pass catchers.
Offsides
Bell notched two personal foul penalties on returns Saturday. South Carolina played a largely clean game, but Bell earned flags on a pair of punt returns first for a blindside block and a second for a late shove.
South Carolina also saw two touchdowns called back in the seecond half due to penalties. A Jaylan Foster pick-six was negated on an offsides call, while a 65-yard run by Bell came back on a hold by Muse.
Touchdown
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer and special teams coordinator Pete Lembo earned their paychecks Saturday night as the Gamecocks notched two first half punt blocks.
Beamer, whose background is in special teams, and Lembo had lauded the Gamecocks effort on special teams through camp. Both blocks Saturday resulted in touchdown passes from Noland.
ICYMI
Noland, who earned his first start in a South Carolina uniform, became the third different quarterback to start a season opener for the Gamecocks since 2018.
South Carolina has not had a quarterback start consecutive season openers since Jake Bentley did so in 2018 and 2019.
Key Numbers
15 — South Carolina’s 15 first quarter points were its most in the first quarter of a season opener since 2013 against North Carolina.
4 — Noland became the first Gamecocks quarterback since Jake Bentley in 2018 to hit the four touchdown mark. Bentley threw for five on Nov. 24 2018 against Clemson.
Next game
Who: South Carolina at East Carolina
When: Noon Sept. 11
Where: at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Greenville, NC
TV: ESPN2