Thompson had plenty to celebrate this afternoon.

A final line of 21-of-37 for 330 yard and three touchdowns, no interceptions and one fumble, plus eight carries for 26 yards. Not bad for a kid who’d never started a college football game before.

Those numbers belong to one Dylan Thompson, the redshirt sophomore  who started against East Carolina today in place of the injured Connor Shaw. Spurrier announced Thompson as the starter an hour or so before the game and added after the game that there was really no chance that Shaw was going to play, because he still has pain in his shoulder when he throws.

Luckily for us, the overwhelmed guy who couldn’t complete a pass last week at Vanderbilt was replaced today by the confident leader who completed passes to more than 10 different receivers.

The No. 9 Gamecocks scored early and often this afternoon. Thompson’s first few snaps were rough, but the first TD came less than a minute and a half into the game. Thompson settled down, Damiere Byrd caught a long pass, and then Marcus Lattimore took it the final six yards to the house. That was his 33rd career touchdown, which ties a school record. Thompson was clearly fired up following the score, and he stayed that way throughout the game.

ECU tried to get on the board a few possessions later, but their field goal attempt was no good. That would end up being the theme of the day for the Pirates, really.

Carolina scored again on their next possession, this time on a nice catch by Buster Anderson. That put them up 14-0 at the end fo the first quarter, and they added another touchdown just under three minutes into the second quarter. DeAngelo Smith hauled in his first career TD on a 30-yard pass, which put USC up 21-0. At the point in the game, the Cocks had rolled up close to 300 yards of offense; they had 272 total yards against Vandy.

The Gamecocks picked off the Pirates twice before the half came to a close, and they took their three touchdown lead into the locker room. Unfortunately for ECU, they didn’t let up once the second half started.

Shaq Wilson picked off East Carolina back up QB Shane Carden and Thompson hit DL Moore with a nice pass right down the middle of the field to make the score 28-0. The problems continued for the Pirates, as Jimmy Legree tried to strip the ball from an ECU player, but an official review overturned the call. No worries for Legree, though, who picked off a pass from Pirates starter Rio Johnson and took it to the house to put the Cocks up 35-0. ECU was intercepted four times today.

The Pirates finally got on the board in the third quarter, putting up a field goal, but USC just wouldn’t quit. The Gamecocks brought in some trickeration and scored another TD on a play that involved Ace Sanders and Moore. East Carolina managed to get a touchdown of their own, but it was clearly much too little, too late.

Seth Strickland came in to replace Thompson late in the game and had a hand in one more touchdown, another one for Anderson, who now has 12 career catches with five of them being TDs.

Thompson was obviously stellar today, and Andre Ware went so far as to insist multiple times during the broadcast that there will know be a QB controversy at South Carolina and Thompson will be our guy going forward. No offense to Dylan, but ECU is not exactly lighting it up. I would be totally okay with seeing him against UAB next week, but when Connor’s healthy, he’s got to be the No. 1 guy. Coach Spurrier and Thompson both echoed that sentiment after the game, so there, Andre.

Lattimore saw limited action today, especially in the second half, and finished the day with 13 carries for 40 yards and a TD.  Anderson had four catches for 90 yards and two touchdowns and Moore had two receptions for 45 yards and two TDs. Our offense and defense seemed to be clicking much better this week than last, but our kicking game continues to struggle. Hopefully that’ll improve sooner rather than later.

As for ECU, pretty much nothing went right for them today. Between the turnovers, the missed field goal, challenging a call and losing a timeout, and just their general ineptitude on the field, it was a rough day to be a Pirates fan. They were overmatched and outplayed for almost the entire game, save for when USC tried some weird play on the extra point after the trickeration play that just resulted in everyone looking confused. Justin Hardy was one bright spot for the Pirates, as he had eight catches for over 100 yards and a touchdown.

South Carolina outgained East Carolina in total yardage 528-403, and each team played a clean game, woth only three total penalties being called.

The only real disappointment of the day wasn’t on the field, though. The student section was nearly empty after halftime, and the stadium as a whole had cleared out considerably. Spurrier talked about it post-game, saying “the party can wait” and expressing his disappointment over the absence of fans late in the game. I know it was a blowout and it was hot outside, but do better next week, Gamecock Nation.

Obviously the starting quarterback for the next game has yet to be determined, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the guys either split time or Dylan gets the nod again. Carolina will be home again next weekend to take on UAB at 7 ET.