COLUMBIA, S. C. — South Carolina overcame four interceptions by first-time starter Tommy Beecher to give Steve Spurrier his 16 th consecutive opening-game victory, 34-0 over North Carolina State on Thursday night.

Mike Davis and Taylor Rank had rushing touchdowns, and Dion LeCorn and Jared Cook caught touchdown passes from backup Chris Smelley to lift the Gamecocks and keep alive Spurrier’s first-week streak that began in 1990 at Florida.

The Wolfpack, shut out 37-0 by Maryland to end last season, was held scoreless in consecutive games for the first time since 1956.

For Spurrier, it was also the first taste of victory since last October when a 21-15 victory at North Carolina pushed the Gamecocks to 6-1 and had him cocky about bigger things ahead.

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Instead, South Carolina collapsed with five consecutive losses, the longest stretch of Spurrier’s stellar career.

Beecher finished 12 of 22 for 106 yards. He was two interceptions shy of the Gamecocks single-game mark, set by Glenn Morris in a 17-7 loss to Clemson in 1971.

Lucky for the Gamecocks their defense was there to clean up the mess.

A frightening moment came when Wolfpack freshman quarterback Russell Wilson, starting his first game, was carted off the field. Wilson was motionless as he was strapped to backboard and rolled onto a cart. He extended his thumbs upward to acknowledge the cheers of the players and fans at Williams-Brice Stadium.

North Carolina State officials announced Wilson had a gradethree concussion and was doing well after going to the hospital. He was scheduled for more tests. VANDERBILT 34, MIAMI (OHIO ) 13

OXFORD, Ohio — Vanderbilt quarterback Chris Nickson rushed for a career-high 166 yards and two touchdowns and passed for another touchdown to lead the Commodores to a victory over Miami of Ohio.

The victory was the first for the Commodores since Oct. 27, when they beat Miami 24-13. Vanderbilt then needed just one more victory to become bowl-eligible but lost the final four games of the regular season.

Miami’s only lead Thursday came on a 37-yard field goal by Nathan Parseghian early in the first quarter. Vanderbilt went ahead for good when Nickson and Sean Walker hooked up for a 49-yard completion and then a 4-yard touchdown pass.

Vandy defensive back D. J. Moore’s interception led to a 42-yard field goal, and Moore later returned a punt 91 yards to the Miami 1, and Nickson scored from there to put the Commodores on top 17-3. Nickson was 9 of 16 for 91 yards. Miami’s Daniel Raudabaugh was 19 of 41 for 244 yards, with 1 touchdown and 3 interceptions.

TOP 25 NO. 23 WAKE FOREST 41, BAYLOR 13 WACO, Texas — Riley Skinner threw three touchdown passes, two to Chip Brinkman, and Wake Forest played up to its first preseason ranking in school history with a victory over Baylor. Skinner completed 27 of 36 for 220 yards, adding a 43-yard touchdown strike to Ben Wooster in third quarter. He also earned his 19 th career victory, a school record for a quarterback.

SUN BELT TROY 31, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 17 MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — DuJuan Harris ran for 148 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Troy to a victory over Middle Tennessee to open Sun Belt Conference play. Harris scored on a 5-yard pass from Jamie Hampton to cap a nine-play, 70-yard drive with 11: 40 left in the second quarter. The Trojans capitalized on two Blue Raiders turnovers to build a 17-3 lead in the first half. Harris scored on runs of 5, 33 and 13 yards. Joe Craddock, who completed 20 of 32 passes, threw for 200 yards and a 46-yard touchdown for Middle Tennessee. OTHER GAMES Graig Cooper had a 66-yard punt return for a touchdown and rushed for another score, quarterback Jacory Harris accounted for two touchdowns and Miami moved into its new home stadium with a 52-7 seasonopening victory over Charleston Southern.... Jonathan Dwyer and quarterback Josh Nesbitt each ran for two touchdowns, Morgan Burnett intercepted two first-half passes by LSU transfer Ryan Perrilloux and Georgia Tech beat Jacksonville State 41-14 in Atlanta.... Dustin Grutza threw three touchdowns and ran for another in Cincinnati’s 40-7 victory over Eastern Kentucky in Cincinnati.... Drew Willy threw four touchdown passes to help Buffalo open its season with a 42-17 victory over Texas-El Paso at Amherst, N. Y.... Austen Arnaud threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in his first career start, and Iowa State returned five interceptions for a school-record 202 yards in a 44-17 rout of South Dakota State at Ames, Iowa.... Nate Davis passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns as Ball State beat Northeastern 48-14 in the season opener for both teams at Muncie, Ind.