ATLANTA — Beamer Ball reared its head in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday afternoon, and not in a good way for Virginia Tech.
Vicari Swain returned a fourth-quarter punt 80 yards for a touchdown to give No. 13 South Carolina some breathing room in an eventual 24-11 win against the Hokies.
Fitting that a game featuring a Beamer — legendary Hokies coach Frank Beamer’s son Shane is the big whistle for the Gamecocks — turned on a special teams play, a highlight-reel return that sent the Hokies (0-1) to another loss full of what-ifs.
Clinging to a 10-8 lead in what had turned into a defensive battle early in the fourth quarter, the Gamecocks (1-0) got the big break they were looking for.
Virginia Tech gave up possession on what seemed like a standard punt that went out of bounds at the South Carolina 26-yard line. The Hokies got flagged for an illegal formation, however, and Shane Beamer opted for the 5-yard penalty and a re-kick.
Nick Veltsistas boomed his second punt 57 yards to the South Carolina 20, but it gave Swain room to operate. He weaved through the Hokies’ coverage and got the sideline, breaking a tackle, dodging a diving Veltsistas, spinning out of two more tackles and diving over the goal line for a thrilling 80-yard touchdown that put the Gamecocks ahead 17-8.
John Love’s third field goal of the day got Virginia Tech within 17-11, but South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers hit the Hokies with a dagger on the ensuing drive. The sophomore dropped a perfectly placed deep ball into the arms of a streaking Nyck Harbor for a 64-yard touchdown that made it 24-11 with 7:42 remaining.
Outside of the opening drive, Tech mostly contained Sellers on the ground, holding the Heisman hopeful to 25 yards on 13 carries when accounting for four sacks, but he finished with 209 yards in the air, with the game-clincher to Harbor.
Virginia Tech quarterback Kyron Drones threw for 222 yards but was just 15-for-35 and got picked off twice in a disjointed Hokies offensive attack that featured enough miscues to keep them out of the end zone for the first time since the Louisville game in 2023.
It’s marked Hokies head coach Brent Pry’s third season-opening loss in four years.
South Carolina looked like it might run roughshod over the Hokies early, slicing through the Tech defense and going 75 yards in just seven plays on an opening drive that didn’t feature linebacker Caleb Woodson, who did not start after being charged with a DWI last weekend.
The Gamecocks got into the end zone on a 15-yard third-down keeper by Sellers for a 7-0 lead less than three minutes in.
The Hokies nearly had an answer a few drives later, but Drones forced a third-down pass across his body into double coverage in the end zone and was picked off by South Carolina’s Fred Johnson.
New coordinator Sam Siefkes’ Hokies defense settled in around then, however. After the Gamecocks started the possession at their 2-yard line, the Hokies collapsed the pocket on second down, with tackles Kelvin Gilliam and Emmett Laws meeting at the quarterback, taking him down for a safety to cut the USC lead to 7-2.
Virginia Tech wideout Donavon Greene caught a ball on a crossing pattern early in the second quarter, racing 37 yards before being hit late out of bounds. The personal foul gave Virginia Tech the ball at the South Carolina 11. The Hokies couldn’t advance any further but got a 29-yard field goal from Love to pull within 7-5 with 13:45 left before halftime.
After digging out of a second-and-33 situation with a big run by Rahsul Faison, South Carolina looked like it got into the end zone for a second time when Harbor reeled in a third-down pass near the sideline. Hokies safety Tyson Flowers stuck with the play, however, swiping at it late and jarring the ball loose as Harbor went to the ground.
After a review, officials overturned the call. The Gamecocks settled for a 27-yard field goal by William Joyce to take a 10-5 lead with 3:42 left in the half.
A slow two-minute drive by Virginia Tech got the ball to the USC 38-yard line, setting up a 56-yard field goal at the halftime gun by Love to pull the Hokies within 10-8. Love improved to 4-for-6 on kicks of 50-plus yards in his career.
With the game there for the taking, the Hokies had a couple of promising drives derariled in the third quarter. Takye Heath dropped a sure-fire third-down conversion pass that would have moved the ball across midfield on the opening drive. Instead, Tech punted.
After Greene hauled in a spectacular one-handed catch while being interfered with on the next drive, moving the ball into South Carolina territory, the Hokies imploded.
South Carolina end Dylan Stewart blew past Tomas Rimac off the edge for a sack. Compounding the issues, Greene got an unnecessary roughness penalty that tacked on another 15 yards, backing the Hokies up into a second-and-32 situation.
They ended up punting again, a common theme in a game of attrition until Swain’s spectacular return early in the fourth.
Box Score: No. 13 South Carolina 24, Virginia Tech 11
