COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kamario Taylor threw for 251 yards and four touchdowns as Mississippi State rallied from 16 points down to beat South Carolina 41-34 Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The Gamecocks (2-1, 0-1 SEC) created a 16-0 lead on LaNorris Sellers’ touchdown pass and three field goals by first-time kicker Malik Orson in the SEC opener for both teams.

However, once Taylor got going, so did the Bulldogs. The quarterback had scoring passes of 30 yards to Sanfrisco Magee and 43 yards to Zion Ragins to start the comeback.

Taylor’s 23-yard TD pass to Marquis Johnson drew the Bulldogs within 23-21 and then moved in front on a five-yard scoring toss to Anthony Evans.

Fluff Bothwell ran for a season-high 115 yards to lead Mississippi State (3-0, 1-0), his second straight game over 100 yards rushing. Taylor finished 18-of-24 passing with an interception on his first throw of the game. His four touchdowns tied his career high.

Sellers completed 25 of 40 passes for 282 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions. Tailback Matt Fuller ran for a 6-yard score and had a 25-yard TD pass that cut the Bulldogs lead to 41-31 with under four minutes to play.

Orson hit a career-long 52-yard field goal with 52 seconds left to make it 41-34.

For a second week consecutive week, a South Carolina game was hampered because of a weather delay. Saturday’s start was delayed an hour and 20 minutes due to persistent lightning near Williams-Brice Stadium.

The Gamecocks’ 45-9 win over Towson on Sept. 12 was halted for more than hour due to inclement weather.

–photo and story courtesy of South Carolina Athletics