FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – West Virginia saw its four-game winning streak come to an end in the Carquest Bowl as South Carolina took advantage of costly WVU turnovers and penalties enroute to a 24-21 victory.
 
USC struck first, recovering a WVU fumble on the first play of the game and driving 35 yards for the score. Steve Taneyhill hit Boomer Foster from two yards out and Reed Morton converted the PAT.
 
That lead was extended to 10-0 early in the second quarter when Morton drilled a bowl-record 47-yard field goal.
 
WVU got on the board when Robert Walker bolted 24 yards for a score. Todd Sauerbrun's PAT cut the lead to 10-7.
 
Taneyhill, the game's MVP, then marched the Gamecocks 66 yards in 13 plays, capping the drive by scrambling up the middle to escape the swarming Mountaineer pass rush and scoring from four yards out. Morton's PAT made it 17-7 at the half.
 
Lovett Purnell got the Mountaineers back within three, snaring a six-yard toss from Chad Johnston on WVU's first drive of the second half.
 
Following a USC punt, WVU drove to the Carolina 29, but Ben Washington picked off an errant Johnston aerial and returned it to midfield. USC bumped the lead back to 10 when Stanley Pritchett dove in from a yard out.
 
Once again, the Mountaineers answered the Gamecock score by driving 70 yards in seven plays. Johnston hit a diving Purnell from seven yards and Sauerbrun's PAT closed the gap to 24-21.
 
WVU threatened late in the fourth quarter before being held on downs with 3:52 left. While attempting to run out the clock, Carolina's Pritchett broke free and was heading in for a score when Aaron Beasley came from behind and stripped the ball. Following a mad scramble, WVU took possession at the three with 1:14 left. However, two incompletions and a sack were all the Mountaineers could muster.
 
Individually, Johnston was 19-32 through the air for 240 yards and two scores while Walker had 132 yards on 16 carries. Zach Abraham led the receiving corps with seven catches for 107 yards. Defensive standouts included J.T. Thomas with 11 tackles and a sack and Charles Emanuel and Vann Washington with 10 tackles apiece.
 

	1	2	3	4	Final
South Carolina	7	10	7	0	24
West Virginia	0	7	14	0	21

USC - Boomer Foster 2 yard pass from Steve Taneyhill (Reed Morton kick)
USC - Morton 47 field goal
WVU - Robert Walker 24 run (Bryan Baumann kick)
USC - Tanneyhill 4 run (Morton kick)
WVU - Lovett Purnell 6 pass from Chad Johnston (Baumann kick)
USC - Stanley Pritchett 1 run (Morton kick)
WVU - Purnell 7 pass from Johnston (Baumann kick)

Attendance - 50,853