There sure wasn't much in the way of football -- well, interesting football -- in South Carolina's Williams-Brice Stadium for the vast majority of Thursday night.

Until the waning minutes, N.C. State and the Gamecocks collectively pieced together an offensive performance so completely inept that neither side honestly deserved to win. But since the rule book clearly states that scores should be maintained at opening-season games, South Carolina got to write down a 34-0 win.

How often, though, do you see a winning team throw four interceptions and barely dodge a fifth?

Then again, the Wolfpack had almost as trouble connecting on snaps as South Carolina starting quarterback Tommy Beecher had avoiding State defensive backs. And if the Gamecocks' air game bore little resemblance to what fans normally associate with a Steve Spurrier team, State's quarterbacks struggled infinitely more.

Before leaving with a concussion with just over four minutes left in the first half, starter Russell Wilson completed only one of five throws. Reliever Daniel Evans never came close to finding a comfort zone against an Ellis Johnson-coached defensive unit that was touted in preseason to be among the best in the Southeastern Conference.

Evans, a senior who started eight games in 2007, gave way to third-stringer Harrison Beck with almost seven minutes left in the game.

Until Wilson's injury, the Wolfpack's offense was unexpectedly diverse but still largely ineffective. In a stark departure from the 2007 Pack and most of his previous 10 seasons at Boston College, State coach Tom O'Brien turned to several read-option plays that were obviously installed to make use of Wilson's quickness and elusiveness.

Perhaps the strategy would have worked had Wilson been able to avoid the injury. When he left, the game was scoreless and State had the ball on South Carolina's 35-yard-line.

Even into the fourth quarter, the Wolfpack had hope. The Gamecocks had managed to extend their lead to 13-0 but had only 161 yards of total offense and were struggling to find any sort of pop.

But State, which finished with 138 offensive yards, finally collapsed under the strain of so little production. The defense that had generally played well for most of the game caved late, allowing Gamecocks quarterback sub Chris Smelley to connect on two late touchdown passes. He finished 5-for-5 for 92 yards and looked like Tom Brady, compared to other quarterbacks in the game.

State now returns to Raleigh to face what should be an outmanned William & Mary this week, but the impact of Thursday night will linger. Unless a productive quarterback can emerge, the offense almost certainly will sputter for weeks to come.

It was simply an ugly night with ugly implications for the Wolfpack.

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