RALEIGH — In a season-opening struggle defined by defense, South Carolina freshman defensive back Stephon Gilmore made up for a pass interference penalty by finishing with the game’s biggest highlight.

Gilmore deflected a pass intended for Wolfpack receiver Jarvis Williams on 4th-and-11 with three minutes to play in the fourth quarter as the Gamecocks held on for a 7-3 win over North Carolina State at Carter-Finley Stadium, spoiling coach Tom O’Brien’s season opener for the second straight season.

"We weren't able to get anything consistently going on offense," O'Brien said. "We had one sustained drive all night that ended with nothing out of it."

The Wolfpack mustered 133 total yards of offense and were handled at the line of scrimmage by a quick and athletic Gamecocks defensive line. South Carolina sacked quarterback Russell Wilson six times, including two from Eric Norwood, and held the All-ACC signal caller to 74 yards passing on 23 attempts.

“With our pass protection, we had Russell Wilson running around too much,” O’Brien said.

The game began with a nightmarish start for N.C. State as Toney Baker fumbled on the first play from scrimmage at his own 10-yard line. South Carolina recovered and scored three plays later on a 1-yard plunge from Brian Maddox with 9:10 left in the first quarter, supplying the Gamecocks with their only touchdown of the game.

N.C. State finally got on the scoreboard with 56 seconds left in the third quarter on a field goal from Josh Czajkowski. The 43-yard boot ended the Wolfpack’s seven-quarter scoreless streak against the Gamecocks.

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier was not pleased with the offense’s performance after the game and said maybe it’s time for him to call the plays after such a poor showing.

“We’re a struggling offensive team right now,” Spurrier said, “but if we can get those guys going, get our guys going, I think we have a chance to have a real good season. … We’ve got to find some offense somehow..”

Spurrier was pleased with the Gamecocks’ defensive performance and said he was confident that his players would keep Wilson in check.

“We got a lot of athletes, a lot of good players,” Spurrier said. “If we can get those guys over on offense to play as well as our defense, we’ll have a solid team here.”

South Carolina has won ten consecutive season openers, including a 5-0 mark under Spurrier.

N.C. State plays its next game at home Sept. 12 against Murray State. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. Meanwhile, South Carolina is off until a Sept. 12 trip to Georgia for its Southeastern Conference opener.