COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolinas offense finally opened things up this season. Freshman quarterback Jake Bentley was a big reason why.Bentley threw for two touchdowns and 201 yards Saturday in his first college game to lead the Gamecocks to a 34-28 victory over Massachusetts. The victory matched the Gamecocks total from their dysfunctional 2015 season and was the most points they had scored this fall.We just really opened up the playbook when Jake was back there, because we know he can throw it very well, said receiver Deebo Samuel, who had eight catches for 106 yards.South Carolina coach Will Muschamp was expecting to redshirt Bentley this season before the teams mounting offensive problems -- they entered dead last in points per game in the Football Bowl Subdivision -- left the first-year coach open to any solution.Bentley proved the right answer against the Minutemen (1-7). He led the Gamecocks (3-4) to touchdowns on their first two series, and then threw a pair of pretty fade passes for TD, the first from 16 yards out to K.C. Crosby and later a 24-yarder to Bryan Edwards to lead 27-7.When UMass cut things to 34-28 with less than 5 minutes left, Bentley accounted for 30 yards to help the Gamecocks run out the clock.Muschamp said he and quarterbacks coach Kurt Roper decided Bentley had improved enough from August until now to be a positive change for the teams attack. Bentley had waited for his shot behind senior Perry Orth and fellow freshman Brandon McIlwain, who had each started three games this season.At the end of the day, we felt like he had progressed very well, he said.Bentley was not available to the media per Muschamps rules against letting freshman do interviews.Running back David Williams ran for two 1-yard TDs for South Carolina, but said he was excited about Bentleys debut.Ive just been impressed since I met, his IQ, how comfortable he is, leading the Gamecocks, Williams said.Muschamp was frustrated with his defense, especially in the second half when the Minutemen rallied.It was an excited locker room because we won, he said. But its also a locker room that knows it made mistakes and corrections have to be made.UMass did its share to help with three turnovers in the opening half, two which led to two South Carolina scores.Tight end Adam Breneman had two TD catches for Massachusetts, which fell to 0-3 against Southeastern Conference teams this fall.THE TAKEAWAYMASSACHUSETTS: UMass has been outscored 131-77 in its four games this season against teams from the Power 5 conferences.SOUTH CAROLINA: Its future -- and offensive recovery -- may have started with Bentley behind center. The freshman, wholl turn 19 next month, is sure to have some bumps ahead, maybe as soon as next weeks home game against No. 18 Tennessee. But there was little benefit keeping the strong-armed Bentley on the bench if he could spark up the offense this season.SOUTH CAROLINAS RUN GAMEAfter gaining only 30 yards in a 28-14 loss to Georgia two weeks ago, Gamecock runners put up 194 yards against the Minutemen. Freshman Rico Dowdle led the way with 87 yards and Williams had 69 yards.NEAR MISSESBreneman said UMass knows how close it has come in its games with the SEC this season -- losing 24-7 to Florida and 47-35 to Mississippi State before the South Carolina game.Is it impressive that weve played with three SEC teams so far and you look back on it and see that we couldve won all three of those games if we wouldve made one less mistake, Breneman said. At the same time, at some point, being close isnt good enough. I think thats the feeling in the locker room.UP NEXTMASSACHUSETTS: The Minutemen return home to play Football Championship Subdivision opponent Wagner. The game ends the UMass home season as it finishes with games at Troy, BYU and Hawaii.SOUTH CAROLINA: The Gamecocks go back to the Southeastern Conference grinder against No. 18 Tennessee. The Gamecocks have only won two SEC games the past two seasons and will face a difficult challenge against the Vols, who are in the thick of the Eastern Division chase. Wade Baldwin Jersey . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. Evan Turner Jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. http://www.cheapblazersjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-jusuf-nurkic-jersey . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. C.J. McCollum Jersey . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. Wholesale Blazers Jerseys . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. WACO, Texas -- On the same day Baylor seniors will be honored before their final home game on the banks of the Brazos River, true freshman quarterback Zach Smith gets his first career start for the Bears.Baylor (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) goes into its home finale Saturday against Kansas State with a three-game losing streak and without senior quarterback Seth Russell, who had season-ending surgery this week after a gruesome left ankle injury in a loss last weekend at Oklahoma.Its really heartbreaking what happened to Seth, but I mean I just have to honor him and go in there and do what I know I can do, said Smith, who has appeared in six games behind Russell.I feel good about Zach, acting head coach Jim Grobe said. Hes just the kind of guy that you want. Hes a smart quarterback, he takes his role very seriously, he tries to do exactly what hes coached to do.Smith will be making his first start against one of the Big 12s best defenses. Kansas State has allowed 393 total yards per game -- the only conference team allowing less than 400 a game. (The Wildcats had one game shortened to a half because of bad weather.)The Wildcats (5-4, 3-3) need one more win to get bowl eligible for the seventh year in a row and 18th time overall under coach Bill Snyder. They are coming off an open date after another heartbreaking Big 12 loss .We got to rest a little bit and we have been practicing basic stuff like running to the ball and tackling, senior linebacker Charmeachealle Moore said. I think we are just ready to play.Kansas State lost its last game at home to No. 13 Oklahoma State, which scored two quick touchdowns in the fourth quarter and won 43-37 after the Wildcats opted to punt on fourth-and-inches. In their conference opener at No. 10 West Virginia, K-State blew a 13-0 halftime lead and gave up a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns in a 17-16 loss.The downside is you can lose the continuity, to a certain degree, of playing every single week, Snyder said about the extra time sincee the last game.dddddddddddd Obviously, there are positive things like giving the players a peace of mind, so to speak, not that there are any real significant days off, but nevertheless the opportunity to not be under the gun constantly.Some other things to know when Baylor goes for its fifth consecutive victory in the series against the Wildcats:SHOCK IS BACKBaylor career rushing leader Shock Linwood is back after a one-game suspension for what Grobe described as attitude issues. Grobe, without elaborating, said that Linwood had made corrections. I like to give kids a reminder once in a while that their behavior is more important than their ability on the football field, Grobe said. Im expecting were going to get a guy that comes back and does all the things we want him to do.ALMOST 200Bill Snyder earlier this season became only the seventh FBS coach with 300 games at the same school. This will be his 305th game, and now hes going for his 199th victory in his 25 seasons with the Wildcats. His currently ranks first among active FBS coaches for wins at their current schools.ANOTHER FRESHMAN QBThis is the second consecutive year that a true freshman Baylor quarterback gets his first career start against Kansas State. Jarrett Stidham, who left Baylor last summer, threw for 419 yards and three TDs in a 31-24 win at K-State last year after Russell had suffered a season-ending neck injury.CENTURY SIGNAL CALLERKansas State quarterback Jesse Ertz has had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games. Ertz is the Big 12s best rushing quarterback with 70 yards per game.SENIOR MOMENTSThere will be 13 Baylor seniors who will be honored during pregame ceremonies. This senior class has been part of a 38-10 record and the schools only two Big 12 football championships.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '