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RALEIGH — After losing two seasons to two knee surgeries, No. 22 waited two years and two days to carry the football again.

He held it for about 2 seconds.

Toney Baker's fumble on N.C. State's first play from scrimmage of the new season was just the first of a parade of ragged plays by the Wolfpack's offense in a 7-3 loss to South Carolina on Thursday night at sold-out Carter-Finley Stadium.

"First carry of the game, I fumble the football," said Baker, the fifth-year senior from Jamestown who starred at Ragsdale. "I don't really know what happened. ... I just lost the ball. It's not what I had in mind for my first play back."

The Gamecocks (1-0) made Baker's fumble hurt. Devin Taylor recovered the ball at the 14, and South Carolina tailback Brian Maddox ran four straight times, crashing over the goal line from the 1 for the game's only touchdown.

"That definitely hurt," Baker said. "I mean, that was their only score of the game.

"I think as a whole on offense we could've done a lot better. After that first carry, I think I did my job all right. But we've got to get better as an offense. We feel like we're a much better offense than we showed tonight."

N.C. State's offense looked out of sync from the get-go.

All-ACC quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked six times. The sophomore finished 12-for-23 passing for just 74 yards. His longest completion of the game was a 15-yarder to Owen Spencer, and it was the only one longer than 8 yards.

Even so, the Wolfpack (0-1) had one last chance to win. N.C. State ran four plays from the 32 on its last possession. Jay Smith dropped a pass in the end zone that Wilson threaded between two defenders. Wilson's pass over the middle went through tight end George Bryan's hands. Wilson was sacked on third down, and his fourth-down pass to Jarvis Williams in the end zone was broken up by South Carolina defensive back Stephon Gilmore.

Both Williams and Gilmore got their hands on the ball. Gilmore knocked it to the turf.

"You look at those four downs, we got three balls of the four hit our hands," N.C. State coach Tom O'Brien said. "And we don't catch one of them. So we had opportunities to make the plays and didn't make them."

Missed opportunities told the story of the game.

The Gamecocks won in spite of themselves. South Carolina had a touchdown pass nullified by a offensive pass interference penalty.

The Gamecocks botched snap on a short field-goal attempt and got no points. South Carolina's Spencer Lanning missed a chip-shot 27-yard field goal.

And N.C. State? Playing behind a patchwork offensive line, the Wolfpack managed three first downs and 41 yards of offense in the first half.

N.C. State's only points came in the third quarter when Josh Czajkowski kicked a 43-yard field goal to cap a seven-play, 35-yard drive that included Wilson's 15-yard completion to Spencer. Wilson was also sacked during the series, and he lost a fumble while running toward the sideline — a call reversed on a replay challenge.

"This is a team that understands that maybe we let one slip away," O'Brien said.

NOTES: Baker finished with eight carries for 27 yards, and he caught two passes for 8 yards. ... Senior running back Jamelle Eugene left the game with an injury after carrying the ball nine times for a team-high 38 yards. ... N.C. State lost starting left tackle Jake Vermiglio in the second quarter. The 315-pound junior watched the rest of the game from the sideline on crutches, his left calf wrapped in an Ace bandage. ... Vermiglio's replacement, freshman Andrew Wallace, was flagged for three penalties — two nullified plays that would've given the Wolfpack first downs. ... O'Brien made good on his promise to get backup quarterback Mike Glennon into the game in a meaningful spot in the second quarter. Glennon played one three-and-out series on N.C. State's final possession before halftime.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com

South Carolina 7 0 0 0 — 7
N.C. State 0 0 3 0 — 3

SC—Maddox 1 run (Lanning kick)

NCSt—FG Czajkowski 43, :56.

A—57,583.

... ... SC ... NCSt
First downs ... 16 ... 11
Rushes-yards ... 42-108 ... 31-59
Passing ... 148 ... 74
Comp-Att-Int ... 13-22-1 ... 13-25-0
Return Yards ... 19 ... 42
Punts-Avg. ... 6-41.7 ... 7-33.7
Fumbles-Lost ... 2-0 2... -1
Penalties-Yards ... 3-45 ... 4-23
Time of Possession ... 32:25 ... 27:35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING
South Carolina—Maddox 23-66, DiMarco 5-19, Garcia 8-16, Giles 5-13, Flint 1-(minus 6).
N.C. State—Eugene 9-36, Baker 8-24, Washington 3-16, R.Wilson 11-(minus 17).

PASSING
South Carolina—Garcia 13-22-1-148.
N.C. State—R.Wilson 12-23-0-74, Glennon 1-2-0-0.

RECEIVING
South Carolina—Saunders 4-50, Gurley 4-34, M. Brown 3-54, DiMarco 1-5, A. Jeffery 1-5.
N.C. State—Bryan 4-22, Howard 2-13, Ja. Williams 2-10, Baker 2-8, Spencer 1-15, Davis 1-6, T.Gentry 1-0.