Charleston Southern ends 14-game skid with late touchdown to beat SC State 31-24

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Ke'Marion Baldwin ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns, the second one coming with 1:03 to play, and Charleston Southern ended a 14-game losing streak with a 31-24 win over in-state rival South Carolina State on Saturday night.

Baldwin's 10-yard run capped a six-play, 65-yard drive for the Buccaneers' first win since beating Furman 24-20 on Sept. 7, 2024. They went 1-11 last season and had the longest losing streak in FCS.

Charleston Southern got the momentum when Champ Brantley went 64 yards with a fumble just a minute before halftime for a 21-14 lead.

The Buccaneers had a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter but the Bulldogs were marching for their third-straight touchdown when Tyler Smith took a swing pass out of the backfield, but lost the ball into the air when he was submarined, and the ball floated to Brantley.

Zolten Osborne was 13-of-28 passing for 198 yards with an interception and a touchdown for the Buccaneers (1-4). Quay Kindell had the 38-yard receiving touchdown to open the scoring and Chris Rhone had five catches for 106 yards. Baldwin's 26-yard scoring run made it 14-0.

Ryan Stubblefield had a pair of short touchdown runs to cap long drives in the second quarter for the Bulldogs (2-3). He was 18-of-24 for 194 yards passing and ran for 80. Smith ran for 85 yards and a touchdown to tie the game at 21 midway through the third quarter.

The teams traded field goals in the fourth quarter.

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