Box Score COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict Tigers went into the halftime locker room optimistic, trailing the South Carolina State Bulldogs 14-0 after failing to score on three prime opportunities. But the Bulldogs came alive in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 49-0 in the second half to take a 63-0 victory in the 20^th annual Palmetto Capital City Classic on Saturday at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium in the 2014 season opener for both teams.

"They're a very, very good football team with a lot of speed. I thought we could throw the football on them earlier, but they're faster than I thought they were," Benedict coach James Woody said. "They controlled the line of scrimmage. We couldn't stop them in the second half. And that's the bottom line. That Division I depth kicked in in the third and fourth quarter. But I'm proud of the kids."

The Bulldogs went 46 yards on nine plays on their first drive on the contest to score a 5-yard rushing touchdown by Jalen Simmons. Quarterback Adrian Kollock Jr. scored on a 39-yard run on the first play of the second quarter for a 14-0 S.C. State lead.

Benedict had three excellent scoring opportunities late in the first half, but came away empty each time.

The Tigers drove to the Bulldog 12-yard line, but quarterback Cameron Stover lost two yards on second down and then threw two incomplete passes. The Bulldogs fumbled the ball back to the Tigers with Charles Powell recovering the loose ball at the 17-yard line. A 12-yard rush by George Myers Jr. gave the Tigers a first-and-goal at the 5-yard line, but the drive stalled with a 1-yard rush and three incomplete passes. The Bulldogs fumbled the ball on their next series, and the Tigers took another shot at the end zone but Stover threw an interception at the 1-yard line with 24 seconds left in the half.

Woody said his halftime speech centered on those missed opportunities in the first half.

"We wanted to be more consistent in the red zone," Woody said. "The defense did what I asked them to do in the first half – create turnovers. We've got to score off the turnovers, and we didn't do it. We've got to find a way to get the ball into the end zone, and it's up to me to get that job done."

The first-half was a wake-up call for the Bulldogs, though.

"I told them we had to play a lot better in the second half," said South Carolina State coach Buddy Pugh. "We didn't play well at all, didn't take care of the football. It was pretty ugly in the first half. We were hoping we could come back out and establish ourselves, so we did."

The Bulldogs plowed for 294 yards rushing in the second half, finishing with 381 yards of total rushing. The Bulldogs scored eight rushing touchdowns by six different players.

"Their depth kicked in," Woody said. "They're big and strong. We're a small football team, but we're a fast football team. When you're Division I, there are no excuses. That depth kicked in. We just don't have the rotation that we're looking for right now."

Stover completed 20 of 37 passes with that one interception in his Benedict debut. He was knocked out in the third quarter and replaced by Marcus Graham, who completed one of eight attempts. Stover returned to the game when Graham was hurt. Pugh was impressed with the new Tiger signal caller.

"They completed some balls. That ole kid can throw the ball around pretty good," Pugh said. "I was pleasantly surprised by him as the game went on. We hit him a few times and they had some problems protecting him, but they're going to win some games with that guy if they keep working at it."

The Tigers return to action next Saturday, traveling to Jackson, Tenn., to take on the Lane Dragons in an SIAC contest. Woody said the Tigers have a lot of work to do before taking on the Dragons.

"We missed a lot of tackles. We've got to get back to basics. But you expect that in the first game, all these mistakes and turnovers, not executing in the red zone, not taking advantage of turnovers. We'll learn from this and be ready to go against Lane College," Woody said.