USC Gets Winning Season : College football: No, not that USC. It’s South Carolina, which beats West Virginia, 29-10, to finish with 6-5 record.

Collin Mackie kicked a school-record five field goals and the South Carolina defense shut down West Virginia after two early scores en route to a 29-10 victory Thursday night.

West Virginia (4-7) scored on its first two possessions but got no more points against the Gamecocks (6-5). South Carolina held the Mountaineers to four first downs in the second half--and two of those came after the game was decided.

South Carolina scored the first time it had the ball in the third quarter, taking a 20-10 lead on Rob DeBoer’s two-yard run with 9:33 to play.

Robert Brooks set up the drive with a 34-yard kickoff return to the South Carolina 48.

The Gamecocks then overcame a 12-yard loss by running back Mike Dingle and the loss of Dingle with a dislocated shoulder. He was injured after catching a pass with 13:25 left, but DeBoer proved an adequate replacement. The freshman gained seven yards on fourth and two at the Mountaineer 33, the first of eight consecutive carries for DeBoer.

DeBoer finished with 98 yards, giving him 700 this season--the second-highest total by a freshman in school history.

Mackie kicked a 36-yard field goal 11 seconds into the fourth quarter and then two 27-yarders, the first at 7:26 and the second at 3:40. Mackie had twice previously tied the school record of four set in 1977 by Britt Parrish.

While the victory assured South Carolina of a winning season, there was little assurance the Gamecocks would go to a bowl. The university said Wednesday it wouldn’t change its exam schedules to allow the team to play in the Independence Bowl on Dec. 15.

South Carolina was holding out hope for a Peach Bowl bid, but the chances of that seem slim because no scout from the Dec. 29 bowl was at the game.

Each team scored on its first two possessions. That left the game tied, 10-10, and Mackie’s 24-yard field goal with 29 seconds to play in the half gave the Gamecocks a 13-10 lead.

But for an interception by tackle Cedric Bembery, the Mountaineers might have been leading at halftime. With the score tied, 10-10, West Virginia drove to the Gamecock two. But after a five-yard penalty against West Virginia, Bembery intercepted Jon Jones’ halfback pass at the goal line, ending the threat with 8:04 left.

West Virginia got things going in the first quarter, driving to the Gamecock 13 on its first series before Mark Johnson kicked a 30-yard field goal with 9:32 left.

South Carolina countered with a 14-play, 80-yard drive capped by Dingle’s one-yard run with 6:12 remaining. Dingle carried on all but two plays in the drive, gaining 54 yards.