COLUMBIA — The energy was palpable in Williams-Brice Stadium from South Carolina football fans, third-and-2 for LSU, with 1:16 to play, South Carolina ahead by four. The crowd wanted a stop.

One final drive and No. 17 LSU told South Carolina football the underdog story wasn't going to be written. The Tigers (2-1, 1-0 SEC) prevailed, and the Gamecocks (2-1, 1-1) fell 36-33, after Alex Hererra's 48-yard field goal attempt missed.

ESPN's "College GameDay" was in town, the talk of the week revolved around South Carolina and students began camping out near the stadium at 2 a.m., but silence lingered as the clock struck zero.

Here are three overreactions from Saturday, including Rocket Sanders' big game:

Self-inflicted errors may be South Carolina's biggest enemy

In the opening quarter, a South Carolina interception return for a touchdown was taken away because of a horse collar tackle by Kyle Kennard.

Out of halftime, LSU opened with a 19-yard run, then a false start call on South Carolina followed. Then Garrett Nussmeier completed a 46-yard throw through coverage, getting a pass interference call against Judge Collier.

Sanders rushed 66 yards to put South Carolina back in the lead, but on the two-point conversion, backup QB Robby Ashford's pass was called back for ineligible receiver downfield. Against Old Dominion, the same penalty took away what would have been Kai Kroeger's touchdown pass.

Ashford threw a 32-yard pass to Dalevon Campbell, but Mazeo Bennett was called for offensive pass interference. Then, Ashford fumbled the ball on South Carolina's 12-yard line.

Nick Emmanwori's pick-six with 5:58 to play was called back for unnecessary roughness by Kennard, taking away what could have been a game-sealing touchdown for South Carolina.

In total, the Gamecocks were called for 13 penalties for 123 yards.

Rocket Sanders is starting to look like his old self

Sanders, a transfer from Arkansas, entered his first season with South Carolina with lots of attention. At Arkansas in 2022, he had 1,426 rushing yards, 271 receiving yards and 12 total touchdowns. He spent most of the 2023 season with injuries, and missed the entire spring with the Gamecocks recovering from shoulder surgery.

Through two games, he didn't lead the run game like some expected, but in Week 3, he showed shades of his old self, a great sign for South Carolina's run game.

He had a 66-yard rushing touchdown to put South Carolina back in the lead, a veteran play that shifted the energy in the fourth quarter and the state of the game. Sanders finished with 18 attempts for 142 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

HEARTBREAK: South Carolina misses last-second field goal, falls to No. 17 LSU, 36-33

Ball security is LaNorris Sellers' biggest issue right now

His second-quarter ankle injury aside, Sellers' fumbles are a major problem for the redshirt freshman. He's athletic and he can run from defenders, but his ball security needs to be a focus moving forward.

He has four fumbles through three games, and as the schedule continues to increase in intensity with offensive talents like Ole Miss, Alabama and Clemson, fumbles will be costly for South Carolina.

Connecting with receivers, a previous issue in Week 1, has improved but as weeks go by, his fumble volume hasn't.

Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina-LSU: LaNorris Sellers has fumble problem, overreactions