South Carolina report card: Mostly bad, slightly less bad than it could’ve been

After South Carolina’s 34-10 loss to Clemson, it’s time to grade the Gamecocks.

Quarterback

Not really much you can say. A total of 42 yards on 15 attempts in the first half, give or take a solid run or two. A missed early throw to an open Hayden Hurst, a costly mistake on the interception, no offensive movement in the second or third quarters. Jake Bentley’s worst game of the year.

Grade: F

Running backs

A little bit of a curve here because A.J. Turner went down, meaning USC was without two of its top three backs with Rico Dowdle already hurt. Ty’Son Williams looked more spry than usual, but Mon Denson had some trouble and nothing was that effective.

Grade: D+

Wide receiver

South Carolina was going to need this group to win battles if it hoped to stay in the game. Instead, they didn’t catch a pass longer than 11 yards until the final quarter. Even if some of that’s on the quarterback, it’s not a good look.

Grade: D-

Tight end

Hurst got open deep a couple times but Bentley didn’t find him. He finished with 28 yards, while Jacob August got some work with Shi Smith out

Grade: C-

Offensive line

It could’ve been worse, as Jake Bentley was only sacked once and officially pressured four other times. There wasn’t much expectation for good push in the running game, and there wasn’t much there.

Grade: D+

Defensive line

D.J. Wonnum did some nice things, but for the most part, the group got pushed or run around. Clemson is a group that doesn’t often get disrupted or pushed back, and the Gamecocks did little to change that.

Grade: D

Linebackers

USC’s top group was stressed sideline to sideline and at times the tackling was simply brutal. There were some personal fouls. USC started with three linebackers, which meant Skai Moore getting matched up with a five-star receiver on a big third down the Tigers converted.

Grade: F

Secondary

Kelly Bryant’s numbers were somewhat modest, and probably inflated a bit by the Tigers’ jet sweep game. But the secondary was a big part of the tackling issue, playing a big role in the Hunter Renfrow screen that went 61 yards with seven missed tackles along the way

Grade: D-

Special teams

Surprisingly OK. Joseph Charlton boomed some kicks and was generally effective (give or take three touchbacks). USC gave up only one big return and Parker White hit his lone field goal from 40 yards.

Grade: B

Overall

The best thing USC can say is it more slowly bled out than last season, but it still missed a few crucial chances. The interception for a touchdown put the Gamecocks behind the eight ball early, and they missed the kind of close plays and passes they needed to perhaps make it a game.

Grade: D

This story was originally published November 26, 2017 at 5:36 PM with the headline "South Carolina report card: Mostly bad, slightly less bad than it could’ve been."