Report card: South Carolina-Kentucky football
Grading out South Carolina's loss to Kentucky on Saturday night.
Quarterback
Jake Bentley had some misfires in the early going, but he rounded into form and ended up carrying the offense for stretches when the running game wasn't working. Considering that, the completion percentage of 66.6 is solid, but the big plays didn't come, there were two picks, indecisive moments and the offense misfired too often.
Grade: B-
Running back
USC tailbacks combined for 12 carries. None of them went for longer than 8 yards. The offensive line didn't help, and USC never seemed in position to get any of them in rhythm, but 2.9 yards a carry is what it is.
Grade: D
Wide receivers
Just about everyone got a catch. Deebo Samuel was having a big game before he got hurt. Bryan Edwards and Shi Smith both chipped in big plays. They helped the offense steadily move, at least until they got deep into Kentucky territory. Perhaps there wasn't enough yardage after the catch, but there weren't many big drops.
Grade: B
Tight ends
Hayden Hurst had three solid, chain-moving receptions, one a nice skinny post for 19 yards. Jacob August got most of the secondary action, with K.C. Crosby seeing a little time. He got more after Hurst bounced hard on the turf, getting the wind knocked out of him in the late going. The run blocking overall was a mess, and the tight ends have to factor in there.
Grade: C-
Offensive line
The pass blocking was probably in the realm of average to slightly below. Jake Bentley did have to carry the ball more than he'd like, but he was only sacked twice, both in desperate spots. The run blocking was a mess, as USC struggled to move folks up front or get after defenders on the second level.
Grade: D-
Defensive line
It certainly wasn't a great day for the Gamecocks up front, but not a truly awful one. The Kentucky run game hammered them, but 29 of 41 called (non-fumble) run plays failed to gain five yards. The pass rush was lacking, with only a couple hurries, two tackles for loss and no sacks from the group
Grade: B-
Linebackers
These guys deserve a lot of credit for what went right with the run, but also some blame for USC's struggles to get off the field against the pass. A couple of Kentucky's longer runs appeared to be busts by linebackers, but Muschamp explained that was not the case.
Grade: B-
Defensive backs
Kentucky quarterback Stephen Johnson completed 16 passes. Seven of those came on third down. All were converted. Jamarcus King also had a tough pass interference call when the Gamecocks desperately needed a stop. USC kept Kentucky's explosive plays limited, but considering how the Gamecocks struggled to get off the field, it's not much consolation.
Grade: D+
Specials teams
Will Muschamp said the kicking game left 10 points on the field. That might be a little generous, but it was a mess, and the return and punting game did nothing dramatic to lift that up.
Grade: F
Overall
At the start of the year, it seemed like South Carolina would need a defense to not blow games and an offense to win them. The Gamecocks defense certainly had warts, but it did enough to win, had the offense not tripped over itself and been unable to move the Wildcats up front. Perhaps at year's end, we'll learn Kentucky's defense is pretty good. Until then, that looked bad.
Grade: D-
This story was originally published September 18, 2017 at 10:55 AM with the headline "Report card: South Carolina-Kentucky football."