USC-Arkansas report card: High, high marks for the defense
After a dominant win against Arkansas, its time to grade the Gamecocks.
Quarterback
The start for Jake Bentley was highly ugly. The 5-for-15 was one thing, but there were a lot of missed balls to open enough receivers. The 62-yard pass to Hayden Hurst was a thing of beauty, as was the last drive of the second half, but there's more there.
Grade: C+
Running backs
Rico Dowdle was back and looking feisty. Ty'Son Williams and A.J. Turner were both solid, and Turner showed good fight converting a key third down on a reception. The only knock was a lack of chunk plays, as USC only had four runs of 10 yards or longer (though the efficiency was solid).
Grade: B+
Wide receivers
The numbers were OK and balanced. No one with more than three catches, only one with more than 20 yards. There were some solid catches in there, especially Bryan Edwards' touchdown, but there were also a lot of one-on-one chances the Gamecocks didn't win.
Grade: C+
Tight ends
Just for the receiving numbers alone they get there, though the blocking didn't seem to leave a ton to be desired. Hayden Hurst had 76 yards, including a bomb of a touchdown and a first down to help set up a key score. Jacob August's lone catch set up a field goal in the third quarter.
Grade A
Offensive line
Give it a D in the early going and A after that. Arkansas' pressure got to USC and had Bentley off kilter at the start, but the protection figured things out and kept him upright most of the rest of the way. The running game got going for stretches, imposing its will.
Grade: B+
Defensive line
The group helped USC to two sacks and seven quarterback hurries, and that wasn't even the important part. South Carolina's line held strong against Arkansas' power-running game, getting stuffs in short-yardage and limiting a solid unit. Arkansas tailbacks had 57 yards on 22 carries.
Grade: A
Linebackers
Hey look, another great day. South Carolina's linebackers helped cap that Arkansas run game. T.J. Brunson and Skai Moore both scored touchdowns, plus combined for another fumble recover, a sack and two tackles for loss. True freshman Sherrod Greene had four tackles in his first start for the injured Bryson Allen-Williams.
Grade: A+
Secondary
When the game was actually somewhat close, USC limited Austin Allen to 84 yards on 24 passes. Four of his 12 completions account for 63 of those yards. Steven Montac drilled an Arkansas pass catcher for a third-down stop, Jamarcus King broke up two passes and Chris Lammons had a forced fumble.
Grade: A
Special teams
The kicking game is still having some issues, with Parker White missing a pair of 49-yard kicks and hitting two inside 35. White did have seven touchbacks in eight kickoffs, while USC only punted twice and averaged 49.5 net yards. A.J. Turner did break a 28-yard kick return. A procedure penalty cost 20 yards on a punt, and Will Muschamp said there were several poor snaps.
Grade: B-
Overall
Even if the offense had fits and starts, it's fair to say that was South Carolina's most dominant day in the Will Muschamp era. The defensive scores skew things a little, but it was a vital win in terms of carving out the least stressful path to a bowl and puts USC on a high going to Knoxville on Saturday.
Grade: A
This story was originally published October 9, 2017 at 11:41 AM.