USC-Wofford report card: Game-managing Bentley?

After South Carolina’s 31-10 win against Wofford, it’s time to grade the Gamecocks.

Quarterback

No, Jake Bentley didn't bomb away on an FCS secondary. He mostly took what was given, completed 84.6 percent of his passes and only one or two of his incompletions were his fault.

Grades: A

Running backs

Three backs -- A.J. Turner, Ty'Son Williams, Caleb Kinlaw -- topped 47 yards. After a slightly sluggish starts, the Gamecocks got rolling and topped 190 yards on the ground for the fourth time in five weeks.

Grade: A-

Wide receivers

Four-plus drops was not ideal. Bryan Edwards and Shi Smith did some nice things, especially Edwards on screen passes.

Grade: B

Tight ends

Not a ton of big receiving production, with Hayden Hurst and Jacob August combining for 25 yards on four catches. They played well in the run game, and bonus points for reserves Evan Hinson and Kiel Pollard getting good push on a late Kinlaw run.

Grade: B

Offensive line

There were a couple spots where well-designed pressures got to Jake Bentley. The running game was good, but not dominant, and even though the Terriers defense is pretty solid, nothing in the performance said banner day.

Grade: B-

Defensive line

The disruption numbers were a little low, with only four tackles for loss, but overall the Gamecocks held up well up front.

Grade: A-

Linebackers

Even after having to switch out Daniel Fennell for injured strongside Antoine Wilder, the Gamecocks for the most part avoided damaging busts. They held Wofford's top back to 3 yards a rush, and Skai Moore made a very impressive play on his 14th career interception.

Grade: A

Defensive backs

No, they weren't the most relied upon in coverage this week, but when asked to, they mostly did their job. The biggest risk against the triple option is giving up massive passing plays, and while there were gains of 17 and 27, there was nothing highly explosive.

Grade: B+

Special teams

Parker White hit his one kick, and on his three kickoffs that didn't reach the end zone, field position was just past the 15. Joseph Charlton's lone punt did its job, coverage was generally solid and the return game did feature a nice touch by Shi Smith.

Grade: A-

Overall

It's an FCS win that could have been more dominant but was really only touch-and-go in a couple of spots. That's not always guaranteed against an option team, and even if one wanted to pick nits, there wasn't much there outside not running away with the thing.

Grade: A-