USC-Georgia report card: Poor marks for Gamecocks’ first loss

After South Carolina football’s 41-17 loss to No. 3 , it’s time to grade the Gamecocks.

Quarterbacks

Jake Bentley had moments when he seemed to be stringing things together. But there weren’t enough of those moments, and for the Gamecocks to compete with the likes of Georgia, he needed to be special. He wasn’t near that level. Grade: D+

Running backs

They almost escaped the same grade as QBs because the offensive line had so many issues. But in addition to a slew of issues, Rico Dowdle had the drop that produced a pick-six. Grade: F

Wide receivers

The drops were an issue and there weren’t that many big plays. But generally when the ball got there, they helped move the chains. Bryan Edwards had a big play in garbage time. Grade: C+

Tight ends

The group contributed a few nice first-down catches from Kiel Pollard and KC Crosby. But they were also involved in the blocking game, and that was an issue. Grade: D-

Offensive line

Will Muschamp literally opened his postgame by saying the group got whipped. They couldn’t open many big holes. Bentley faced a decent amount of pressure. Not a banner day. Grade: F

Defensive line

There were a couple sacks in there and a few plays that popped. Granted, the front got pushed around pretty badly. Grade: D

Linebackers

The talent level of Georgia forces back-seven defenders to be more perfect. USC’s players couldn’t do it. Georgia backs got to the edge a lot. Grade: F

Defensive backs

USC gave up a 15-for-18 day to Jake Fromm. The defensive backs didn’t seem very notable in run support. There was also Jaycee Horn blowing an assignment and giving up a massive gain. Grade: F

Special teams

The was a little good, a little bad and a lot of incomplete. Good: Getting all touchbacks on kickoffs, hitting a field goal, most of the punting. Bad: A shanked punt that helped turn the game. Incomplete: The Gamecocks were held without a punt or kick return from the game. Grade: C-

Overall

This was supposed to be, if not an upset, at least respectable. It was not. The Gamecocks seemed to wane late after getting back in the game. They were facing an absurdly talented team, but in a similar spot last year on the road, the Gamecocks at least stayed close.

Grade: D-