USC-Kentucky report card: Any way Gamecocks avoid failing grade?
With South Carolina football’s 24-10 loss to the the Kentucky Wildcats in the books, it’s time to grade the Gamecocks.
Quarterbacks
Jake Bentley took a heaping load of blame in the postgame press conference, and he mostly earned it. He had 9 passing yards in the first half, 148 for the game with a trio of interceptions. Only a slew of drops keep it from a flat F.
Grade: F+
Running backs
Rico Dowdle’s average was a little low, but for the most part the backs ran well enough, give or take a lack of big plays. That said, Dowdle had a big fumble early that helped rob USC of momentum.
Grade: C+
Wide receivers
There were so many drops, and on big plays, ones USC needed. Deebo Samuel’s drop ended the first drive. Bryan Edwards’ drop of an underthrown bomb helped set up an interception. On a day when USC couldn’t afford any more careless errors, this group had its share. The only bright spot was a busted play touchdown from Samuel, his biggest gain of the season.
Grade: D+
Tight ends
There wasn’t much receiving production, with a pair of catches from Kiel Pollard for 6 yards. The run blocking seem mostly non-impactful.
Grade: C-
Offensive line
Gamecocks quarterbacks got sacked four times, and Bentley often found himself spinning away from pressure. The run game was OK, but USC players said they needed to assert their will and really came away with only OK movement up front.
Grade: D
Defensive line
This was a group that needed to play disciplined against an offense that deployed six or seven good blockers up front and let two quick play-makers go to work behind them. Players admitted a slew of errors in terms of doing their jobs in the first half, and the 18-point hole wasn’t one USC could overcome.
Grade: D-
Linebackers
This group had a lot of the same issues as the defensive line. Will Muschamp wanted players to play within the scheme, doing things like setting edges, and too often they got too interested in jumping in to make a play and broke down the structuring of the defense. They found their stride after halftime, but that didn’t erase the hole they were in.
Grade: D-
Defensive backs
Against the pass, the day was simply OK. UK quarterback Terry Wilson didn’t try to do too much, and USC generally kept him from making any game-breaking plays. That said, their tackling issues contributed to some of the breakdowns overall.
Grade: C-
Special teams
Call it a day with almost nothing special, and a few notable warts. One of the team’s two kick returns ended with Keisean Nixon colliding hard with a teammate (Deebo Samuel couldn’t shake loose on the other). Parker White missed from 38 yards. Joseph Charlton had a 66-yard punt, but even that ended up a touchback because of so-so coverage.
Grade: D
Overall
At year’s end, a loss to this Kentucky team, and by only a couple scores, might not look all that bad. But how it happened matters. USC had an error on the first drive and the second. Following a nice defensive stand, the Gamecocks got run all over. Even after the Gamecocks clawed back to within 14, the next three drives were an interception, a three-and-out and another interception.
Grade: F
This story was originally published September 30, 2018 at 8:56 AM.