Thumbs up, thumbs down: South Carolina vs. Chattanooga

Thumbs up

Jason Senn

The walk-on senior had never played in a game before Saturday. He ended up playing nearly the entire first half as Jaycee Horn got hurt and Steven Montac was not out there.

A.J. Turner

The reserve tailback entered the game with one touchdown catch in his career. He nabbed two in the first half and ran for another. He finished with 65 rushing yards, 34 receiving.

Going deep in the roster

South Carolina didn’t even wait until the game was out of hand to start rolling in reserves. Beyond Senn, Josh Belk, Ernest Jones and Javion Duncan had all played in the first half. Young tailback Deshaun Fenwick played in the second, as did quarterbacks Jay Urich and Dakereon Joyner.

Jake Bentley and the passing game

Yes, it’s against an FCS team, so that needs a hefty grain of salt. That said, through three quarters, Jake Bentely was 25 for 29 for 339 yards and tied a career high with four touchdowns.

Thumbs down

Injuries

South Carolina came into the game plenty banged up and appeared to leave more so. Horn, freshman defensive tackle Rick Sandidge, and junior tackle Javon Kinlaw were among those banged up. Running back Mon Denson was down at one point, but came back in.

Penalties

South Carolina committed a few bad ones, including several personal fouls. They did finish the day with five for 41 yards after cleaning up the issues.

One missed field goal

Parker White missed from 40 yards, only his second miss of the season. He’s 13 for 15 on the season. He connected on all six of his extra points.

Early defense

It’s a nit to pick, but a not-great FCS offense managed to get a pair of 50-plus yard drives in its first three possessions. South Carolina got a blocked field goal on one.

This story was originally published November 17, 2018 at 11:03 PM.