Thumbs up, thumbs down: South Carolina’s day vs. Akron

Thumbs up

Deebo Samuel

In his last game in Williams-Brice Stadium, the electric receiver delivered. He caught one touchdown, took a jet sweep for another and even recovered a fumbled punt for a score in the 28-3 win.

Bryan Edwards

He led USC with five catches and made one count, taking advantage of a busted coverage to go 70 yards for the score. He finished with 109 yards.

The run game

At times it wasn’t pretty, but Mon Denson had 110 yards on 6.5 per carry and Rico Dowdle had 86 on 6.6.

The defense

There was some bend, allowing nine chunk plays, but for the most part the Gamecocks locked down. They forced three turnovers and two stops on downs, allowing only three points.

Thumbs down

The offense losing the thread

South Carolina had 28 points on its first seven drives. That’s decent but not great production. USC didn’t score in its final eight possessions.

The turnovers

USC gave the ball away four times. Twice Jake Bentley lost scoring chances with red zone interceptions. Twice USC fumbled after gaining first downs.

Javon Kinlaw’s outburst

Not that he didn’t have a point and not that Will Muschamp didn’t say he’d take a fiery guy over a not fiery one, but it still wasn’t a great look. His penalty nearly undid a defensive stop, and multiple coaches had to talk to him after to cool him down.

The Zack Bailey injury

It was the last play of the third quarter when Bailey, a stalwart the past three seasons had his foot rolled up on. He was down for several minutes and taken off on a cart. After the game, Will Muschamp said he broke one of the bones in his leg, but it could’ve been worse.