Thumbs up, Thumbs down: South Carolina vs. North Carolina

A look at what went right and wrong for South Carolina football in its season opener against the North Carolina Tar Heels in Charlotte.

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Feaster’s debut

Tavien Feaster delivered perhaps the best upside play of the day with an explosive 34-yard TD run to get the Gamecocks in the end zone for the first time. He delivered a nasty spin and then turned on the jets. He finished with 72 yards on 13 carries.

Joyner learns quick

Only a few weeks ago, Dakereon Joyner was a quarterback fighting for a job. He stepped in at wide receiver, catching a few balls and mixing it up as a blocker once or twice. It’s not a ton in terms of numbers, with two catches for four yards, but considering the speed of turnaround, it’s worth noting.

Shi Smith’s kick return debut

The junior had to step in for Deebo Samuel. He had several big returns including a 60-yarder. He averaged 33 yards per return.

Kinlaw’s kick block

The big defensive tackle got though for the third block of his career.

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The offense, just all of it

South Carolina had the ball 13 times (outside of a clock-kill situation). The Gamecocks managed 20 points. They had the ball twice late with a chance to take back the lead, and twice had interceptions. For a unit expected to take a step forward, it was out-dueled by a group that was simply a mess last season. USC finished at 4.4 yards per play against a defense that allowed 6 per play last season.

Tackling

South Carolina came into the game expecting its defense to be a strength. It had moments and a lot of penetration up front, but there were issues with tackling and in space. UNC averaged 5.6 yards per play in the first 30 minutes, and 6.4 overall, including drives of 95 and 98 yards.

Discipline

The Gamecocks were all sorts of sloppy, finishing with nine penalties for 75 yards. They often put the offense off schedule and shot-circuited drives.

The passing game

What was supposed to be a strength for South Carolina sputtered much of the day. Jake Bentley hit 16 of 30 passes for 142 yards, his third-worst output for a full game ever. There weren’t explosive plays or much consistency. He capped his day with a pair of interceptions.

This story was originally published August 31, 2019 at 7:48 PM.