South Carolina vs. Florida grades: Drops, missed tackles and poor clock management
South Carolina football hit the road for the first time of the 2020 season on Saturday, traveling to Gainesville, Florida, to face the No. 3 Gators as the heavy underdog. So how did coach Will Muschamp’s squad grade out in a 38-24 loss?
Passing offense
Quarterback Collin Hill was a perfect 5-for-5 to open the game, once more pushing USC down the field on its first drive in an impressive scoring effort.
After that, however, things fell apart. A case of drops hit the Gamecock receiving corps, affecting a wide array of players and killing drives throughout the first half. Into the second half, senior Shi Smith remained Carolina’s only reliable option and put up his second consecutive 10-catch game. Still, some missed throws and short drives early in the half put the Gamecocks in a big hole and cost them.
And late in the game, when South Carolina had at least the chance to score and go down by one touchdown, Smith dropped a pass that hit his hands, then saw Hill throw behind him on fourth down.
GRADE: C-
Rushing offense
It seems like South Carolina has found its feature back. Sophomore Kevin Harris got the start in the opener in place of the injured MarShawn Lloyd, but coach Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo both spoke more in terms of a running back-by-committee approach.
Harris seized control Saturday, though, surpassing his yardage total from Tennessee in the first half. He finished the game with 22 rushes for 100 yards and a touchdown, as well as four catches for 27 yards and another score.
Behind him, redshirt sophomore Deshaun Fenwick put up a solid 32 yards on six carries, but he did fail to corral a backwards pass to set up a Florida score.
GRADE: B+
Passing defense
Kyle Trask, considered to be one of the best QBs in the SEC, picked apart South Carolina’s secondary early — the only thing that seemed to slow him down in the first half was the occasional drop or miscommunication.
Things got even worse in the third quarter as USC’s defensive backs tackled poorly and allowed shorter gains to become big ones. Junior Israel Mukuamu did make an impressive one-handed diving interception to put South Carolina back in it, but the Gamecock pass defense was mostly outmatched by one of the SEC’s more impressive air attacks.
GRADE: C-
Rushing defense
The Florida ground game wasn’t the threat anyone was talking about coming into the game, and the Gators didn’t do much to change that, racking up 80 total yards on 24 attempts with no run more than 9 yards from a running back. At key points early, however, the UF offensive line got some solid push to allow for decent runs, keeping drives alive. Freshman Tonka Hemingway did force a fumble from Trask on a scramble.
GRADE: B-
Special teams
Punter Kai Kroeger caught some criticism from fans after an underwhelming debut last week, and Muschamp was clear he needed to be better. His punt average did go up, but not by much, to just 41.5 yards.
Kickoff man Mitch Jeter also put a couple kicks short, allowing Florida to start drives past its own 30-yard line. And on the flip side, kickoff returner Shi Smith misplayed a kick just before halftime, calling a fair catch and then dropping the ball to pin the Gamecocks on their own 3-yard line.
Senior kicker Parker White remains a bright spot, drilling his lone attempt from 45 yards out.
GRADE: C
Coaching
ESPN’s analysts, observers and fans all took note as the game progressed Saturday — despite being down by multiple scores, the Gamecocks seemed to have no urgency when they had the ball late. The play clock consistently ran down in the fourth quarter as the team huddled and waited at the line, burning valuable clock and robbing the team of any chance it might have had to win.
Muschamp and coordinator Bobo’s decision not to kick the offense into high gear was baffling — the Gamecocks got the ball back with 8:11 left in the game down 14 and needed more than seven minutes to run 18 plays, not calling a single timeout along the way.
Bobo’s game plan was solid beforehand, but the poor tackling and drops on offense early were also issues that shouldn’t be popping up.
GRADE: C-
This story was originally published October 3, 2020 at 3:44 PM.
