Quick reaction: South Carolina vs. LSU thumbs up, thumbs down
A look at what went right and wrong for South Carolina in the Gamecocks’ 52-24 loss at LSU on Saturday night.
South Carolina thumbs up
Kevin Harris: It should be no surprise to see Harris here yet again, as the sophomore tailback has arguably been the Gamecocks’ most consistent player on offense this season. Harris opened the scoring for the Gamecocks with a 45-yard run for a touchdown on the team’s first drive and later added a 49-yard run in the second half to set up his second touchdown. Harris is up to eight rushing touchdowns and one receiving score on the season. He rushed for 126 yards on 12 carries Saturday.
Keveon Mullins: Entering Saturday night, the redshirt freshman tight end had just one career catch for nine yards. Mullins exploded against the Tigers, breaking loose twice on two deep balls to tally a team-leading 101 receiving yards. In a rough night for USC’s passing offense, Mullins was one of the lone bright spots.
Israel Mukuamu: After missing last week’s win against Auburn due to injury, the junior defensive back returned to USC’s secondary and provided an immediate jolt. In the second quarter, with the Gamecocks down by 10 points, Mukuamu picked off freshman quarterback T.J. Finley and ran for 56 yards to set up a field goal for the USC offense.
Ernest Jones: While it was an overall poor performance from the South Carolina defense, Jones continued to lead the team in tackling, as the junior led all players with 19 total tackles, eight solo. More importantly, the junior linebacker returned to the game after dealing with a minor injury in the first half.
South Carolina thumbs down
Collin Hill and the passing game: No offense to Mullins, but it isn’t a good sign for the USC offense if he’s the one leading the team in receiving yards. Hill couldn’t seem to find a rhythm, especially in the first half, when he completed only four passes. The addition of transfer wide receiver Jalen Brooks, who was finally cleared by the NCAA, was expected to boost the offense, yet poor execution on a slant route led to a pick-6. The LSU defense held top receiver Shi Smith to just one catch through the first three quarters, and Hill couldn’t find a consistent second option all night long.
Offensive-line play: USC’s offensive line didn’t do Hill any favors, allowing five sacks. While Hill likely could have gotten rid of the ball on a couple of those sacks, the pressure from LSU’s pass rush was a constant throughout the game.
Special teams: Kicker Parker White missed three field-goal attempts in a game for the first time in his career. The first miss, on a 54-yard attempt, was excusable, but he also missed a 34-yarder and a 40-yarder. Even worse for USC, LSU kick returner Trey Palmer returned a kick for a 95-yard touchdown — the first kickoff return for an LSU player at Tiger Stadium since 1981. Palmer bobbled the ball, scooped it, then motored past the Gamecocks for the score. The play killed whatever momentum USC gained on a scoring drive that opened the third quarter.
Big plays: The USC defense allowed six passing plays that gained 15 yards or more and seven rushes of at least 10 yards. Those figures don’t include Palmer’s 95-yard kickoff return. The Tigers consistently gained chunk yardage against the Gamecocks, with the biggest play coming on a 51-yard catch-and-run by top receiver Terrace Marshall on a drag route. In all, the USC defense allowed 541 total yards to the Tigers.
This story was originally published October 24, 2020 at 10:33 PM.
