South Carolina football: five takeaways from week two

The South Carolina football team lost 38-24 against a top five opponent on Saturday.

The Gamecocks lost by two touchdowns in the Swamp to the third-ranked Florida Gators on Saturday, 38-24. South Carolina’s offense again came out strong, scoring on its opening drive, but the defense had a hard time covering Florida’s talented pass catchers, as the Gators would score 38 of the game’s next 45 points.

Still, the Gamecocks never caved, and had a chance to pull within a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Dropped passes and clock mismanagement killed the Gamecocks’ chances of an upset, though, and now Will Muschamp and Co. enter its week three matchup with Vanderbilt as a winless team.

Let’s break down five takeaways from the Gamecock loss and evaluate the keys to success moving forward.

SECONDARY NOT PERFORMING AS ADVERTISED

The secondary struggled for a second consecutive week, allowing Kyle Trask to throw for 268 yards and four touchdowns. Kyle Pitts and Kadarius Toney had their way with the Gamecock defensive backs, as both averaged nearly 15 yards a catch.

Last week, it was the disappointing play of reserve corners John Dixon and Cam Smith. This week, those two redeemed themselves, particularly Dixon, who broke up a few passes and almost came down with his first interception of the year. His lone blunder was a bogus pass interference call that set up a Florida score.

RJ Roderick was the player picked on this week, though. The junior safety was matched up with Toney in the slot on a few occasions, and he seemed to get beat on every opportunity. The Gators’ final score pretty much summed up Roderick’s day.

Through two games thus far, the South Carolina defense has allowed 527 yards and five touchdowns to opposing signal callers. The team has now surrendered 30 or more points in its last four games going back to last year. The Gamecocks will need to avoid giving up these big plays through the air if they hope to slow down opposing offenses.

SHI SMITH NEEDS HELP

For a second straight week, the Gamecocks got very little help in the passing game from players not named Shi Smith. A combination of drops and an inability to get separation caused a ton of frustration for the South Carolina offense.

Smith did his part, once again, hauling in 12 catches and another touchdown. He’s now tallied 22 receptions on the young season, compared to just 31 from all other Gamecock players combined. Half of those 31 catches have gone to Carolina running backs, as Deshaun Fenwick is the team’s second leading receiver.

The Gamecocks need another wideout to step up and take the pressure off of Smith.