South Carolina football: five takeaways from week two

COLLIN HILL CONTINUES TO BE PRODUCTIVE

Hill continued to impress in his week two performance, again eclipsing the 200-yard mark and avoiding any turnovers. Against a decent Florida defense, Hill threw for 212 yards and a couple of scores. That puts him up over 500 yards for the season, good for sixth-most in the conference. The totals could’ve been much higher had Gamecock pass catchers not suffered a case of the drops.

Of his 19 incompletions on Saturday, at least six were dropped by Gamecock receivers. Another was barely tipped by a Gator defender on the Carolina sideline, ricocheting off the hands of a wide-open Josh Vann. What’s worse, nearly all of the drops would’ve resulted in either first-downs or touchdowns.

Had the receivers helped out their quarterback, Hill could’ve been in the range of a 300-yard day and another couple of touchdowns. His errant throw on the Gamecocks’ final play was probably his worst of the day, but outside of that miss, he was on target for the majority of the contest. Hill continues to run an efficient offense, he just needs the help of his supporting cast.

KEVIN HARRIS IS AN SEC RB

Harris has impressed thus far, and put together maybe his most complete game in a South Carolina uniform. After splitting carries with two other Gamecock backs in the season opener, Harris took the bulk of the carries in week two.

The Gamecock tailback ran for 100 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. He was also the team’s second leading receiver, catching five passes for 27 yards and another score.

On the year, Harris has run for 155 yards and found the endzone on three separate occasions. He’s averaging 4.4 yard per carry and his role in the South Carolina backfield should continue to grow as the season rolls on. Expect him to earn another start this weekend when the Gamecocks face Vanderbilt.

UNFORCED MISTAKES CONTINUE TO HAUNT THE TEAM

In two straight weeks, the Gamecocks have found a way to lose. Week one saw a tipped pass turn into a Tennessee pick six, while a muffed punt in the fourth quarter ended South Carolina’s chances of mounting a final comeback drive. This week was even worse, and it came against a more dangerous opponent.

Carolina receivers had six first half drops, which we discussed earlier in the segment. The butterfingers didn’t stop there, though. In the second quarter, Shi Smith dropped a kickoff, causing the Gamecocks to start a drive inside their own five yard line.

In the third quarter, following a near touchdown catch-and-run by Smith, the Gamecocks lined up in Florida territory. Over its next three plays, though, South Carolina would be called for back-to-back offensive line penalties, followed by a dropped a pitch by tailback Deshaun Fenwick, which was recovered by the Florida defense. The Gators would score five plays later.

And finally, with South Carolina trying to mount a fourth quarter comeback, the Gamecock offense showed very little urgency, using up seven-and-a-half minutes of clock as it methodically marched down to the Florida goal line. The drive started with just over eight minutes remaining in the game’s final period. The team’s pace would’ve been more heavily scrutinized had the Gamecocks scored, but instead, a dropped touchdown and an errant throw to a wide open Shi Smith effectively ended the game.

The Gamecocks have to clean up the self-inflicted mistakes if they want to salvage this season. They’ll get their next chance at a win on Saturday when they take on Vanderbilt in Nashville.