South Carolina Football: Report card vs. Georgia

QUARTERBACK PLAY. B+. Spencer Rattler was almost perfect in the first half. A 16-18 start had his Gamecocks leading by two scores. #7 was also the team’s leading rusher. However, a couple of desperation interceptions late in the game and an inability to find a couple of open receivers in the face of pressure dings this grade a little bit. DK Joyner also scored his rushing touchdown while lining up as a wildcat quarterback.. . South Carolina Gamecocks

D+. The Gamecock running game still stinks. A lot of that is on the struggles of the offensive line, but the running backs have also got to be better. South Carolina ball carriers seem to never make tacklers miss, and aside from one Mario Anderson carry (why did he only touch the ball twice??), there wasn’t a single impressive run on the day. Pass blocking from the running back position needs to improve, as well, especially with the poor offensive line play. Too often, the Gamecock running backs leak out looking for dump-off passes when they should be sticking their noses in the traffic just another second longer.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. RUNNING BACKS

B-. Like the rest of the offense, the wide receivers and tight ends were much better in the first half than they were in the second. Xavier Legette was very good early on, including winning another 50-50 ball downfield. O’Mega Blake had his best collegiate game, and Eddie Lewis and Luke Doty combined to fill in admirably for the injured Ahmarean Brown. A handful of drops at critical times (Xavier Legette, Trey Knox, Josh Simon) hurts this grade, and a couple of incompletions (and one interception) might have been prevented with a better receiver effort.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. PASS CATCHERS

OFFENSIVE LINE. C-. South Carolina’s offensive line was better against Georgia than they were against North Carolina, but that isn’t saying much. During the first half, the big uglies did a pretty good job of protecting Spencer Rattler but could generate no push in the running game. Rattler spent most of the second half running for his life as the protection broke down. True freshman Tree Babalade was the best lineman of the afternoon and seems as if he could be a mainstay in the starting lineup moving forward. The other tackle, Western Illinois transfer Sidney Fugar, struggled mightily for most of the game.. . South Carolina Gamecocks