South Carolina Football: Report card vs. Mississippi State

. South Carolina Gamecocks. QUARTERBACK PLAY. A+. South Carolina football fans witnessed something special on Saturday night. Spencer Rattler went 18-20 passing, but his two incompletions came on a missed pass interference play and a drop by tight end Trey Knox. Rattler was perfect against MSU, and he is the only quarterback in school history to hit the same receiver (Xavier Legette) for two 75-yard touchdowns in the same game. #7 also added 43 yards on the ground. DK Joyner scored a rushing touchdown from the wildcat quarterback position.

B-. The South Carolina running backs have been much-maligned this season. DK Joyner has not had the type of season he had hoped (though he has found the end zone in every game this year), and Mario Anderson and DJay Braswell hadn’t gotten consistent carries through the first three weeks. However, Anderson stepped up on Saturday night. He had a much-better-than-the-stats-look 88 yards and a touchdown. On Xavier Legette’s 76-yard catch-and-run, Anderson had a really nice blitz pick-up to give Rattler enough time to find #17 open across the middle. DK Joyner also scored a rushing touchdown from the wildcat.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. RUNNING BACKS

A. This grade was very close to an A+. A Trey Knox drop is the only major blemish for the Gamecock pass catchers, and Xavier Legette would get an A++ if that was possible. Legette became the only South Carolina football player to catch two separate 75-yard touchdowns in the same game and set a new career high with 189 yards receiving and has posted the most receiving yards through four games by any Gamecock.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. PASS CATCHERS

B-. The Gamecock offensive line was not bad against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. For most of the night, Spencer Rattler had enough time to pass, and they had their best run blocking game of the season. True freshman Tree Babalade had another good showing, and Tro Baugh played a lot of snaps at right guard, providing some push at times in the run game. The tight ends also had their best blocking day this season. The o-line unit was pretty good at times and not awful at others. All-in-all, it was a major improvement from the North Carolina game and looked like some of the better moments from week 3 against Georgia.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. OFFENSIVE LINE