South Carolina Football: Report card vs. Mississippi State

A-. The Gamecock defensive line had their most sacks in one game (4) and held the Bulldogs to an astonishing 32 rushing yards on 23 carries. None of the defensive linemen had many total tackles (Tonka Hemingway was the only lineman with more than 3 stops), however, five different defensive linemen tallied at least one tackle for loss. Jordan Strachan and Boogie Huntley combined for five tackles for loss and three sacks. The line knocked down three passes at the line of scrimmage, as well. There were a few stretches of time in which the pass rush disappeared, but overall, the tackles and ends were disruptive for most of the night in their best game of the year.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. DEFENSIVE LINE

. South Carolina Gamecocks. LINEBACKERS . B-. The Gamecock linebackers didn’t have much of an opportunity to show themselves on Saturday night. The majority of the run plays were stuffed by defensive linemen, and most passing plays were quick throws out wide or deep shots. The linebackers only had 8 total tackles (Stone Blanton had half of them), but they didn’t really struggle. This game was very strange for the Carolina ‘backers, but it was far from bad.

D+. Mississippi State had a good night against the South Carolina football secondary, especially Tulu Griffin who set an all-time Mississippi State receiving record. Most of Griffin’s damage came at the expense of DQ Smith who should not have been put in the position of matching up with him in man coverage anyway. Marcellas Dial, O’Donnell Fortune, and Judge Collier all got beaten a few times in coverage, and Nick Emmanwori and Jalon Kilgore didn’t do a great job in support of their corners. Salvaging the grade just a bit, David Spaulding had an impressive interception, and Collier made a heads-up play to recover a Will Rogers fumble and return it for a nice gain.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. DEFENSIVE BACKS

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