South Carolina Football: Report card vs. Florida

QUARTERBACK PLAY. A. South Carolina football fans saw another excellent performance from Spencer Rattler on Saturday. The Gamecock quarterback went 23-30 for over 300 yards and 4 touchdowns. Two incompletions (and his 1 interception) came in desperation on the final drive, so they should hardly count against #7. He was also a very effective scrambler, and he kept the ball effectively on a couple of read plays, as well. The loss and the desperation plays ding him just a bit, but Spencer Rattler was great against Florida.. . South Carolina Gamecocks

A-. The South Carolina running game was pretty good against Florida. Mario Anderson had 98 yards, and Juju McDowell helped out the cause with a nice touchdown run off-tackle and an easy 3-yard touchdown reception. DK Joyner, once again, didn’t do much in reserve duty. Anderson is this team’s lead back, and he is good enough to keep the running game afloat if he gets decent blocking, something he did until an ankle injury slowed him down in the 2nd half against the Gators. His impressive hurdle on his touchdown catch-and-run in the 2nd quarter bumps this grade up a bit, as well.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. RUNNING BACKS

PASS CATCHERS. B+. The Gamecock receivers and tight ends had a good day. Xavier Legette did Xavier Legette things as he caught a downfield 50-50 ball and had a nice catch and run. Trey Knox and Josh Simon each had a touchdown of their own, and a few others added a catch or two. Nyck Harbor caught his first deep ball, a 55-yard reception that saw him use his size more than his speed. There’s not much else to say about this unit other than they did their job well. One knock was that O’Mega Blake had a really bad route and adjustment to the ball in the air on a pass that should have been a touchdown.. . South Carolina Gamecocks

OFFENSIVE LINE. B-. Lonnie Teasley’s position group employed a brand new unit on Saturday. Freshmen Tree Babalade (left tackle) and Tro Baugh (right guard) were the only starters who played the same position from the previous week as Vershon Lee went to right tackle, Nick Gargiulo slid inside to center, and Trai Jones got his first start of the year at left guard. After a rough initial showing from Jones and Gargiulo, the switch-up worked as the offensive line had a pretty good performance. The pass protection wasn’t quite as good after Lee left with a knee injury (he was replaced by Sidney Fugar), but it was a pretty good day up front. Trey Knox continues to be an inconsistent blocker as a tight end, but Josh Simon had some really nice moments at the point of attack in the first half. Gargiulo, who hadn’t played center all year, had a couple of poor snaps, as well.. . South Carolina Gamecocks