South Carolina Football: Report card vs. Texas A&M

C+. Quarterback Spencer Rattler didn’t have his best game on Saturday. He certainly wasn’t bad, but three intentional grounding penalties hurt the Gamecocks in a big way in a bad 2nd quarter. Rattler’s receivers didn’t help the cause, however, as they dropped four passes and struggled to get open most of the day. With the A&M front getting pressure thanks to a patchwork Gamecock offensive line, and the receivers’ struggles, Rattler gets a little bit of a benefit of the doubt that he would have been somewhat better under normal circumstances. All in all, the USC quarterback should get an average grade for Saturday’s performance.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. QUARTERBACK PLAY

This category should almost be split in two. Mario Anderson had over 100 yards of offense, including over 60 of them after contact. He has proven himself to be a good back not just “a good back from Division-II.” After Super Mario, however, the running back position can’t do much without tons of space. DK Joyner continues to struggle in a big way, and his fumble late in the game extinguished the very small flicker of hope that remained in the 4th quarter. Juju McDowell can play in space, but without much green grass around him, he hasn’t shown himself to be productive, and that trend continued in limited touches against A&M. Combining Mario Anderson’s good day with the subpar day from the other two backs who played, the running back grade ends up being right around average.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. RUNNING BACKS. C+

D+. Xavier Legette wasn’t himself after trying to play after getting injured last week. He had a drop and couldn’t get open. O’Mega Blake dropped his only target and so did Tyshawn Russell. Trey Knox and Josh Simon had a couple of catches each from the tight end spot (including a Simon touchdown), but the only bright spot at receiver was true freshman Nyck Harbor. The former 5-star set a career-high for catches and yardage and bounced back from an early-game drop. Unfortunately, other than Harbor, no one got open very much against the Aggies, and that had a massive negative impact on the game.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. PASS CATCHERS

C-. The offensive line wasn’t good on Saturday. However, all things considered (injuries, shifting positions, Texas A&M’s talent up front), they performed okay. None of the six players who played significant snaps on Saturday played week 1 at that position. Rattler faced a lot of pressure, but no offensive lineman was getting crushed all night like South Carolina football fans have seen in previous weeks. Some of the issues with pass rushers in Rattler’s face came from the backs and tight ends (though Trey Knox and Josh Simon each had some good blocking moments) missing their protections or wide receivers not getting open, as well. It was not a good performance from the big uglies, but it was far from the worst the Gamecocks have experienced in 2023.. . South Carolina Gamecocks. OFFENSIVE LINE