Report card from South Carolina football's blowout win over the Akron Zips

South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Akron Zips. South Carolina football fans sold out Williams-Brice Stadium for a matchup with a bad Akron team despite everyone knowing the backup quarterback was going to start. That is commendable. The environment was pretty good early as a result, but the student section was virtually empty by halftime, and many of the other fans followed the students out shortly after that. The ding against the fans isn't too big (after all, it was a blowout against Akron), but this wasn't an "A" effort from the Gamecock fanbase.. FANS. FANS. B

COACHING. COACHING. B-. South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Akron Zips. After a tremendously disappointing loss to LSU last week, Gamecock head coach Shane Beamer did a good job of making sure his team was ready to play with focus against Akron. It was far from a perfect effort, but USC was ready. Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains did a good job of giving Robby Ashford throwing opportunities so that he is ready in case he is needed to throw in more important situations, and Clayton White led his unit to a smothering performance. Special teams didn't look particularly crisp, surely drawing the ire of special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis, and there were some odd stretches on offense (including running a bunch of short routes on 3rd-and-long against a cover-1 look). Those demerits dip the Gamecocks' coaching grade a bit in this one, but a 50-7 win can't result in grade that's too low..

South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Akron Zips. The Gamecocks did not have their best special teams performance on Saturday night. Kai Kroeger had a good day punting (and one punt was downed beautifully inside the 2-yard line), but several other areas of the third phase weren't at their best. The punt return unit repeatedly saw Gamecock players get near short punts for no apparent reason, including a muffed punt that was negated due to a questionable penalty against Akron. When the return unit got an explosive return form Jalon Kilgore, the sophomore didn't get used again. Alex Herrera did not have a good attempt at a squib kick, and several of his other kickoffs were shorter than usual. Coach Joe D's group also took a delay of game penalty after struggling to get everyone on the field properly, something that has been a minor struggle this season.. SPECIAL TEAMS. SPECIAL TEAMS. C+