Report card from South Carolina football's disappointing loss to LSU Tigers

DEFENSIVE LINE. DEFENSIVE LINE. C. South Carolina Gamecocks vs. LSU Tigers. South Carolina has a very good defensive line, and for most of the day against LSU, they did a solid job. Kyle Kennard was disruptive as a pass rusher, and TJ Sanders and Tonka Hemingway had good showings on the interior. However, a few horrible moments ding this grade quite a bit. The reserve EDGE players were exposed against the run as LSU ran the ball seemingly at will off tackle because several Gamecock defensive ends got in bad habits of pinching inside or shooting upfield on the majority of their snaps. Costly penalties (3 against Kennard) also hurt USC in a big way, even if a couple of the flags were questionable. This grade isn't reflective of how good Travian Robertson and Sterling Lucas' players are, and fans can expect things to be better in most games this year.

LINEBACKERS. B-. South Carolina Gamecocks vs. LSU Tigers. Debo Williams the Gamecock linebacking corps were tasked with a difficult job on Saturday, but there had pretty nice showing. There were a few instances in which the 'backers were beaten in coverage, but that was usually a scheme issue instead of a player issue (Debo Williams shouldn't be in 1-on-1 coverage with a wide receiver). Williams had a strong 6-tackle game, Bam Martin-Scott flashed both as a pass rusher and as a sideline-to-sideline player, Demetrius Knight was good, and Bangally Kamara had some moments in more limited snaps. All around, it was a solid day from the linebacking group. They can perform better, but they were far from a problem in this game.. LINEBACKERS

South Carolina Gamecocks vs. LSU Tigers. Grading the Gamecock secondary's game against LSU is hard. On one hand, Nick Emmanwori was awesome, leading the team in tackles and having a pick-6 that had its return called back due to a questionable call by the officials. On the other hand, the corners really struggled to tackle LSU's skill position players and weren't quite as sticky in coverage as they had been against Old Dominion and Kentucky. DQ Smith had a typical DQ Smith day in which he has some really good moments and some frustrating ones. Some in the fanbase are claiming the secondary got torched in this game, but some of the issues for the Gamecocks' pass defense on Saturday had to do with coaching decisions. Linebackers and safeties were matched up in 1-on-1 situations too often, and when that happens, offenses tend to make plays. A few of LSU's catches against the secondary came in spite of tight coverage, as well. The defensive backfield (other than Emmanwori) wasn't spectacular against LSU, but they are getting too much blame.. SECONDARY. SECONDARY. C