Report card from South Carolina football's ugly win over the Old Dominion Monarchs

South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Old Dominion Monarchs. It looked like South Carolina football fans were in line for a good grade on Saturday. A sold out crowd was loud and excited after an early touchdown put the Gamecocks ahead. However, after a brief "lightning" delay in which the sun was out and no rain fell from the sky, a shocking number of fans left the stadium and didn't return. . FANS. FANS. C

South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Old Dominion Monarchs. Frankly, Saturday's win over ODU was one of the worst-coached games (if not the worst) during the Shane Beamer era in Columbia. Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains didn't call a good game, and in clock-wasting at the end of the 1st half, he called runs for quarterback LaNorris Sellers that allowed him to get hit unnecessarily. Defensive coordinator Clayton White's unit played pretty well most of the game, but when things started to go sideways in the 3rd quarter, he didn't make any adjustments. He finally shifted to the 3-3-5 (the formation he should have been using all day), and the team generated two stops to seal the game. Specials teams was fine other than an inexplicable whiff from the up-backs that resulted in a blocked punt. A few head coaching decisions were head-scratching, as well, including declining a penalty that would have put ODU behind the sticks in 2nd-and-17.. COACHING. COACHING. D

The first game for special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis was a mixed bag. On one hand, DeAndre Jules blocked an extra point and another Gamecock tipped a field goal try (one that still went over the crossbar). On the other hand, the Gamecocks allowed a punt to get blocked because the up-backs just didn't block a rusher straight up the middle. A beautiful fake field goal would have resulted in a touchdown, but a lineman drifted too far upfield, negating the score thanks to the resulting flag. Juju McDowell showed some juice as a returner but also had a head-scratching decision to field a punt at the 5-yard line with defenders in his face. Alex Herrera made 3/4 field goals in his starting debut. Overall, the effort wasn't bad, but it was a couple of mental mistakes away from being excellent.. SPECIAL TEAMS. SPECIAL TEAMS. B-. South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Old Dominion Monarchs