South Carolina Score Card

In some ways, this almost reminded me of the game we went into Missouri and the team was just off due to learning that Schlarman was near death. I think the Levi's injury affected the entire unit in a similar way as he is the heart and soul of the team. South Carolina smelled blood coming into the game and across the board the team didn't step up to play with the passion and execution that was needed to overcome the loss of Levi's.

Quarterbacks – C+

I thought Sheron played well considering it was his first time in the bright lights of an SEC contest. We knew this was not going to be a night where you open up the playbook. The execution around him was not good and he was 15-27 with 2 TD’s and one pick. He was aided on the last drive by the Gamecocks playing off the receivers a bit. His pocket presence was okay for his first game, given the hapless OL in front of him that again was gnashed for 6 sacks and 8 tackles for loss. I thought his Touchdown pass to McClain was a difficult throw and he showed a strong arm and accuracy. Certainly, can’t blame him for the loss and I see potential in his game.

Running Backs – B+

Rodriguez did his part with 22 rushes and a net of 126 yards. McClain had 3 carries for 19. I gave a B grade because the first turnover was destructive to Kentucky’s chances of winning. Was it just a great defensive play or a bit of sloppiness on CRod’s part? Realistically, for this game the backs needed more than 25 carries.

Receivers/TE’s – B

Overall, 15 catches for 178 yards with 90 of those coming after the catch. No one with more than 2 catches and you can argue the Quarterback situation stifled their game, but I also think they didn’t necessarily make things happen and could have caught a couple of balls they didn’t get. Losing Tayvion Robinson was impactful.

Offensive Line – D

At this point, it doesn’t seem the coaching staff can fix this unit. It’s gut check time for the whole team, but especially for these guys. They are bad in so many ways that I don’t want to spend any time here to support my mental health.

Defensive Line – C-

These guys were highly rated coming into Kentucky with several 4 stars and Rogers a 5 star. They simply don’t make plays. Oxendine finally showed up in the box score with 3 tackles (2 solo’s). Deone Walker is a force but only had two assisted tackles. How long has it been since a lineman has had a sack or a tackle for loss? Heck, can anyone even remember a QB hit from this group? For Kentucky to win, they had to be at their best and they just didn’t make it happen.

Linebackers – B

As usual the linebackers were the strength of the team, because far away there are, but again they had to be especially good last night, and they weren’t. Square had a sack and 2 tackles for loss. Wright had two tackles for loss, Wallace had an interception and Jackson was a sturdy fill in for Jones with 2 tackles for loss. The two long touchdown runs were killers and for the first time I can remember this season our tackling was not good, and it cost us what should have been a win.

Secondary – B-

I’m not impressed by Rattler and he had 177 yards passing however, the pass defense didn’t beat us - but again poor tackling in the back of the secondary did. Ajian recorded a sack and Lovett had 3 solo tackles but across the board there was only one pass breakup.

Special Teams – D

They are challenging the OL for our weakest unit. The missed field goal was critical, and we simply can’t snap the ball to the holder with any accuracy. They had two punt returns for 35 yards, so 17-yard average which is problematic.

Coaching – D-

If you read the message boards (again not recommended for your mental health) then Scang and Yenser should be fired immediately. Just what we need to have 4 OC and OL coaches in four years. After the Florida game, Scang was considered a good hire. Now, I’ve learned from the boards he is horrible. I will say the first play of the game represented too much risk and the absolute worst thing that could happen on our first snap happened. Just hand the ball to CRod and let’s get Sheron through the butterflies of a first start. Instead of our defense stepping up they had our worst game tackling and from an execution standpoint. So, collectively as a staff one of the worst coached games of the Stoops era. The preseason hype was obviously unwarranted. How will the coaching staff respond and how will the players react. Hopefully we find out with our starting QB back on the field.