Tennessee vs. South Carolina: Final Report Card, Player Grades for the Gamecocks

No. 13 South Carolina had to fend off a feisty Tennessee team on Saturday, but the Gamecocks did just enough to survive with a 38-35 win in Columbia to improve to 7-2 on the season and 5-2 in SEC play. South Carolina now gets a week off before its conference finale in two weeks against Arkansas. Tennessee fell to 3-5, 0-5 in the SEC.

I've been providing in-game grades for the Gamecocks all afternoon and now have given final postgame grades for each position group during Saturday's victory over the SEC East rival Volunteers. After two losses in a row, a win is a win, even if it wasn't always pretty.

Quarterback: B+

The numbers tell the tale for Shaw, who connected on 22 of his 32 throws, most of them of short distance, for 356 yards and three touchdowns. His lone interception came on a fourth down play in which no damage was done by turning it over.

He missed Ace Sanders multiple times that could have resulted in touchdowns, but Shaw displayed his toughness by missing only one play after getting hurt and continuing to run. He took a couple of bad sacks when he held onto the ball too long, but overall it was a strong bounceback performance.

Running Backs: B+

Obviously nothing will atone for the loss of Marcus Lattimore, who may never play another down in a South Carolina uniform after suffering a serious knee injury in the second quarter. The trio of Lattimore, Kenny Miles and Mike Davis combined for 124 yards on 26 carries, solid but not spectacular. Shaw added 33 yards and a touchdown to help out.

The backs were helped all afternoon by strong offensive line play, but Miles and Davis did enough to show that this offense can still function as designed even without its superstar.

Receivers: A-

Tennessee’s secondary is horrendous, but that shouldn’t take away from solid days from Justice Cunningham and Bruce Ellington, who each had six catches and over 100 yards. Ace Sanders and Rory Anderson added touchdown receptions as well.

Damiere Byrd had a key drop on a beautiful touch pass from Shaw, but there was little to complain about from an underrated receiving corps on Saturday afternoon.

Offensive Line: A-

The Gamecocks were able to run with a fair amount of ease for most of the day, as the Gamecocks’ front held the aggressive Tennessee run defense at bay. There were a couple penalties and sacks, but those will happen.

Tackle Brandon Shell left with an ankle injury, but the unit did not miss a beat without him.

Defensive Line: A-

South Carolina held the Volunteers to just 91 yards on the ground, including only 56 from starting running back Marlin Lane. J.T. Surratt and Byron Jerideau controlled the middle of the line, and Jadeveon Clowney made the play of the day when he forced a Tyler Bray fumble as Tennessee was poised to take the lead with under two minutes remaining.

Tennessee has one of the best offensive lines in the SEC, so opportunities to get to Bray were at a premium. Alas, Clowney came through when the Gamecocks needed him most with a play that few others can make.

Linebackers: B

South Carolina plays a 4-2-5 alignment, in which DeVonte Holloman functions as a hybrid safety/linebacker. Damario Jeffery and Shaq Wilson had solid afternoons, but neither made many big plays.

Jeffrey made a nice tackle to force a fourth down attempt, and Wilson was the beneficiary of Clowney’s forced fumble, recovering the loose ball to seal the win.

Defensive Backs: C

There aren’t a ton of positives with the back half of the Gamecocks defense. Jimmy Legree and Ahmad Christian struggled all day against Justin Hunter, Vincent Dallas and Zach Rogers, with only Victor Hampton playing consistently well in coverage.

Legree and Christian both fell down on long pass plays, with Legree’s slip leading to a touchdown. Hampton ended the game with an interception on a desperation pass intended for Hunter.

Special Teams: B+

Adam Yates and Tyler Hull had a productive day kicking and punting respectively. The Gamecocks attempted only one field goal, which Yates drilled from 36 yards to provide the winning margin. Hull made Cordarrelle Patterson a non-factor in the return game with good placement and height on his punts.

Ace Sanders and Bruce Ellington each had a good return, Sanders’ on a punt and Ellington’s on a kickoff to give the Gamecocks good field position.

Coaching: B+

Steve Spurrier’s play-calling was excellent all day long, keeping Tennessee’s defense off-balance with a good mix of runs and passes. The Head Ball Coach has become more of a run-first coach, but he reached back to his Florida days to take advantage of Tennessee’s poor pass defense.

Defensively, it was a tall task stopping the Vols passing game. With Akeem Auguste leaving the game, the unit was also lacking depth, but clearly strides must be made before facing high-powered offenses next month against Arkansas and Clemson.