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South Carolina got back to the right side of the win column on Saturday with a close, 37-30 win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
There were several positive takeaways for the Gamecocks as the passing game among other things shone brightly in the victory, with veteran quarterback Spencer Rattler completing 18-of-20 passes for 288 yards with 3 touchdowns.
Up next on the schedule, the team will aim to build on its success with a conference matchup against the No. 21-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.
Player of the Week: QB Spencer Rattler
There was a point in time when Rattler was seen as a lock for the first overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Things went south as Rattler was ultimately benched for Caleb Williams at Oklahoma, but now both players are on the up at different programs.
Rattler entered the season projected to be one of the better quarterbacks in the nation and has continued to build on his draft stocks despite some hiccups along the way. He looks like he’s reached a new level of rhythm and comfort in the South Carolina offense, showing notable improvement from a mental processing perspective as a passer.
“He’s playing out of his mind right now,” Beamer said. “I saw where he was 13-of-13 at halftime, it’s kind of like when a pitcher’s got a no-hitter going, I didn’t want to say anything to him. But he’s a big-time player, and being able to run for some first downs. He’s a better athlete than people give give him credit for, he did an awesome job for us tonight.”
Freshman of the Week: S Jalon Kilgore
Kilgore’s true freshman campaign continued on Saturday night as he earned his third consecutive start at safety, something positive for the future in terms of both how often he sees the field and his personal development as a player.
He finished out the contest with 4 combined tackles (3 solo).
Biggest surprise: Passing game takes center stage
This was a bit of a surprise for both teams considering the lack of passing attempts for MSU at the beginning of the season and the struggles the Bulldogs showed throwing it around when they tried to against LSU. There was some concern that South Carolina could also have some trouble through the air with some of the inconsistency that Rattler showed in the previous week and the thought that the MSU defense could force Rattler into some toughing passing situations, but that was hardly the case as Rattler distributed the ball to 8 different targets.
Biggest concern: Getting better on third down
While South Carolina was nothing short of impressive on the offensive side of the ball, the team needs to do a better job of converting in third-down situations. The Gamecocks were 5-of-13 on third down against the Bulldogs, and that’s going to have to improve down the line against some more stout SEC opponents on the schedule.
Developing trend: Improving offensive line
All success in football on the offensive side of the ball begins and ends with how well the offensive line is playing. The Gamecocks have lacked consistent solidity up front, playing a role in some of the issues in the passing game last week. While they still have some room to improve in their blocks, this bodes well for head coach Shane Beamer’s team as they move forward into SEC play.
Key stat: Red zone success
As the final score would reflect, the Gamecocks made use of their offensive opportunities when they had them. And that was true whenever they made it into the red zone, which happened 4 times in Saturday’s victory.
The Gamecocks capitalized on 3 of those 4 trips, a trend they’ll look to keep going through the end of the season.
First impression about Tennessee:
The Vols were seen as potentially one of college football’s best teams in 2023, but that changed a bit when the team unexpectedly fell 29-16 to the Florida Gators in the first SEC game of the season. Tennessee has quickly gotten back on track, though, and will be a force to be reckoned with after winning every other game on its schedule, most recently recording a 45-14 victory over UTSA.
Quarterback Joe Milton, who could potentially be a part of the Heisman Trophy conversation, completed 18-of-31 passes for 209 yards with 2 touchdowns. Tennessee put up 303 rushing yards, allowing 231 passing yards and 88 rushing yards out of UTSA.
Crissy covers SEC football news for Saturday Down South.
