South-Carolina

Grading all performances from South Carolina's road win at Vanderbilt

Published

1 week ago

November 12, 2024

Grading all performances from South Carolina's road win at Vanderbilt

It was around this time two years ago when South Carolina traveled to Nashville in search of its sixth win and got it to become bowl eligible for a second straight season.

Fast forward to now, the Gamecocks entered this past Saturday in a familiar position. After only winning five games in 2023, they won their sixth game of the year on the road at Vanderbilt to earn a bowl bid for the first time since 2022.

South Carolina stormed into Nashville and picked up a 28-7 win over the Commodores. Now with six wins, the team is 6-3 (4-3 SEC) on the year with three games to play in the regular season.

Let’s grade each position group and the coaching staff and break down how they performed this weekend.

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Quarterback: A

As the season moves along, LaNorris Sellers continues to only show signs of improvement and growth. It’s remarkable how far he’s come since his first start of the season.

Sellers put together another solid performance on Saturday, completing 14-of-20 (70%) of his passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns. His downfield vision was on full display in the win as he completed six passes for at least 14 yards per play.

Specifically, the one play that has everyone talking was his insane 51-yard pass that nearly didn’t happen coming out of halftime. At his own 15-yard line, he broke away from a potential sack and rolled out to his left with some room to run. Rather than scramble for a few yards, he saw Jared Brown downfield and hit him up for the big gain.

For the second straight game, Sellers wasn’t sacked at all. He only ran for 38 yards and did have one turnover on a first quarter fumble. But he was more than productive enough to help guide the Gamecocks to a big win.

Running back: A

Saturday proved to be another fantastic game for Rocket Sanders, who finished with 178 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. His first touchdown came two plays after Sellers’ 51-yard pass, where Sanders ran home free to the end zone for a 33-yard score.

He’d score again in the third quarter on a one-yard touchdown run to extend the lead. Then in the fourth quarter, he caught a dump off pass from Sellers and took it 43 yards for the game-icing touchdown. Whether it was the way he cut, how physical he was, how hard he ran, Sanders was nearly impossible to bring to the ground. He’s now up to 11 touchdowns on the season.

Let’s not forget about Oscar Adaway III, who quietly had a nice game as the team’s backup running back. He only ran for 34 yards on eight carries, but he had a lot of short yardage runs on early downs that made things easier for the Gamecocks to convert on third down. Adaway averaged 4.3 yards per carry.

Wide receiver: B

There weren’t any huge performances from the receivers in this game. It was much more of a collective effort and a few guys making some plays. Nyck Harbor led all receivers/tight ends with 43 yards on three catches. His big play came when he hauled in a 23-yard pass in the second quarter to put the Gamecocks in the red zone and score on the next play.

Gage Larvadain also had three catches and finished with 34 receiving yards. He caught one pass for 10 yards and another for 20. As aforementioned, Brown’s 51-yard catch from Sellers in the third quarter would be his only of the game. Vandrevius Jacobs was the only other receiver to be targeted and make a catch (one catch for six yards).

[See the Gamecock discussion on The Insiders Forum!]

Tight end: B+

As the offense continues to look better each game, so does Josh Simon. The sixth-year tight end caught three passes for 40 yards and hauled in a 17-yard touchdown to open the scoring.

Simon has been a great option for Sellers in the passing game as of late. This is what many expected out of him this year. He’s now up to 27 catches for 357 yards and five touchdowns this season. When he’s targeted, he makes plays. He’s averaged 13.2 yards per catch through nine games.

While Brady Hunt and Michael Smith weren’t targeted, they were both pretty good as blockers when they were on the field. As pass blockers, Hunt earned a 66.8 grade and Smith finished with a 67.4 grade, according to PFF. Their run blocking wasn’t anything great, but again, they still made enough of an impact to help in the win.

Offensive line: B+

It feels like the entire perception of the offensive line has changed within the span of two weeks. For the second straight game, South Carolina didn’t surrender a single sack. Three starting lineman finished with pass blocking grades of 72.6 or higher, which is pretty good.

While he only played 28 snaps, Tree Babalade was a major force up front, finishing with a game-high 80.1 pass blocking grade. With Josiah Thompson a little banged up, it’ll be interesting to see who starts at left tackle against Missouri this weekend. But it’s certain that Babalade should a solid chance to start after his performance.

Torricelli Simpkins III had a great game and earned SEC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week honors. He graded out a team-high 93 percent with 11 knockdown blocks and eight pancakes. He’s been one of the best additions the team made from the transfer portal.

South Carolina finished with 452 total yards of offense, 214 rushing and 238 passing. With how well the offense is operating, the offensive line has undoubtedly played a big part in this recent string of success.

Defensive line: A

It may not have been a giant statistical performance for the defensive line, but the group was about as disruptive as it could be. Vanderbilt’s offensive line allowed 11 quarterback hurries, which made things tough on quarterback Diego Pavia.

Pavia showed some flashes with a few nice plays here and there, but he didn’t have a great game, mainly due to how often the defensive line was in the backfield. He was sacked twice, once by Kyle Kennard on a strip sack fumble and another from Bryan Thomas Jr.

Even with how banged up the unit was with guys going in and out, it was still an overall great showing. This game really showed just how strong South Carolina’s depth is and that nearly anyone can come in and make an impact.

Linebacker: A

The streak of A+ grades for the linebackers will end at two games after Saturday. But between Demetrius Knight Jr., Debo Williams, and Bam Martin-Scott, they all good performances.

Knight had seven tackles and one pass breakup. Williams had four tackles and one tackle for loss. Martin-Scott also had seven tackles and 0.5 TFL, but he made a great play in the fourth quarter to deflect a pass from Pavia in the air to turn the ball over on downs.

[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Missouri football game]

Secondary: A

Outside of giving up one pass for a 33-yard gain, South Carolina’s secondary did a fantastic job of keeping Vanderbilt’s offense from finding the big play in the passing game. Of Pavia’s 16 completions, only five of them went for between 10-20 yards. Otherwise, it was a lot of short yardage passes and incompletions.

Stepping up for an injured DQ Smith, backup defensive back Peyton Williams slid into his starting role and didn’t miss a beat. He finished with seven tackles and broke up two passes, one of which came on a fourth down stop in the third quarter.

Judge Collier, Jalon Kilgore, and O’Donnell Fortune each had a pass breakup, as well, further reinforcing the point that the secondary shut down Vandy’s passing attack.

Special teams: B+

Alex Herrera missed his only field goal attempt of the day from 42 yards out in the first quarter. It’s not ideal to see him miss from that distance.

Kai Kroeger only punted twice and averaged 48 yards per punt. His game-long went for 57 yards, which went out of bounds at the one-yard line after the Commodores nearly gave the ball back to the Gamecocks on a fumble.

Coaching: A

In this recent run of success over a three-game win streak, the coaching has been very good. As always, it starts with head coach Shane Beamer, who continues to prove why he’s a great leader for this program. He’s now 10-4 as the program’s head coach during the month of November.

While offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains’ play calling might get a little too cute or fancy at times, there’s no question his offense has been way better since the bye week. Over the last two games, the Gamecocks have finished with 530 yards against Texas A&M and 452 yards against Vanderbilt. With three games to go, it’ll be interesting to see what’s next for the unit and what other tricks Loggains will have up his sleeve.

And as usual, defensive coordinator Clayton White and the defensive staff continue to put the defense in the best positions possible to be successful. South Carolina still hasn’t pitched a complete game shutout this season, but it’s getting awfully close to doing so after giving up seven points on Saturday.

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South-Carolina

JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, South Carolina highlight women’s games to watch this week

Published

3 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Press Room

JuJu Watkins, Hannah Hidalgo, South Carolina highlight women’s games to watch this week

Technically, Feast Week is still three days away, but given some of the star-powered matchups this week in women’s college hoops, those who are craving good basketball are going to get their fill — and then some.

The two biggest games of the week are both taking place in L.A., more proof that Hollywood really does attract the biggest and best stars. While USC-Notre Dame and UCLA-South Carolina will command plenty of attention, don’t discount some of the unranked and/or mid-major schools listed below. November is a great time to get familiar with non-brand names that could make a run come March.

And with that, here are five women’s college games to watch this week.

Belmont at No. 14 Duke

Thursday, 7 p.m. on ACC Network

Don’t be fooled by Belmont’s 2-2 record — the Bruins took No. 11 Ohio State to the wire last week, and Bart Brooks is one of the best coaches in the country, period. Belmont boasts a balanced scoring attack, with five players averaging 8.0 points or more, but in order to pull an upset in historic Cameron Indoor Stadium, they’re going to need Kendall Holmes (12.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Emily La Chapell (11.5 ppg, 3.0 apg) to step up. Duke, which also has a balanced attack, won’t make it easy, especially if Ashlon Jackson (13.2 ppg, 40% 3FG) and Reigan Richardson (11.4 ppg, 41.2% 3FG) are hitting from outside.

No. 9 Oklahoma at UNLV

Friday, 3:30 ET on Mountain West Network

This could be interesting. UNLV has ruled the Mountain West for a few years, and is often ranked at the end of the regular season. But the Rebels have yet to make major noise in the NCAA tournament, even though they’re often a popular upset pick. Could a win at home over a top 10 team help build the confidence they need to do some damage in March? To upset the Sooners they’ll have to figure out how to handle junior center Raegan Beers (21.2 ppg, 11.8 rpg), arguably the top transfer in the country.

Harvard at Northwestern

Saturday, 1 p.m. ET on Big Ten Network+

Harvard’s already picked up one win against a Big Ten team, knocking off then-ranked Indiana in Bloomington in the second game of the season. And given that the Crimson feature one of the best players in the country you haven’t heard of — senior guard Harmoni Turner is averaging 23.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and shooting 45.1% from the field — the chances of notching another big road win look good.

No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 3 USC

Saturday, 4 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock

The two best sophomores in the country, USC’s JuJu Watkins and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo take centerstage in a game that could very well break scoring records based on how much these two guards love to push pace. Watkins (21.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.8 spg) is pro-ready in just her second year of college hoops and Hidalgo (25.0 ppg, 5.2 spg) is maybe the best on-ball defender in the country, a pest who knows how to steal the ball and turn it into points on the other end. But these two are hardly one-woman shows. USC got a gem out of the transfer portal in Kiki Iriafen (17.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg) and the Irish’s other star guard, Olivia Miles (18.3 ppg, 6.8), is healthy after missing last season. You’re going to want popcorn handy when you tune into this game.

No. 1 South Carolina at No. 6 UCLA

Sunday, 4 p.m. ET on FS1

UCLA junior center Lauren Betts (21.5 ppg, 11.5 rpg) is an early favorite to contend for national player of the year honors. One thing that would help make a case for her: a stellar performance against the defending champs. That’s a tall task though, even for the 6-foot-7 Betts. She’ll be going up against Gamecocks like Joyce Edwards (10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg), a freshman who plays like a veteran, and Ashlyn Watkins (5.7 ppg, 1.3 bpg), who proved last year she’s one of the best defenders in the country. Will UCLA and Betts be able to slow Chloe Kitts (17.3 ppg, 10.3 rpg) and Te-Hina Paopao (13.5 ppg, 44% 3FG)? They’ll have to in order to beat South Carolina. A big game from transfer Timea Gardiner (14.5 ppg, 57.7% 3FG) would also help.

USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll: Defending national champions remain at No. 1

Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media @Lindsay_Schnell

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Updated NFL Draft projections for South Carolina football standouts

Published

11 hours ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

Updated NFL Draft projections for South Carolina football standouts

The South Carolina football record for single-year NFL Draft selections in the modern era is seven. Both the 2009 draft and 2013 draft saw seven Gamecocks selected. (Back in 1954, nine USC alums went in a much longer draft.)

The 2025 NFL Draft could challenge those numbers.

The Gamecocks will be well-represented in April’s draft, especially on defense. You can check out some recent draft projections below. (The only underclassmen included are TJ Sanders and Nick Emmanwori because of their expected early-round selections.)

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TJ Sanders

The player most consistently mocked in the 1st round among the draft-eligible Gamecocks is big TJ Sanders. The athletic defensive tackle has gotten top-30 love from CBS Sports’ Chris Trapasso and Mike Renner. Other outlets predict a 2nd or 3rd-round selection, but Sanders appears to be a lock in the top 100.

Nick Emmanwori

Nick Emmanwori has been one of several standouts on this year’s defense at South Carolina. Because of that, the talented safety has become one of the top players at his position in the 2025 draft. Some even consider him this cycle’s best overall safety. Emmanwori is big, fast, and great on the back end. CBS’ Ryan Wilson views the freaky athlete as a 1st-rounder. Most outlets seem to position him in the 2nd round.

Kyle Kennard

Coming into 2024 as a late-round guy, Kyle Kennard has played himself into a new future. Now, following an All-American showing this fall, he has been mocked as high as the late 1st round but seems settled into somewhere in the top 100 according to most sources. That is exactly where The Draft Network’s Keith Sanchez projects Kennard. Sanchez calls him a “Day 2” pick, meaning he believes Kennard will go in the 2nd or 3rd round.

Rocket Sanders

Running backs aren’t nearly as highly coveted in the draft as they used to be, but Rocket Sanders is among the names garnering consideration. The 33rd Team’s Kyle Crabbs projects Sanders to be a 5th-round pick. That also tracks with other NFL Draft big boards and mocks. Most outlets seem to think Sanders will be off the board between the fourth and seventh rounds.

DeAndre Jules

An under-the-radar Gamecock in draft circles in DeAndre Jules. The big defensive tackle has missed some time this fall, but the NFL is still intrigued by the big fella. Walter Football’s Charlie Campbell projects Jules to go in the 3rd or 4th round in April. That is higher than most other mocks, though. When Jules is included on other NFL Draft boards, it is as a potential late-round pick.

Josh Simon

As part of a strong season, Josh Simon tied USC’s single-season touchdown record for tight ends (6) against Missouri. Because of his production, the NFL is taking notice. AtoZSports NFL Draft analyst Ryan Roberts called Simon “a better pro than college player,” which is significant because he’s a really good college tight end. NFL Draft pundits are late to the party, but he’s starting to get late-round buzz as a possible 5th-round to 7th-round selection. The offseason should be kind to Simon’s draft stock.

O’Donnell Fortune

O’Donnell Fortune could be the next South Carolina cornerback to make his way into the draft. In fact, earlier this fall, NFL Draft analyst Tony Pauline gave the Palmetto State native a 6th-round grade. Several other outlets have followed suit recently. Fortune has had a strong senior season in Columbia and should find himself in professional football next year, whether via draft selection or free agent contract. He is a “stock up” candidate.

Demetrius Knight

Demetrius Knight is an NFL linebacker. Because he didn’t play until last year (with Charlotte) and has just one season in the SEC, his stock isn’t high. As things stand, Walter Football’s Charlie Campbell lists Knight as a 6th or 7th-round pick. However, Knight’s size and speed should see him be an offseason riser. His physical testing numbers and pop on film should impress scouts.

Tonka Hemingway

Heading into the season, Tonka Hemingway was viewed as a potential major riser for the 2025 NFL Draft. With other players also stepping up around the country at the position, a solid year for Hemingway hasn’t seen that draft stock bump come to fruition. Walter Football’s Charlie Campbell calls Hemingway a 6th or 7th-round pick.

[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Wofford football game]

Other Late-Round/Undrafted Free Agent Hopefuls

*The players listed below have received 7th-round or undrafted free agent grades from various outlets*

LB Debo Williams
G/C Torricelli Simpkins
C/G Vershon Lee
LB Bam Martin-Scott
DT Boogie Huntley
WR Gage Larvadain
P Kai Kroeger
LS Hunter Rogers

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South-Carolina

Gamecocks Welcome Mercer Thursday Night

Published

18 hours ago

November 20, 2024

Press Room

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (2-2) returns home for a Thursday night matchup with Mercer (2-2) at Colonial Life Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. (ET) with Dave Weinstein (pxp) and John Williams (analyst) on the call for the SEC Network+ broadcast.

It’ll be the seventh all-time meeting between the Gamecocks and Bears and first since Dec. 30, 2001, in Dave Odom’s inaugural season as head coach at South Carolina.

The contest will be an unbracketed game part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off, which takes place next week at Suncoast Credit Union Arena Nov. 25 and 27.

Road closures for the annual Vista Lights on Nov. 21 will affect traffic for the campus community and fans heading to the men’s basketball game at 7 p.m. against Mercer.

Starting around 5 p.m., the city of Columbia will close the following streets:

Gervais Street from Gadsden to Assembly streets
Lincoln Street from Senate to Lady streets
Park Street from Senate to Lady streets

Members of the university community are advised to find alternate routes home from campus or to Colonial Life Arena.

Season tickets remain available and more information can be found here. Single-game tickets are now available as well and can be purchased here.

GAME INFORMATION

TIME: 7 p.m. (ET) with doors opening at 6 p.m.

VENUE: Colonial Life Arena

TV: SEC Network+

PLAY-BY-PLAY: Dave Weinstein

ANALYST: John Williams

RADIO: Gamecock Radio Network

IN COLUMBIA: 107.5 The Game

PLAY-BY-PLAY: Derek Scott

ANALYST: Casey Manning

SIRIUSXM: 385 | SXM APP: 975

WATCH: ESPN.com/watch/

LIVE STATS: GamecocksOnline.com

SERIES: SC leads, 4-2

in COLUMBIA: SC leads, 4-2

SERIES TREND: SC has won three-in-a-row dating back to Jan. 2, 1993, a 68-66 victory.

LAST MEETING: Dec. 30, 2001 in the non-conference finale of Dave Odom’s first season ; Gamecocks won 88-52 in what would be the final season of Frank McGuire Arena.

UP NEXT

The Gamecocks head south for a two-game MTE in the program’s debut at the Fort Myers Tip-Off. Carolina opens vs. Xavier (4-0) on Monday. Tip is 8:30 p.m. (ET) on FS1 with Jeff Levering (pxp) and Donny Marshall (analyst) on the call. The team will face either Virginia Tech or Michigan Wednesday night at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.

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