South Carolina football: Stock report after Week 1

South Carolina kicked off its 2023 college football season against No. 21 North Carolina in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Gamecocks looked to make it 2 in a row against the Tar Heels, but they were unable to match the productivity of North Carolina’s star quarterback Drake Maye. The Gamecocks fell to the Tar Heels 31-17 in a fight to the end.

There were plenty of aspects to be excited about regarding South Carolina. There were also some concerns the Gamecocks will have to learn from if they want to survive a brutal 2023 schedule.

Player of the Week: Wide Receiver Xavier Legette

In a game where the passing offense and its quarterbacks were the focal point, the top playmaker for the Gamecocks was their top pass-catcher. Redshirt senior Xavier Legette was the most reliable playmaker on both sides of the field.

Legette caught 9 receptions for 178 yards, with his longest catch was 38 yards. Of the 8 pass-catchers South Carolina had, he had 5 more receptions than the next receiver. He also had 134 yards more than the next leading receiver.

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Freshman of the Week: Free Safety Jalen Kilgore

There were a few freshmen for South Carolina that contributed to playing in Week 1. Among the biggest contributors was safety Jalen Kilgore, who was one of the more efficient and productive defensive backs on Saturday. Kilgore accounted for 12 total tackles, the second-highest on the team, and 5 solo tackles. He was among the few defensive backs for South Carolina who wasn’t consistently beat in single-man coverage. As the season continues, Kilgore will get the chance to continue developing confidence in the secondary.

Biggest surprise: Gamecocks’ defense picked off Drake Maye twice

The Gamecocks’ defense was far from perfect as it battled the Tar Heels’ offense, led by Maye. The biggest surprise of the game was the defense forcing 2 interceptions from the potential first-round quarterback in back-to-back series in the second half. South Carolina cornerbacks O’Donnell Fortune and KaJuan Banks were the players to account for the interceptions.

Biggest concern: The state of the offensive line

Among the biggest concerns for the Gamecocks’ offense going into the 2023 college football season were the run game and the inexperience of the offensive line. The concerns grew as they were not able to develop a run game against the defense of North Carolina.

The Gamecocks mustered -2 yards on the ground on 31 carries for an average of -0.1 yards per rush. The offensive line allowed the defense of North Carolina to account for 9 sacks and 16 tackles for loss. There is still plenty of time left for the Gamecocks to develop their offensive line before their SEC schedule starts, but this game was a bad start.

Developing trend: Zero Turnovers in a one-dimensional offense

If there is some positive takeaway from the Gamecocks’ offense on Saturday, it’s that it didn’t turn the ball over. While quarterback Spencer Rattler wasn’t explosive in his passes, he found multiple ways to drive the ball down the field and avoid turnovers. Rattler completed 30-of-39 of his passes for 353 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Last season for the Gamecocks, he threw 12 interceptions.

In just one game, South Carolina’s offense looks one-dimensional as the poor state of its run game will keep it from being a high-powered offense. If the Gamecocks can avoid turnovers in the passing game, they will have a chance to overpower SEC defenses.

Key stat: 0 sacks

The defensive line was among the biggest weaknesses for the Gamecocks heading into the 2023 season. They were up to the tough task in the first game of the season as they had to face a potential future first rounder in Drake Maye.

South Carolina’s defense needed to put as much pressure as it could to put Maye into bad situations. The defensive line of the Gamecocks gave an inefficient performance as they couldn’t account for a sack on Maye nor account for a tackle in the backfield. It is going to be a long season if the defensive line can’t put pressure on the opposing quarterback.

First impression about Week 2

The South Carolina Gamecocks (0-1) look to bounce back from the tough loss to the No. 21 North Carolina Tar Heels with a more efficient win over the Furman Paladins (1-0) in Week 2. The Gamecocks will attempt to be efficient at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball against the Paladins.

The Paladins got a 45-10 win over at home Tennessee Tech on Thursday, August 31. Furman forced Tennessee Tech to turn the ball over 6 times while the Paladins turned it over twice. South Carolina can make a big impact in the turnover game and build some confidence. This game is also the perfect opportunity to build good habits at the offensive and defensive line.