South Carolina football: Stock report following Week 7

South Carolina (2-4) was one of the most intriguing teams both in the Southeastern Conference and in the country with a lot of optimism surrounding head coach Shane Beamer and quarterback Spencer Rattler after the step in the right direction they took in 2022, but it’s been something of a mixed bag.

The team has been competitive against solid competition, as the loss to the country’s No. 1-ranked team earlier in the season would imply, but they have not been able to put it all together on a regular basis with just 2 wins over halfway through the year.

Here’s a look into where the Gamecocks stand following the Week 7 loss to Florida as South Carolina fell, 41-39 in a close one.

Player of the Week: QB Spencer Rattler

While Rattler has shown inconsistency at times, some of that has to do with South Carolina’s pass protection which has faltered on multiple occasions. But whenever the effort up front has been up to par and Rattler isn’t constantly running for his life having to create plays out of the structure, he’s shown tremendous improvement as he continues to establish himself as one of the best quarterbacks in the conference.

Rattler finished out the game 23-of-30 passing for 313 yards with 4 touchdowns and 1 interception.

Freshman of the Week: S Jalon Kilgore

This is not the first time we have named Kilgore the freshman of the week as he continues to develop and grow into his role at the next level.

He finished the game with a high of 11 tackles, 7 of which were solo, while also recording 1 pass breakup. Expect him to continue earning the starting nod and cementing himself as a more well-known name as time goes on.

Biggest surprise:  Florida QB Graham Mertz shines against Gamecock defense

Several had thrown in the towel on the former Wisconsin transfer before the season ever began, and his performance before he headed to the SEC and toward the beginning of the season would back that up. But Mertz seems to be on the road to improvement, giving his critics little to talk about as he had one of his most productive games of the year against South Carolina.

He finished 30-of-48 passing for 423 yards with 3 touchdowns on an interception-free outing. That’s a particularly disappointing performance for a South Carolina defense that has given up 41 points in back-to-back games.

Biggest concern: Becoming bowl eligible

South Carolina is tasked with winning 4 of its upcoming 6 games to earn a bowl bid. That’s something without a lot of optimism based on the way the season has gone just beyond the midway point.

The Gamecocks will face a remaining schedule that includes the No. 20-ranked Missouri Tigers, Texas A&M, Jacksonville State, Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Clemson. It’s hard to be confident South Carolina will come out unscathed in all but 4 or less of those matchups.

Developing trend: Offensive line issues

It was only a few weeks ago that the offensive line gave a small glimmer of hope that things could be improving after pass protection had been an area of concern, though things were still not perfect. But it’s been back to the same old, same old lately and some of that has to do with injury to a unit that already lacks depth to begin with.

It did not help that the Gamecocks lost starting right tackle Vershon Lee, who moved over from the center position. He exited the game late in the second quarter with what appeared to be a knee injury.

Key stat: Kai Kroeger’s punting woes

With a lot of different areas of play that have been up and down for South Carolina throughout recent history, one of the Gamecocks’ most important players who has held steady has been punter Kai Kroeger. The position is frequently overlooked, regardless of the team in question, but Kroeger has been reliable — except he wasn’t exactly that on Saturday and is now struggling to be as much of a rock as he formerly was.

He had one punt that traveled for just 27 yards and another that went for just 28 yards, both of which gave Florida advantageous field position, making a big difference in a high-scoring game that ended closely.

First impression about Missouri:

These are not the same Missouri Tigers who struggled to play complementary football and consistently sputtered on offense under questionable play-calling from head coach Eli Drinkwitz. The Tigers had one of the most underrated defenses that gave them a chance in each game but weren’t always able to match the effort on the other side of the ball.

Mizzou has been one of the biggest surprises of the 2023 season, making one of the most impressive year-over-year turnarounds across the entire sport.

Quarterback Brady Cook has gone from one of the most lowly quarterbacks in the conference to one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC with rising stock. So far this season, he has completed 71% of his passes for 2,046 yards with 14 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

There’s no question Mizzou will provide a difficult start to the rest of the journey to South Carolina (possibly) having the opportunity to make a bowl game appearance. The Tigers currently look to stay on the right side of the win column after they bounced back from a 49-39 loss to LSU with a 38-21 road win over the Kentucky Wildcats.