Five Takeaways, South Carolina-Texas A&M: Drops, defensive depth, QB play

SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL

The game was there, and once again the South Carolina Gamecocks found a way to beat themselves. Here, we’ll give five takeaways from Saturday’s 26-23 loss to Texas A&M.

1. Jake Bentley is a competitor

Yes, this is coach speak. Yes, three teammates and his head coach used this cliche word to describe South Carolina’s signal caller. Yes, this is an accurate assessment.

Bentley had a poor first drive, culminating with a poor throw that was intercepted in the end zone. After, he was let down time and again by his receivers and still put up a decent statistical showing. But beyond that, Bentley responded well mentally. When his receivers dropped three potential first down passes in a span of four plays, he continued to stand tall and deliver accurate passes.

Despite being hampered by a bulky knee brace, Bentley used his legs to escape pressure, scrambling for two first downs, taking substantial hits in the process. After the game, he could have blamed the receivers, but instead shouldered the blame himself. When asked about being booed, he gave a mature and steady answer.

The debate will continue through the bye week about how good (or bad) Bentley is as a passer, but he’s proven that he is going to stand in and then answer afterward.

2. This might be a good red zone defense

To me, red zone offense and defense are fickle stats. One bad game can create an unfair stigma about the team that can last far beyond when it should. The numbers fluctuate so often that they’re usually too unreliable to show anything of note.

That being said, there’s probably some validity to Muschamp’s “bend don’t break” defense. The Aggies had 458 yards and no turnovers with an average starting field position of their own 26 and came away with just 26 points. The Gamecock defense forced five field goals (three inside the 20) a week after completely shutting down Missouri’s red zone attack.

In the past two games, the Gamecock defense has forced 11 field goal attempts (nine made field goals). I don’t think that’s sustainable for either the defense or the opponents and could be something to watch going forward.

3. Sherrod Greene has stepped up

I apologize in advance for having two positives, but after taking a lot of deserved criticism, Sherrod Greene has put together a nice game and a half. After the game he mentioned that he was getting more comfortable every game with both the pace and the pressure of the SEC and that he feels more confident than ever.

After leading all tacklers with 12 stops and adding a pass breakup against Texas A&M, it looks like he might finally be turning a corner.

4. Depth on defense is a major issue

With Nick Harvey joining JT Ibe on the injury list, South Carolina’s safety spot is thin. It showed against the Aggies as the Gamecocks had no answer in the first half for Jace Sternberger. Sternberger had four catches for 110 yards in the first half when he was primarily covered by 5-10 Steven Montac.

Montac had a poor showing against Sternberger but without depth at the position, Muschamp’s hands were tied. Still RJ Roderick started the second half at safety as Jamyest Williams moved to the nickel for Keisean Nixon, who also struggled in the first half.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see three freshmen and a sophomore starting in the secondary by the end of the season. Muschamp has enough of his players to fill a roster, but not to provide ample depth.

5. The drops were killer

South Carolina played well enough to win but shot itself in the foot at some key moments. The receivers left potentially 21 points on the field with drops in key situations, including two by the sure-handed Shi Smith. Two of the passes were on-target deep passes of at least 30 yards and three others were for potential first down yardage.

Maybe they would have been forgotten if Rashad Fenton had completed a red zone interception or A&M had missed its 52-yard field goal, but regardless they changed the whole complexion of the game. To win, South Carolina had to run the ball and stop the run. The Gamecocks averaged 4.3 yards a carry, held the Aggies under three yards an attempt, and lost.

It’s hard to blame the loss on one thing but there were several passes the receivers would have liked to have back.