South Carolina’s offensive line has been a bit of an enigma this season, struggling at times to give freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski a clean pocket with which to work and failing at other times to open up holes for the Gamecock running backs.

Much of that can be attributed to the inconsistency in personnel up front. But on a night when the offensive line was finally healthy, it turned in arguably its worst performance of the year, leaving many with questions that may not have answers.

The Gamecocks started the year with a combination of Sadarius Hutcherson and Dylan Wonnum at tackle, Donell Stanley and Eric Douglas at guard and Hank Manos at center. The Gamecocks quickly shifted around though and eventually settled on the tackle grouping of Hutcherson and Wonnum, guards Jordan Rhodes and Jovaughn Gwyn and Stanley at center.

The combination seemed to work, that is until Wonnum went down with an ankle injury on the last play of the Missouri game, a game in which the offensive line only allowed six quarterback pressures in 49 pass block snaps.

As is expected, the group struggled with freshmen Jaylen Nichols and Jakai Moore filling in at right tackle while Wonnum missed five games. And as expected, the group took a small step back.

The decline was slow and almost unnoticeable in the running game. South Carolina’s backfield combination of Tavien Feaster and Rico Dowdle continued to rank near the top of the SEC in yards after contact, mitigating some of the effects of the injuries up front. But when Dowdle and Feaster began to be slowed by nagging injuries themselves, the cracks in the armor were revealed.

South Carolina’s running backs averaged less than 4.5 yards per carry in back-to-back games against Tennessee and Vanderbilt for the first time all year. In fact, it was the first 2-game stretch in which the running backs averaged less than six yards per carry all season.

Over that same stretch, the Gamecock offensive line allowed seven pressures per game with a freshman quarterback whose season quarterback rating is 45.1 points higher from a clean pocket.

The injuries up front provided protection for the unit. Coaches and fans alike looked at the unit favorably due to the circumstances. But when Wonnum returned healthy against Appalachian State, nothing changed.

In fact, the line got worse.

The Gamecock running backs rushed for 19 yards on 20 carries. But if you dig deeper, it’s easy to see the numbers are worse than they appear. Earlier in the season against Missouri, the Gamecock running backs rushed for 31 yards on 14 carries, but only 20 yards came after contact. While the line did not play up to its potential in that game, it’s easier to spread the blame to all involved, including a running back group that managed less than a yard per carry after contact.

The story against Appalachian State was different. Of the meager 19 rushing yards put up by South Carolina running backs, 28 came after contact. That means that on average, South Carolina’s backs were, on average, half a yard behind the line of scrimmage when contacted by a defense that allowed 335 yards on the ground a week ago.

In the running game at least, the Gamecocks tried to adjust, going to some plays that were designed to take advantage of the defense’s aggression, but nothing seemed to work.

“We tried to go to (more zone blocking) later in the game,” Stanley said. “We tried to throw some counters and powers in there to just try and mix it up. We didn’t execute it well.”

But the woes did not stop there. Now fully healthy, the offensive line still allowed nine pressures and committed three penalties. On the final drive, the Gamecocks allowed pressure on four-straight plays forcing a few errant throws from Hilinski. On top of that, the Gamecocks were denied a second shot at the end zone by a holding penalty with under 10 seconds left, forcing a runoff and ending the game.

It was a day to forget for a unit that was expected to get back on track when healthy. Now, instead of heading to College Station, Texas with the chance to make a bowl, the offense will go just looking to find some answers.