Not much went right Saturday as South Carolina put on an embarrassing performance on the national stage. Fans witnessed incoherent play-calling, odd substitution patterns, and a barrage of poor fundamentals. A statement opportunity was squandered and while Georgia is one of the best teams in the country, Carolina did themselves no favors. With that being said, there were a handful of bright spots.

For three weeks in a row Nick Emmanwori has landed on this list in some fashion. Needless to say, he has become South Carolina’s best player on defense. The freshman was credited with 14 solo tackles. That is correct, solo. Carolina has a special player on their hands in Emmanwori.

With Cam Smith out, Marcellas Dial looked like the best cornerback on the field for the Gamecocks. Georgia went his way only a handful of times and when they did, Dial was ready. Dial was picked on in week 1, but has since taken his game to another level.

Carolina fans saw more of Kai Kroeger than they would have liked Saturday, but Kroeger was exceptional. Not only did he pin all of his 5 punts inside the 20 yard line, he also had a long of 54 yards and completed a 4th down pass to keep a drive alive.

TIP OF THE CAP

Marshawn Lloyd and Juju McDowell each made plays at various points, but a beyond frustrating substitution pattern kept them from making more plays. Whether that falls on the position coach or coordinator is unknown, but the current process is not working. All the preseason talk about having a feature back to carry most of the load has been nothing more than wishful thinking to this point.