South Carolina Report Card

Offense

Grade: C-

UAB had the weakest defense USC will see all season. As Steve Spurrier said, the big-play opportunities were there. Just didn't work out. Stephen Garcia was the best thing the Gamecocks had at QB. The fact that he can use his feet certainly helps. The run game was so-so, with forgotten Bobby Wallace getting some yards. The line was OK. The tight ends didn't have their best nights. You can't score 26 points against UAB, bottom line.

Defense

Grade: B+

UAB's only touchdown of the game came in garbage time. So did most of the Blazers' yardage. They finished with right around 200 total yards. Defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson was irritated after the game, especially with the Gamecocks' inability to bring down UAB QB Joe Webb. But, still, this was a pretty strong effort. The defense, hungry for turnovers, had two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Spur Darian Stewart stood out.

Special teams

Grade: B+

Captain Munnerlyn very nearly broke a punt return for a score. Probably should have. Looked like he had a lane. Ryan Succop hit a career-high four field goals, and he's hit all seven tries the past two weeks. He's as dependable as they come. That's good to know considering you know USC will be in close games later this year. The coverage teams were solid. Spencer Lanning hit a long punt. Nice day, all around.

Coaching

Grade: D+

Spurrier was whining in the postgame about effort. Well, some of that goes back to coaching, right? It's baffling why there isn't some sense of urgency for the Gamecocks. Why should there be an effort issue at this point? Garcia should have been in for the fourth quarter. He needs all the time he can get. Forget about Tommy Beecher. Early in the game, the fourth-and-goal run play to Brian Maddox was a horrendous call. Got to be a sneak, fullback play or rollout with Garcia. Maddox hadn't shown enough between the tackles to get the ball.

Overall

Grade: C-

UAB isn't a good football team. It's a bad one, actually. You've got to put the Blazers away, get some things figured out on offense. That certainly didn't happen. The defense was good, but that's no surprise against that weak offense. Garcia was promising, to some degree. Still, the red zone breakdowns (two more short field goals this week after two last week) will kill USC in future weeks. Ole Miss would've kicked the Gamecocks' rears on Saturday night.

-- Travis Haney