South Carolina football grades vs Missouri: Weak coaching decisions lead to overall F

COLUMBIA, Mo. — South Carolina football suffered its fifth consecutive loss to Missouri on Saturday in embarrassing fashion, failing to reach the end zone in the 34-12 defeat.

Excluding the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020, South Carolina (2-5, 1-4 SEC) now has its worst record through seven games since it went 0-11 in 1999. The Gamecocks are 0-3 versus coach Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri in the Shane Beamer era.

After one of the ugliest losses of the season, here's how we grade South Carolina's performance against the Tigers.

Offense: F

The Gamecocks offense did not reach the end zone against a Missouri defense that gave up at least one touchdown to South Dakota, Middle Tennessee State and Memphis. Spencer Rattler had one of his least efficient performances of the season going 23-of-40 passing for 217 yards, and the team combined for 69 rushing yards.

The offensive line also regressed after improving against Florida, allowing six sacks, including four on third-down attempts. A fourth-quarter interception by Rattler sealed South Carolina's fate.

Defense: F

The Gamecocks' defense came up with a three-and-out on the first series of the game, then immediately gave up points on three consecutive drives before halftime. Though limiting explosives was supposedly a priority for the team, it allowed four passes of 20-plus yards and nine rushes of 10-plus yards.

The Gamecocks didn't get a single stop in the red zone and gave up 418 total yards, 198 passing and 220 rushing.

Special teams: D+

The special teams unit only escaped a worse grade because it generated the team's only points. Mitch Jeter converted four of five field goal attempts, missing only on a 51-yard attempt into the wind in the first quarter.

Punter Kai Kroeger is still struggling to recapture his elite performances from 2022 with just two of four punts inside the 20-yard line. The unit also took multiple pre-snap penalties, including a delay of game and a false start.

Coaching: F

The Gamecocks' decision-making, particularly in the red zone, was weak, if not cowardly. The team kicked four field goals despite trailing by multiple scores, including a particularly egregious one down 18 points from the 3-yard line in the fourth quarter.

There's an argument that the staff made adjustments to create more stops after halftime, but that should be attributed more to sloppy play by the Tigers more than to anything South Carolina did.

Overall: F

There's almost nothing positive to say about South Carolina's showing against Missouri. The team looked utterly lethargic from start to finish, and it's hard to see a path back from a loss like this in 2023.

Follow South Carolina football beat reporter Emily Adams on X @eaadams6 and subscribe to The Greenville News for exclusive Gamecocks content: https://subscribe.greenvilleonline.com/offers.

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This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina football grades vs Missouri: Almost everyone gets an F