Three questions South Carolina football needs to answer after ugly loss to North Carolina

COLUMBIA — The flashy upsets at the end of 2022 built up preseason optimism, but South Carolina football fell flat in its 2023 opener with a 31-17 loss to No. 20 North Carolina in Charlotte on Saturday.

The loss was only the Gamecocks' second in six meetings with UNC since 2000. Despite 353 passing yards on 72% completion from quarterback Spencer Rattler, South Carolina gave up 437 yards to the Tar Heels' offense, including 269 passing and 25 rushing yards to star quarterback Drake Maye.

South Carolina returns to Williams-Brice Stadium to host Furman on Sept. 9 (7:30 p.m., ESPN+). Here are the biggest questions the Gamecocks need to answer before the home opener:

Is the offensive line fixable?

This is a question of what "fixed" would look like. The unit can certainly be better than it was against North Carolina, but South Carolina is facing the reality that it just doesn't have the personnel in the trenches to compete at a high level. The Tar Heels' defensive line is improved from 2022, but that wasn't a high bar to clear. Their talent level pales in comparison to the likes of Georgia and Tennessee, and the Gamecocks have to face both on the road in September.

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer cited the youth as a factor in the line's abysmal performance, but that's a tough argument to make with third-year starter Vershon Lee, redshirt senior Jakai Moore and redshirt junior Tyshawn Wannamaker playing the majority of the snaps. However, youth could be the saving grace if the Gamecocks' highly-touted recruits come along by the end of the season. Four-star Tree Bablade and three-star Trovon Baugh both traveled but did not play, and four-star Markee Anderson was listed on the depth chart but did not travel.

How serious were the in-game injuries?

South Carolina's biggest loss against UNC was standout safety Nick Emmanwori, who injured his hamstring on the first play of the game, and the offensive line's struggles were compounded when starting right tackle Cason Henry went down soon after. Linebacker Mo Kaba limped off the field midway through the first quarter and returned to the sideline on crutches in the second half. Starting wide receivers Antwane Wells and Ahmarean Brown also did not finish the game.

Wells is dealing with a foot injury that kept him out of practice for much of preseason, so it's less than ideal to have a setback this early. However, with a likely win against Furman and a likely loss to Georgia in the next three weeks, the Gamecocks could survive without Wells before hitting their more critical SEC games.

Emmanwori's status will also be key as the best tackler on the secondary and an anchor for the very young unit. He was walking on the sideline and briefly attempted to reenter the game, so there's hope that his issue is minor.

GRADING THE GAMECOCKS: South Carolina football's defense gets the grade it deserves after loss to UNC

What went wrong in the red zone?

North Carolina's defense allowed nearly 31 points per game in 2022, but the Gamecocks scored just two touchdowns on five trips to the red zone. The run game's struggles — and the offensive line's — were the crux of the issue, and that led to problems for Rattler.

South Carolina finished with -2 net rushing yards, so coordinator Dowell Loggains was understandably hesitant to put the ball in his running backs' hands in the red zone. Though both touchdowns were rushing, they were also both from the 1-yard line. The lone run play called away from the goal line resulted in a 2-yard gain.

However, passing plays came with high risk of lost yardage because of the constant pressure Rattler faced. He took three of nine sacks in the red zone but didn't have a single incompletion there until the team's final red zone drive of the game. Passing in the red zone often demands precision, and the lack of protection forced Rattler to sacrifice either time or accuracy every time.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Questions South Carolina football needs to answer after ugly UNC loss