Player Grades: South Carolina @ Clemson

Offense

Wayne Gallman, RB, FR, A+: 191 yards on the ground for the Wayne Train last Saturday as he helped us run the Gamecocks out of the stadium. Gallman also had a second quarter touchdown to help us take the lead. The fact that we were able to get long, time consuming drives out of Gallman was huge to help keep our defense off the field, so that when they came in, they were a lot more rested than usual. Those 191 yards were the most rushing yards by a freshman since Don King (no, not that Don King) ran for 234 yards against Fordham back in 1952.

Artavis Scott, WR, FR, A+: Talk about a human highlight real, that was pretty much what Artavis was on Saturday. Once again, the jet sweep set up nicely for the Tigers, as Scott took not one, but TWO of them to the house, one for 53 and the other for 70. Deshaun Watson has to love that play as well, because he pitches it forward almost like he would backwards for a running play, but he gets credit for throwing a 53 yard touchdown and a 70 yard touchdown. Artavis not only had those 2 receptions, but he also caught 5 more balls for 62 more yards to help keep the Tigers offense moving. Needless to say, Scott is going to be a special player for the Tigers.

Offensive Line, A+: A unit that has gotten a lot of criticism this year really stepped it up against the Gamecocks. First and foremost, they were able to keep pressure off of Deshaun Watson most of the day, which was huge given that he was playing on one ACL. We were also able to pound our way into the end zone with 3 red zone rushing touchdowns, and two long "passing" touchdowns that were ran exactly like a run play. The OL was able to push around the Gamecock DL pretty well all day.

Defense

Vic Beasley, DE, SR, A+: Dylan Thompson is probably having nightmares about #3 right now. Beasley sacked Thompson twice and forced a first half fumble that helped Clemson get the momentum. Beasley was in the backfield a lot, which was impressive given that SC's OL has been one of their more solid units this year. Beasley also had 5 tackles on the day.

Deshawn Williams, DT, SR, A: Huge day for Williams who had 6 tackles, including a 7 yard sack of Dylan Thompson. Williams was constantly pressuring Thompson while also anchoring the DL, which led Clemson to hold South Carolina to 63 yards rushing.

Linebackers, A: The play form the LB corps was once again solid. Tony Steward had one of Clemson's  5 sacks on the game, giving him 6 tackles on the day. Ben Boulware recovered the big second quarter fumble to set up the go ahead touchdown drive by Wayne Gallman. After Stephone Anthony was ejected on a bogus targeting call of Dylan Thompson (laying that kid out was awesome though, so it may have been worth the bad call), Kellen Jones stepped in and did a great job of filling Anthony's shoes, recording 3 tackles and helping stifle the Gamecocks.

Special Teams

Adam Humphries, PR, SR, B: His numbers on punt returning weren't impressive (1 return for -1 yard), but it's what he didn't do that earns him credit here, and that's fumble the ball. Last year, Humphries was the goat of the SC game for fumbling two key punt returns, but there was no issue of that this time. He played smart and avoided tricky punts. He didn't seem to be trying as hard to make the big play as he was last year, which benefited us greatly.