Quarterbacks: B

Chris Nickson had less than stellar numbers Thursday night completing only eight passes the whole game and rushing for 17 yards on 16 carries. However, the thing that Nickson did do well was lead the offense. When Vandy needed to drive down the field at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Nickson captained a great drive that would ultimately be the winning score for the Dores.

Running backs: B+

Gaston Miller’s fumble with a little over eight minutes left in the first quarter was disastrous as South Carolina would convert to take a 7-0 lead. However, Jared Hawkins was a complete beast, especially in the second half, as he rushed for a total of 84 yards on 17 carries in the game, scored the game winning touchdown on a 13 yard run, and helped run out the clock at the end of the game with some tough, down-hill running even when the South Carolina defense knew he was getting the ball.

Wide-Receivers: B-

It is hard to fault this group very much because they are a very young, inexperienced group especially without George Smith and Alex Washington. However, when the group only made five catches the whole game, it is hard to give them an outstanding grade. The highlight from this group was Walker’s 29 yard run on an outstanding play call. I am not sure how much of the wide-outs’ lack of production was their fault, or if it was Nickson’s lack of vision combined with the limited number of passing plays called by offensive coordinator Ted Cain.  

Tight Ends: C+

Too many dropped balls by this group on the night including one that may have been a touchdown as well as a costly penalty or two early in the game.  However, the group responded well in the second half as Brandon Barden had a 31 yard touchdown reception to tie the game at ten. Austin Monahan also made up for his drops early in the game with a big 18 yard reception to start off the Dores’ winning drive.  

Offensive Line: C+

The run blocking is there it seems and the pass blocking was also there at times, but this inexperienced group still needs to be better. The lack of a passing game Thursday night can be contributed to good coverage by South Carolina as well as Nickson’s inability to pick apart the defense sometimes when he did have time. Nevertheless, Nickson seemed to be running for his life on a lot of designed passes. If Nickson is given more time, I think the passing game will improve.

Defensive Line: A-

Greg Billinger was the player of the game in my opinion. Even with a thin defensive line, Greg just continued to fight and make tackles. He also had a huge block on a field goal attempt to go along with a sack. Steven Stone also had a sack on the night, and Broderick Stewart was double teamed for much of the night. The reason this group doesn’t get an A was the fact that South Carolina’s quarterback Chris Smelley seemed to have way to much time to sit in the pocket and pick apart the secondary at times. Also, the group gave up a huge play when they should have sacked Smelly in the fourth quarter. Again, the lack of depth on the defensive line probably didn’t help much.

Linebackers: B

Chris Marve is a beast. Out of all the linebackers he seemed to be everywhere especially when it came to stopping the run. The linebackers as a whole also seemed to have some good blitzes, but they were also stuffed and shoved to the outside a lot. The biggest weakness of this group is its pass coverage as they seemed to get beat for some big plays at times.

Secondary: A-

It is hard to find much wrong with this group. Darlon Spead and Reshard Langford’s interceptions were huge momentum changers in a game that was probably going to be determined by who created more turnovers. The group did get a break though as South Carolina’s best wide-out Kenny McKinley got hurt in the first quarter and did not return to the game. D.J. Moore didn’t have to do much as South Carolina seemed to shy away from throwing to whomever he was covering. Myron Lewis had a great pass breakup, but also got beat a few times including McKinley’s touchdown grab. Also, a nice job by Jared Fagan and Josh Allen, who stepped in and played well with Spead hurt.

Special Teams: B

The kicking game was solid. Hahnfeldt didn’t have to make any outstanding kicks, but did his job and had a few nice kickoffs. Upson had a few nice punts, but also had some that left a lot to be desired. The kickoff coverage was pathetic at times as South Carolina routinely started above their own 30 yard line.

Coaching: B+

I never thought I would say this, but the coaching Thursday night was what won Vandy the game. Ted Cain finally opened up his playbook and got creative on the fourth quarter drive that gave Vandy a 24-10 lead. Instead of running the ball up the middle on first down like Cain always does and continually did in the first half.  Cain started to run play action on first down and started throwing short screens that were conservative but also got good gains. Cain also threw in some nice reverses that picked up a lot of yards and gave South Carolina’s defense fits. Keep up the play-action on first down and short screens/slants Coach Cain. They work better than running the ball up the middle on every first down. On defense, Bruce Fowler had some nice blitz packages that gave Smelley trouble. However, Vandy’s DB’s did get beat a lot because of the cushion they were told to give South Carolina’s receivers. Overall, the coaching staff did a solid job and should be commended for finally throwing some flavor into the offense.