SOUTH CAROLINA — Spencer Rattler was on top of the world on Saturday, completing 90% of his passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns.

Xavier Leggette caught five passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns. Although the Gamecock offense looked in rhythm all night, their defense struggled to cover the Bulldog receivers, especially Lideatrick Griffin, who lit up the stat sheet, racking up 256 yards and a touchdown on seven catches. In total, Mississippi State threw for 487 yards. It wasn’t enough, however, as the Gamecocks escaped with a 37-30 win.

All things considered, South Carolina showed they are a really good offensive team who, at their best, can compete with the best defenses in the country. However, their defense has struggled when challenged by good quarterback play. Drake Maye of North Carolina and Will Rogers of Mississippi State at times moved the ball at will, especially when throwing down the field. This issue will have to improve fast, because they will face off against Joe Milton III of Tennessee, Graham Mertz of Florida, and Brady Cook of Missouri over their next three games. Next Saturday, the Gamecocks will travel to Knoxville to take on the 23rd-ranked Tennessee Volunteers.

With a second loss in four weeks, Clemson’s national title hopes are all but gone and their ACC title hopes are bleak. The Tigers have lost their first two conference games for the first time since 2010 — the last time they did not win 10 games. Of course Dabo Swinney is allowed a reset period, but when the expectation is to compete for a national championship year in and year out, I have to wonder how long of a leash he has left. It is not even October yet and Clemson’s season feels like it is over, as far as their championship expectations are concerned.

Through the first three games, redshirt freshman Robert Gunn III missed three of four field goals, causing Dabo Swinney to call upon former Clemson kicker Jonathan Weitz, who was scheduled to start a new job in New York City two weeks from now (Paynor, 2023).

Weitz had an extra year of eligibility thanks to COVID-19, but decided not to utilize it, until Swinney picked up the phone. In the first quarter, he made his first career field goal. However, the kicking issues would show up once again — this time when it mattered most. With 1:49 left in the game, Cade Klubnik drove the Tigers down to the Florida State 12-yard line to set up a go-ahead field goal. It went wide left. The missed kick allowed the game to go to overtime, where Florida State won the game, 31-24.

Next Saturday, the Tigers will travel to upstate New York to take on the Syracuse Orange.