How Josh Pate grades the 2025 South Carolina football team through two weeks

On Sunday night, new On3 partner Josh Pate, one of the biggest personalities in college football, provided his thoughts on the first few weeks of the season. In doing so, he graded South Carolina and other top College Football Playoff contenders on the Sunday night edition of his Josh Pate’s College Football Show.

Mixed within grades that ranged from overachieving to extremely disappointing, the Gamecocks slotted in with a very respectable B- rating. “This one is kind of tough to peg. South Carolina–I’d give South Carolina a B- right now,” he said.

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In breaking down the Gamecocks, Pate called the USC offense “mediocre,” but praised the special teams as “really good.” He also likes some of what he has seen from Clayton White’s defense. In all, though, Pate said he “expect[s] to see more” from Shane Beamer’s team.

So far this season, South Carolina hasn’t played up to its potential on offense. The Gamecocks are averaging less than 300 yards per game, despite one of their contests coming against an FCS opponent. Defensively, USC has given up just one touchdown, though. The Carolina D has also scored a touchdown. In the third phase, return man Vicari Swain has three punt return scores by himself.

Pate believes the Gamecocks’ defense and special teams have been good enough to carry a good season. Even though he is a big believer in quarterback LaNorris Sellers, he is less sold on the team’s overall offense through two weeks of the season.

Acknowledging that, Pate also said he is trying to figure out if there is more for this team to unlock in 2025. “Are they going to level up a little bit?” he asked rhetorically. If the Gamecocks can right the ship on offense (and get a few injured players back on both sides of the football), it will go a long way in that pursuit.

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Pate, who had already given a grade of “Incomplete” to the Georgia Bulldogs earlier in the show, seemed close to dropping the descriptor on South Carolina, as well. Instead, he settled on the B- and added, “They’re undefeated. It’s okay right now. Big test against Vandy on Saturday.”

Without spoiling his pick for later in the week, Pate hinted that he is intrigued by the betting line in that contest. South Carolina is a 5.5-point favorite, according to BetMGM.

Saturday’s kickoff against Vanderbilt is scheduled for a 7:45 p.m. start time. SEC Network will broadcast the game, while the ESPN app makes it available via streaming.

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