The Good, The Bad, The Ugly from South Carolina's Win Over Virginia Tech

The good, the bad and the ugly from South Carolina's win over Virginia Tech on Sunday.

The South Carolina Gamecocks picked up their first win of the season on Sunday vs Virginia Tech. It was a tight football game for the majority of the matchup, but thanks to a punt return from Vicari Swain and a 64-yard touchdown throw to Nyck Harbor, South Carolina pulled away to capture the win.

So now that the first game is in the books, here is the good, the bad and the ugly from South Carolina's win.

The Good - Defensive Havoc

One of the biggest reasons why South Carolina was so successful last season was the amount of havoc plays the defense created. With the number of players they lost to the NFL this offseason, there was a question of whether that would continue. Sunday proved it would.

The Gamecocks forced two interceptions and tallied four tackles for loss and two sacks against a very mobile quarterback in Kyron Drones. They also held the Hokies to just 11 points and only one touchdown throughout the entire game. It was a great first showing from South Carolina's defense.

The Bad - Lack of Success in the Run Game

The Gamecocks averaged just 3.7 yards per carry on Saturday and that includes what LaNorris Sellers was able to add as well. Oscar Adaway averaged 4.3 yards per carry and Rahsul Faison averaged 5.7. There were moments where the rushing attack started to pick up momentum, but there were also times when it struggled to create positive gains.

On the bright side, both Faison and Adaway both had explosive runs on Saturday, so there is promise that it will only continue to get better as the season progresses.

The Ugly - Offensive Line Struggled

South Carolina has had issues with offensive line play in the past, and it popped up again this weekend. The Hokies mustered up four sacks and seven tackles for loss. Sellers can minimize some of the pressure teams create, but there were a lot of cloudy pockets on Sunday. It's something the Gamecocks need to figure out in order to both protect Sellers this season and to have more consistency on offense.