Missouri Football beat the South Carolina Gamecocks, 23-10. The offense for the Gamecocks struggled all day, as they only ended up with a little over 200 total yards. The running game especially struggled only having 32 yards.
Missouri Football beats South Carolina as Gamecocks struggle
The game started out with punts by both squads. Brady Cook used his arm to lead Missouri to the first touchdown of the game. South Carolina would continue to struggle on offense and punt after three plays. The Tigers would go off again and score another touchdown.
The Gamecocks would punt again, as they couldn’t get anything going. Cook used his arm and legs to lead Missouri down into the red zone. They couldn’t convert in the red zone and had to settle for three.
On the next possession, MarShawn Lloyd would have his only good drive of the game, going for 3+ yards on three single plays, including a 12-rushing-yard play. He would end up with 30 rushing yards, having 20 of his 30 yards on that drive. Add in some penalties from Missouri, and passing yards from Rattler, and the Gamecocks had their first score and touchdown of the game.
The second half would start off with punts by both sides. Rattler would fumble on the next drive and Missouri would have a good field position. The Tigers would be unable to capitalize. South Carolina would have its’ last good drive of the game, having Rattler lead them to a field goal. That would be the Gamecocks’ last points of the day.
What followed was a three and out, punts, and an interception. This was an ugly game for the Gamecocks offensively, as they didn’t get anything going. While Missouri is 33rd in the country when it comes to points allowed per game (22 points per game), you really have take in the fact that the Tigers really haven’t played anyone well offensively.
Missouri Football comes out of this game with their head held high. They reached four wins, and need to upset Kentucky or Arkansas to be bowl-eligible/take care of the business against New Mexico State (not counting Tennessee because they will lose that game).
If the Tigers can get lucky, they could be heading for their second straight bowl appearance. For Eli Drinkwitz, the squad would slowly be trending back to their Big 12 and early 2010 days. That would be a great sign.
South Carolina comes out of this game with a bit of a bleaker look. After the wins against Kentucky and a struggling A&M, it seemed like the Gamecocks were on the right track. This loss against Missouri shows they still have a way to go.
Bowl eligibility will most likely be achieved after beating Vanderbilt this week. If South Carolina wants to beat or even match their win total from last year, they have a challenge. Based on the things I saw Saturday, even beating Florida will be a challenge. The Gamecocks have no shot against Clemson or Tennessee based off this offense.
To match their win total, South Carolina’s offense will need to wake up and take care of business against Vanderbilt and show up against Florida. The question is, can Shane Beamer’s squad do it?