Missouri Tigers football vs. South Carolina Gamecocks: Time, TV, line, things to know
The details
Kickoff: 3 p.m. Saturday
Where: Memorial Stadium, Columbia, Missouri
TV: SEC Network Alternate
Betting line: Missouri by 9 1/2
Radio: KMBZ (98.1 FM)
Five things to know:
South Carolina’s starting quarterback Jake Bentley is out for the year: Bentley injured his foot and now true freshman Ryan Hilinski is the Gamecocks’ starter. Hilinski has thrown for 606 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions while completing 69 percent of his passes this season.
South Carolina’s offense is pretty good: The Gamecocks rank No. 25 in total offense nationally and have tight end Kyle Markway, who leads SEC tight ends in receptions with 11. USC also has wideout Bryan Edwards, who has 198 yards receiving this season and gave MU trouble in 2018.
South Carolina is 1-2, but don’t let the record fool you: The Gamecocks lost their season opener to North Carolina in a close game and lost 47-23 to Alabama on Saturday. Compared to most SEC teams, the Gamecocks have played two Power Five teams in their first three games, which many can’t say. On paper, South Carolina is a similar team to MU.
Barry Odom has yet to beat South Carolina as MU’s head coach: The Tigers lost 31-21 in 2016 in what became known as the Drew Lock water bottle game, 31-13 in 2017 after MU got off to a strong start and 37-35 in 2018 on a last-second field goal. MU held the lead in last season’s game with just over a minute left and let USC move downfield to set up the winning score. It’s been four years since the Mayor’s Cup was in Missouri.
Does anything change with MU’s offense now that conference play has arrived?: Kelly Bryant has been as advertised, if not better, and has kept plays alive for MU with his legs. He hasn’t really had many designed runs, nor has he done much with them. Was that by design to avoid injury?