Missouri Tigers inch closer to bowl-game eligibility with 31-28 win over South Carolina
.JPG "Missouri wide receiver Mookie Cooper, left, pulls in a touchdown pass in front of South Carolina defensive back Cam Smith, right, during the second quarter of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)")
The Missouri Tigers defeated South Carolina 31-28 at Faurot Field on Saturday.
The much-needed victory pushes Mizzou’s record to 5-5 (2-4 in the SEC) on the season, keeping the team’s hopes of a bowl game alive with two games remaining.
Here are takeaways from the victory.
Turnover frenzy
The first quarter of Saturday’s game featured a flurry of turnovers on both sides.
On South Carolina’s second play of the game, Missouri’s Kris Abrams-Draine picked off quarterback Jason Brown at the 44-yard line for his third interception of the season.
The Gamecocks quickly returned the favor in a wacky start to the game. On Mizzou’s fourth play of the contest, on first-and-10, quarterback Connor Bazelak, back under center after missing last week’s game with a soft-tissue injury, threw a pass toward the left sideline that was intercepted by South Carolina defensive back Cam Smith on the 45-yard line.
The Tigers defense allowed South Carolina to make its way to the end zone less than two minutes later: The Gamecocks scored with a 2-yard rush by running back Kevin Harris that put Mizzou in a 7-0 hole with 10 minutes, 22 seconds left in the first quarter.
Later in the quarter, following a three-and-out from the Mizzou offense, Tigers defensive lineman Isaiah McGuire came up with a crucial turnover, which eventually led to the Missouri’s first score of the afternoon.
With South Carolina facing second-and-8 on the MU 17-yard line, McGuire stripped the ball away from running back Marshawn Lloyd and recovered the fumble himself. That gave Mizzou the ball back with 4:48 left in the first quarter.
From there, the Tigers went on a 12-play, 79 yard drive in 5:22 across the first and second quarters to tie the game at 7-7. Tight end Daniel Parker Jr., a Kansas City native and product of Blue Springs High School, reeled in a 2-yard reception for the touchdown.
Defense looks much improved
Missouri’s struggles on defense have been well documented this season. Entering Saturday’s game, the Tigers were allowing an average 270.2 yards on the ground to opponents — good for second to last among FBS teams — and ranked towards the bottom of college football in numerous other categories.
With South Carolina fresh off a 284-yard rushing performance against Florida, finding a way to stop the run was a key emphasis for Mizzou in this one.
In the first half, Missouri allowed only 13 net rushing yards on 20 carries, good for 0.7 yards per rush. The Tigersdidn’t give up a single explosive run in the first half.
The strong run defense continued throughout the game, as the Gamecocks finished with just 57 rushing yards on 35 carries. They only had 250 total yards of offense. Mizzou has now held opponents under 200 rushing yards in two consecutive games, doing so for the first time this season.
The defense came up with key plays throughout the game, including a score of its own in the third quarter. On first-and-10, safety Martez Manuel forced Brown to fumble the ball away at the South Carolina 5-yard line. The ball bounced into the end zone and defensive lineman Trajan Jeffcoat recovered it for the defensive touchdown, putting Mizzou up 24-14 with 4:28 left in the third quarter.
Mizzou’s defense had two forced fumbles, three sacks, six tackles for a loss of 59 yards and one interception in the victory.
Tyler Badie. What’s new?
When Mizzou has needed a spark on offense throughout the season, it has turned to running back Tyler Badie. That remained true against the Gamecocks.
The senior finished with 209 rushing yards and one touchdown on 34 carries, along with 22 receiving yards on five catches.
Early in the fourth quarter, with the Tigers holding a 24-14 lead, Badie took the handoff from quarterback Bazelak, found a hole to his right and dashed 19 yards into the end zone.
Later in the quarter, Bazelak threw his second interception of the game into the arms of linebacker Brad Johnson. The costly mistake put South Carolina in the red zone at the 20-yard line with 5:16 remaining. The Gamecocks eventually scored, making it a three point game at 31-28 late.
At that point, Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz elected to take Bazelak out of the game and put in backup Brady Cook. Badie came through with a huge gain to keep the game in the Tigers’ hands, rushing 30 yards up the middle on second-and-4 to put them at the South Carolina 36-yard line. Mizzou was able to pretty much run out the clock from there.
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 6:49 PM.
