Mizzou football survives a battle against South Carolina. Here are the takeaways
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Missouri sacked LaNorris Sellers 5 times; held South Carolina to minus-10 rushing yards.
- Ahmad Hardy ran for 138 yards and leads FBS in broken tackles this season.
- Freshman kicker Robert Meyer hit a career-long 40-yard field goal to seal the win.
Welcome to SEC play.
This year’s Mayor’s Cup game turned into a slugfest, with six lead changes at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium. But the Missouri Tigers avoided any repeats from last year’s heartbreaking loss at South Carolina in a 29-20 win Saturday.
Mizzou’s run game dominated the ball Saturday, rushing for 285 yards. The Tigers posted 456 yards of total offense.
The Tigers improved to 4-0 (1-0 SEC) with the home win.
“We can either be satisfied with our ability to win this game, or we can go back to work and launch ourselves into the rest of the SEC,” head coach Eli Drinkwitz said.
Here are five instant takeaways...
Mizzou’s secondary faced another test
The Tigers spent the week not entirely sure if they’d face South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers after he sustained an injury a week earlier. That said, Drinkwitz said he anticipated the star quarterback to start for the Gamecocks — and that’s exactly what happened.
Sellers showed off his big-time ability. He went 18-for-28 passing for 302 yards with two touchdowns. The Tigers did get to him for five sacks, but Sellers also had his moments, breaking away for several explosive plays. His two touchdown passes were from 49 and 24 yards out.
Mizzou’s secondary struggled at times in coverage, and it could have cost them on another day.
“This is getting ridiculous, how poor our passing defense is,” Drinkwitz said. “That’s gotta get corrected.”
However ...
Let’s give the defensive line its flowers
Mizzou’s defensive front through Saturday had surrendered some explosive runs, even last week against Louisiana with Zylan Perry’s 84-yard rushing touchdown.
Against South Carolina, the defensive line cleaned up the gaps. The Gamecocks finished with minus-10 yards rushing. Missouri sacked Sellers five times and kept him limited as a runner.
Sellers ran for 674 yards last season. He was top-three among SEC quarterbacks, behind Diego Pavia and Jalen Milroe.
The Tigers held him to minus-28 yards on the ground Saturday. No South Carolina player reached double-digit rushing yards.
More of the same from Ahmad Hardy
Ahmad Hardy ran for 138 yards Saturday, with a touchdown, but those numbers don’t tell the story of his day. Because when Hardy runs, it’s apparent he’s able to fight through contact and keep his legs moving.
Hardy leads FBS in broken tackles this season. He broke five alone on just his 38-yard run Saturday. That was his longest carry of the day, as he averaged 6 yards per carry.
“I didn’t think he was gonna be this good,” Drinkwitz said. “I mean, the dude’s running through people like he’s a dump truck.”
Jamal Roberts added 76 yards and a touchdown in the run game.
Robert Meyer needed a confidence boost ... and got it.
Mizzou’s first scoring drive saw quarterback Beau Pribula and company march down the field 99 yards. Pribula eventually connected with Joshua Manning in the end zone for an 8-yard score.
Then the excitement dwindled ever so slightly when Robert Meyer doinked the extra-point attempt.
But Drinkwitz’s confidence never wavered in the true freshman. With Mizzou unable to convert on third-and-12 in a six-point game in the final minutes, Drinkwitz could’ve opted to go for it, or let another specialist get a crack at the game-sealing field goal.
Instead, he sent Meyer back out for a 40-yarder, much longer than his career high of 25 yards.
Meyer, a true freshman, was perfect on the kick. And then he embraced his teammates, who celebrated all around him.
“Ice in his veins,” quarterback Beau Pribula said. “When the game mattered most, to be a true freshman and do what he did on an important SEC night game, I’m so proud.”
Beau Pribula bounced back when it matters
Pribula’s second-quarter pick was ugly. It was even worse when you consider South Carolina scored off the turnover.
But Pribula stayed calm, a leadership quality he displayed when being tested against Kansas a few weeks prior. Pribula went 8-for-13 on the passes he made after the interception, and picked up yardage on the ground. He ran for 56 yards from that point on.
Missouri’s quarterback didn’t have the best game — he went 16-for-27 passing for 171 yards, one touchdown and one interception — but that, combined with 72 rushing yards, was enough for Mizzou on Saturday.
This story was originally published September 20, 2025 at 10:03 PM.
