Final thoughts, prediction for South Carolina afternoon matchup vs. Missouri
That rumbling you hear around Columbia isn’t the usual roar of steel clacking against tracks that so often slows traffic throughout the day around the Midlands.
That noise is the Shane Beamer hype-train picking up increasing speed.
South Carolina is 5-2. It’s ranked 25th in The Associated Press Top 25, its first appearance in the poll in four years. It now has wins over longtime thorns Kentucky and Texas A&M.
Next? A pesky Missouri team that nearly upended No. 1 Georgia a month ago. The game kicks off at 4 p.m. on SEC Network.
“They’re a really talented team that has been in every game every SEC game they’ve played this season,” Beamer said. “They’ve got three losses in the SEC by three points, four points and seven points. Every single game they’ve played in conference this year has come down to one possession.”
That Beamer and the Gamecocks are picking up increased attention has as much to do with the South Carolina defense as anything else.
Defensive coordinator Clayton White’s unit is finally healthy on the back end and it’s paying dividends. Cornerback Darius Rush, who missed wins over Charlotte and S.C. State due to injury, earned Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording a team-high eight tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and a pass breakup in last week’s win over the Aggies.
Defensive backs R.J. Roderick, Devonni Reed, Cam Smith and David Spaulding have all also missed time at varying points. Roderick has since entered the transfer portal, but the rest are back healthy and contributing.
South Carolina has also brought immense pressure on opposing signal-callers the last four weeks. The defensive line has combined for seven sacks and 40 quarterback hurries on 58 total pressures in that span, per Pro Football Focus.
The hope is that play will persist against a Missouri offense that ranks 12th in the SEC in total offense heading into the weekend.
“Coach White brought us in on Sunday and was talking about how like, this specific game (against Texas A&M) wasn’t really like the linebackers dominated or a defensive line game or a DB game,” linebacker Brad Johnson said. “It was a complete and total game from the whole defense. Everybody made plays. And that’s what you want to see from a defense.”
South Carolina’s offense has come under fire in spurts this season — and rightfully so. That said, the Gamecocks are currently scoring 33.1 points per game, good for a nearly 10-point improvement from a year ago.
MarShawn Lloyd continues to thrive in his first full season as the bell-cow tailback. He’s averaging just a tick under 113 yards per game over the last four games, turning in seven rushing touchdowns in that same time frame.
Quarterback Spencer Rattler has had his moments, despite his numbers looking worse than he’s actually played. Take last week, for example. He completed a season-low 48% of his passes, but had three balls dropped and threw away four of his 25 attempts.
Missouri’s defense isn’t devoid of playmakers. Defensive lineman and Irmo product Trajan Jeffcoat is back for another year with the Tigers. He earned first team All-SEC honors in 2020 and recovered a fumble for a touchdown in last season’s win over the Gamecocks.
Jeffcoat and running mate Isaiah McGuire figure to help anchor a Missouri defensive line that currently sits fifth in the SEC in run defense. It should also receive plenty of help from linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper and defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine on the second and third levels of the defense.
“They have a really, really sound, exotic scheme,” USC offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said. “You get up into the upper tier of third down — six to 10 (yards) — they do a lot of stuff. They’ve got a lot of guys who’ve played a lot of football. ...We’ve got to stay on schedule because this is a really good defense we’re getting ready to play.”
It’s not that far gone that Beamer inherited a dumpster fire following Will Muschamp’s ousting in the middle of the 2020 season. The Gamecocks aren’t in SEC contention, per se, but the strides the program has taken in Beamer’s 22 months on the job deserves as much praise as it’s receiving.
Now, though, comes avoiding a letdown.
South Carolina has lost three-straight to Missouri. It had chances to blow last year’s game open early before an ill-fated Jason Brown interception turned the course of the contest.
USC’s schedule lines up for a legitimate chance at a 7-2 or 8-2 start with games against Vanderbilt and Florida to come over the next two weeks.
I’ll take Beamer and Co. to chug on ahead, but don’t be surprised if this turns into a sneaky dangerous game well into the second half.
— Prediction: South Carolina 34, Missouri 28 —
This story was originally published October 29, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
