A homecoming stinker: Gamecocks lay egg, drop SEC home game to Missouri
As fans spilled into Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday afternoon, a black cat raced around the concourse, dodging vendors, patrons and the steel bleachers lining the interior of South Carolina’s home field.
Forty-eight hours before Halloween, it offered a poetic prelude and a harbinger of bad luck to come on a horrific evening in Columbia as No. 25 South Carolina (5-3, 2-3 SEC) watched its four-game win streak and its Associated Press Top 25 ranking go up in smoke in a frustrating 23-10 loss to Missouri (4-4, 2-3 SEC).
“I understand their frustrations,” head coach Shane Beamer said of those critical of the Gamecocks offense of late following USC’s fourth consecutive loss to Missouri. “We flat out laid an egg tonight.”
South Carolina’s fast starts of weeks past disappeared on Saturday. After scoring touchdowns in 13 and 14 seconds against Kentucky and Texas A&M, respectively, it took the Gamecocks 29 minutes to find points against the visiting Tigers via a Spencer Rattler touchdown scramble.
The Gamecocks offense otherwise looked the part of its floundering self from a season ago. The 203 yards of total offense were the second-fewest in a game under Beamer. The 32 yards rushing also marked a low under the new coaching regime, hurt, in part, by a banged-up MarShawn Lloyd — who Beamer said postgame couldn’t return in the second half due to a significant thigh bruise.
Missouri’s defense, though, wasn’t without fault for South Carolina’s brutal offensive output. The Tigers entered the weekend ranked fifth in the Southeastern Conference in rushing defense and looked the part, holding South Carolina to 37 yards on 12 carries, or 3.1 yards per touch, through the opening half.
The Gamecocks would slog to an even more dismal minus-5 yards on the ground over the final 30 minutes of competition.
“Credit to Missouri,” Rattler said. “They gave us tough looks all night long with their blitzes, their pressures, the way they got after us. It was tough to get the drop-back passing game going. I don’t feel like we had a good idea of knowing what to do.”
Still, South Carolina had its chances.
Missouri kicker Harrison Mevis pushed a 21-yard field-goal attempt left of the uprights on the Tigers’ second drive of the second half. South Carolina promptly marched 59 yards in 12 plays, settling for a 39-yard Mitch Jeter field goal to pull within a touchdown.
But for each inch USC gained, Missouri quarterback Brady Cook and a suddenly explosive Missouri offense shut the door.
Cook, who has struggled for the bulk of the season, completed 17-of-26 passes for 224 yards — his second-best passing day of the season. Receiver Dominic Lovett, too, gave the Gamecocks fits throughout the night, connecting with his starting quarterback for 148 yards on 10 receptions, three of which went for 21, 34 and 52 yards.
Missouri finished the evening outgaining South Carolina 367-203, good for the Tigers’ most yardage in an SEC game this year and their second-most against a Power Five opponent since last year’s win over the Gamecocks.
“We didn’t get it done on the first drive, but I’d say we picked up immediately on what they were doing (defensively),” Cook said. “They showed us the looks we thought they were going to. We adjusted quickly and made plays.”
South Carolina celebrated plenty of milestones over the last month. It was ranked for the first time in four years. It earned the program’s first ever win over Texas A&M a week ago. The victory over Kentucky? Just USC’s second in nine tries.
A win Saturday would’ve made the Gamecocks bowl-eligible in October for just the second time since 2012. Instead, it was a slow bleed toward the inevitable — a demoralizing loss that evaporated the rosy vibes of the last month as quickly as they began.
First down
South Carolina earned its first ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 poll in four years this past week after beating Texas A&M. The Gamecocks are likely to fall out of the rankings after the loss on Saturday night.
Key stats
1.4 — South Carolina averaged just 1.4 yards per rush on Saturday
4 — Missouri has now won its last four games against USC, including Eli Drinkwitz’s 3-0 mark in such games
99 — The Gamecocks’ total yardage offensively in the second half
Next USC football game
Who: South Carolina at Vanderbilt
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5
Where: Commodore Stadium in Nashville
TV: SEC Network
This story was originally published October 29, 2022 at 7:07 PM.
