Battle of the Columbias: Last two games have been really wacky
South Carolina and Missouri played their first football game in 1979 and have played five times in their history, but things didn’t start getting really wacky until the last two years. In 2013, the Gamecocks trailed 17-0 entering the fourth quarter and won 27-24 in double overtime in Columbia, Mo.
Last season, Missouri returned the favor, scoring two touchdowns in the final 6:49 to win 21-20 in Columbia, S.C. As the Gamecocks get ready to face the Tigers again Saturday, we take a look back at just how crazy this series has been in the last two years.
“I feel like every SEC school is pretty much a big rivalry, but I feel like the way these games have gone the last couple of years that it’s a bigger game,” said South Carolina tight end Kyle Markway, a Missouri native.
2014
The Setup
South Carolina was 3-1 and ranked No. 13 in the country, and Missouri was 3-1, unranked and coming off a loss to Indiana.
The Hero
Missouri running back Marcus Murphy was the only Tiger who had offensive success all day. He had 98 rushing yards and led all players with 188 all-purpose yards.
Play of the Game
After falling behind 20-7 with 7:25 left in the game, Missouri opened its next drive with a 41-yard pass from Maty Mauk to Bud Sasser that energized the Tigers’ offense. The next play was a 26-yard completion to the 1-yard line, and Missouri scored on the next play to pull within one score. Before the completion to Sasser, the Tigers had 62 passing yards.
Oops of the Game
After South Carolina scored to go ahead 19-7 with 7:25 left, the Gamecocks kicked an extra point when a successful two-point conversion would have put them ahead by 14 points. “That was a mistake on my part,” Spurrier said. “Nobody on the sideline thought about it.”
Stat of the Game
The Tigers converted only two of 16 third downs, but they converted two fourth downs on their game-winning drive, the final coming on a 1-yard touchdown run by Russell Hansbrough with 1:36 left in the game.
Head coach Steve Spurrier after the game
“We played sloppy on offense, pretty good on defense till the last two drives. I told the team I was proud of the way they played. We stopped them most of the time. We had our chances and didn’t get it done. Simple as that.”
Head coach Gary Pinkel after the game
“Crazy day out there. Big, big win for us. The opposite of a year ago. When your team does something like this, as a head football coach, you are proud of your coaches and players.”
The Aftermath
Missouri had an open date the next week, was blown out 34-0 by Georgia two weeks later but won the remainder of their SEC games during the regular season to win the Eastern Division. South Carolina was just getting started blowing fourth quarter leads. The Gamecocks lost 45-38 to Kentucky the next week after leading late in the game and lost 45-42 to Tennessee four games later thanks to another late game collapse.
2013
The Setup
South Carolina was 5-2 and ranked No. 20 in the country. Missouri was undefeated and ranked No. 5 in the country.
The Hero
Connor Shaw didn’t start due to a sprained knee suffered the week before, but he hobbled off the bench to replace Dylan Thompson in the second half and completed 20 of 29 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns.
Play of the Game
After Missouri scored a touchdown on its first overtime possession, South Carolina faced fourth-and-goal from the Tigers 15-yard line on the next possession. Shaw found Bruce Ellington in the end zone on a corner route to send the game into a second overtime.
Oops of the Game
Missouri kicker Andrew Baggett missed a 24-yard field goal on the final play of the game that would have sent the game to a third overtime.
Stat of the Game
South Carolina running back Mike Davis had nine catches for 94 yards after halftime, mostly on a middle screen pass that led the way for the Gamecocks comeback. Davis finished with 99 receiving yards and 51 rushing yards to make up for a costly first half fumble.
Head coach Steve Spurrier after the game
“It’s a game I thought we were dead … about three-quarters of the game anyway. We are very fortunate. We are very thankful. I went over and asked (Shaw), ‘Can you play?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ So I said, ‘We have to make the move.’ It was do-or-die. We had no chance in the division unless we win this one.”
Head coach Gary Pinkel after the game
“There are plays that could have been made all over the place. These sting. Being so close to victory against a really good team. They did the things necessary at the end to win. This loss does not define us. What’s going to define us is how we deal with it.”
The Aftermath
South Carolina won its next four games to finish the regular season 10-2 and then beat Wisconsin 34-24 in the Capital One Bowl to cap its third consecutive 11-win season. Missouri also won its next four regular season games to clinch the SEC East. The Tigers lost 59-24 to Auburn in the SEC Championship Game.
This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 11:58 AM.