South Carolina Football: Quick hit after loss to Missouri

With pessimism at a Shane Beamer-era high in Columbia, South Carolina, the 20th-ranked Missouri Tigers welcomed South Carolina football to the “other Columbia” for the battle for the Mayor’s Cup. The story coming into the game focused on the poor defensive play from the Gamecocks this season, and the start of the game did nothing to erase that negativity.

A 14-0 score after the 1st quarter turned into a 24-3 deficit at halftime as the Carolina defense was horrible, and the offense was only marginally better. Frankly, the first half Gamecocks looked poorly coached and did not play with the type of effort that is needed to win football games.

The effort and coaching was much better in the second half, but Missouri repeatedly shot itself in the foot to allow the South Carolina football team to stay in the game. A dropped punt snap, dropped shotgun snap, multiple dropped passes, and a missed opportunity for a turnover by the Missouri defense gave the smallest amount of life to Shane Beamer’s team.

A stretch of Carolina field goals made the score more respectable, and the defense was better (though they benefited from tremendous luck due to Missouri’s mistakes), but it was not enough. The Tigers held on and salted away the clock in the 4th quarter. Cody Schrader was the only running back to carry the ball for the black and gold as he went for a season-high 159 yards.

In the end, the score was closer than the game truly felt, and the Gamecocks fell on the road to Missouri in a game in which they never really posed much of a threat.

The loss brings South Carolina football to 2-5 on the season. The Gamecocks have not won a game away from Williams-Brice Stadium since November of last year when they knocked off Clemson in the annual rivalry game. In those 5 losses, the Gamecocks have been outscored by 84 points.

The Gamecocks will stay on the road next week as they take on the Texas A&M Aggies in College Station at 12:00 next Saturday.

BOX SCORE