South Carolina walked out of Columbia, Missouri with more bruises than bright spots in a 29-20 loss to the No. 23 Missouri Tigers on September 20.
The Tigers' Ahmad Hardy ran wild for 138 yards and the game-sealing touchdown, part of Missouri's 287 rushing yards. The Gamecocks just couldn't wrap him up, missing his waist, missing his ankles, or just realizing that shoulder-checking a back won't do it. The Missouri offense leaned simply on efficiency. They kept feeding Hardy and spreading the ball to their runners, knowing the Gamecock defense couldn't consistently tackle in space. Every time South Carolina needed stops, they came up empty.
South Carolina, now 2-2 and 0-2 in the SEC, are slowly watching their preseason expectation start to fade. The Gamecocks still had some flashes of life, however. Vandrevious Jacobs caught a 49-yard touchdown, and Brian Rowe added a 24-yard score from LaNorris Sellers, but the offense stalled whenever protection broke down. Sellers had his own glimpses of brilliance yet just couldn't find his spark against Missouri.
The Gamecocks did manage to force two field goals in the red zone, and Gerald Kilgore grabbed an interception to give South Carolina some life late in the game. But it just wasn't sustainable.
The result raises questions of football fundamentals: running the ball, limiting penalties, finishing tackles, etc. Until those things change, South Carolina will not look like an SEC contender, this season or in the near future.
The Gamecocks will host Kentucky at Williams-Brice on Sept. 27 before they head into their first bye week.