The South Carolina Gamecocks traveled to Columbia, Missouri to face the Missouri Tigers for their 10th matchup ever, and their eighth meeting since the Tigers joined the SEC in 2012.
Coming into the game the Gamecocks led the all-time series 5-4 coming and had won the last three in a row. That streak came to an end today when Missouri handed South Carolina a humbling 34-14 loss on the road.
Missouri started with possession of the ball and even though this was quarterback Kelly Bryant’s first game against South Carolina as a Missouri Tiger, it was not his first game against South Carolina as a Tiger. Bryant transferred to Missouri from Clemson last year and had played against in-state rival South Carolina in his career with Clemson.
Neither Missouri nor South Carolina produced any points during their first possessions, and the Tigers were the first to get on the scoreboard until a bizarre call happened in late in the first quarter. Ryan Hilinski threw a pass that was deflected by a defender back to the quarterback and it then counted as a backwards pass in which Missouri’s Cate Garrett recovered the ball and took it into the endzone for the first points of the game.
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Both teams also had trouble converting third downs until Missouri benefitted from a roughing the passer penalty against Gamecock lineman Kingley Enagbare –– and the automatic first down came with the 15-yard penalty.
On the next third down, Aaron Sterling forced a fumble, and Javon Kinlaw recovered it to give the possession back to the Gamecocks. South Carolina hoped to at least put three points on the board in the possession following the forced fumble, but Parker White, the kicker for South Carolina missed a 50-yard field goal attempt, and the first quarter ended with Tigers on top 7-0.
Missouri scored their first points of the second quarter with a 47-yard field goal by Tucker McCann with 13:22 on the clock and giving Missouri a 10-point lead. In Missouri’s next possession DJ Wonnum intercepted a pass for a return just shy of the end zone, and Rico Dowdle took it one yard for the touchdown. The Gamecocks scored their first points of the game with slightly over nine minutes left in the first half and bringing the lead within three points at 10-7.
The Gamecocks were unable to respond with any points in their next two possessions, and with just over four minutes left in the first half, Albert Okwuegbnam closed the drive with a three-yard catch from Bryant, extending the lead Missouri lead to 7-17, and the score would remain unchanged at the end of the quarter giving the Tigers the 10-point lead at halftime. Missouri quarterback Kelly Bryant was 10-of-20 with 120 yards passing and one touchdown in the first half. He also led his team in rushing yard with 12 carries for 75 yards. Jonathan Nance led the tigers in the first half with two receptions and 36 receiving yards.
True freshman quarterback Ryan Hilinski recorded 4-of-15 completions for three yards in the first half, which was notably less than the last two weeks of his play. Rico Dowdle posted five carries for 16 yards and one touchdown. And at halftime, Chavis Dawkins led the Gamecocks with one reception for nine yards. Both teams came back from halftime with the mindset they needed to be more productive of the offensive side of the ball.
South Carolina answered that call when they immediately scored on the first drive of the third quarter. Ryan Hilinski passed for 75 yards to Bryan Edwards, and again the lead was cut down to just three points, 17-14 with all but eleven seconds left in the quarter. Missouri responded with a 21-yard touchdown pass in their first possession and extended the lead again, 24-14 with nearly 11 minutes on the clock. The Gamecocks finally were able to convert their first third downplay in the third quarter of the game when Hilinski was able to connect with Edwards, and then connected with Kyle Markway on a third and fourth down and was able to make another third-down conversion when Hilinski connected with Shi Smith.
During what would be South Carolina’s final third down of that possession, Ryan Hilinski threw a pick-six that was caught by Donnell Perkins and carried for the 100-yard touchdown return, giving the Tigers the 31-14 lead over the Gamecocks.
On the next South Carolina possession, Rico Dowdle fumbled the ball, and Akial Byers who forced the fumble also recovered the ball giving the possession back to Missouri. South Carolina received its first of two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties during this drive, and Missouri’s efforts to convert the turnover into more points on the board failed when McCann missed a 39 yard field goal McCann redeemed himself in the next possession when he did close out the 14 play, 7:12 possession with a 25-yard field goal at the top of the fourth quarter, extending the lead to the largest of the night with 20 points. Missouri recorded two sacks in the next South Carolina possession when Nick Bolton and Jordan Elliot sacked Hilinski in two out of the three plays.
Dakereon Joyner came in for the last Gamecock possession with slightly less than four minutes remaining in the game, and he was sacked as well with 1:21 to go. Joyner and the Gamecocks were unable to put any more points on the board and the gamecocks lost their second game in a row –– their third out of four games.
The Missouri offense proved to be the stronger of the two teams, and in the end the Gamecocks’ defense was worn out from defending the stronger Missouri offensive line. For the first time since 2015, the coveted “Mayor’s Cup” will remain in Columbia, Missouri, and South Carolina no longer holds the lead in the series, as it is now tied up at five wins per team. The Gamecocks will face Kentucky at home in Columbia, SC next Saturday.
One Way Flight 🛫#MIZ #ShowMe 🐯🏈 pic.twitter.com/B0ZqNEcAJ7
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) September 21, 2019
