South Carolina Preview

South Carolina Gamecocks (#21 BCS) at Missouri Tigers (#5 BCS)
October 26 6:00PM Central
HOMECOMING

Personal Overview:
When Semo was asking for volunteers to do these weekly game previews I originally picked Vanderbilt because I thought it would be fun to do a preview for a team we had a chance of beating. Once all the games started filling up and nobody had picked the USC game I happily volunteered for this week because South Carolina is my second favorite SEC team and if I was going to do a preview of a loss it might as well be a loss against a team I really like. Fast forward to today and we are sitting at 7-0 going into the contest against the Gamecocks and I couldn't be more excited that this preview will wind up a lot differently than I'd expected when I hit submit volunteering for this week's preview so many weeks ago.

Real Overview:
As scenarios go, it doesn't get much bigger than this in conference play. This is the game that can really cement the Tigers in the drivers seat for the SEC East crown and a berth in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta. The doubts and meltdowns we've all had during the out of conference schedule have been mostly alleviated by three strong performances against SEC competition including the up and coming Vanderbilt program, and old guard programs in Georgia and Florida.

The Tigers have shown they can play at a high level, a higher level than almost anyone expected, and can really step up when it's called for and make the big plays needed to get the game under control and maintain that control through the final whistle. As everyone that has been a fan of the Missouri Tigers for a time measured in units longer than semesters knows, the cup should always been readily available for when the other shoe drops. However, it might not have to be strapped on before each game this year. This team has played at a high enough level so far that a kicked ball in the north endzone or a 5th down would be inconsequential in the final results of games, which is a welcome change.

Mizzou-A Look Back:
Not too far back, but just a note. Last week's win versus Florida was the first time the Tigers have beaten ranked teams two weeks in a row since the Nixon administration. Mizzou also became the first team to beat Georgia and Florida consecutively since the Clintons were picking out paint and wallpaper for the White House.

So let's talk about the Florida game, the best way I can think of to show the results of the team's hard play is to put some numbers out there.

-Maty Mauk and the Tiger offense went up against a vaunted Florida defense that was allowing 235 yards per game and finished the game with more than double that amount. 500 yards of offense.

-Florida hadn't given up 500 yards of offense in a game since the 2008 Capital One Bowl.

-Florida was allowing an average of 83 yards per game rushing, Mizzou's running back corps gashed the Florida D for 205 yards.

-Florida was on a streak of allowing fewer than 20 total points in its previous 13 games, Mizzou scored 36. The Tigers 36 points were the most allowed by Florida since a game versus LSU in 2011.

-Maty Mauk's 295 yards passing was astounding versus the FBS' 3rd best passing defense that was allowing 152 yards per game previously.

Keep in mind this was all done during Maty Mauk's first collegiate start. This team rallied around the new quarterback and allowed the offense to move at will against a top rated defense and allowing Mauk to receive SEC Freshman of the week honors.

Mizzou's defense got into the game as well, with Michael Sam once again being a dominating force on the line and pressuring Florida's QB Murphy all day including getting to Murphy three times for sacks, his performance garnered SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Gators never led in this game, and the defense has 11 tackles for loss, and three turnovers in the game including a Shane Ray sack that forced a fumble late in the game all but ensuring a Mizzou victory.

USC-A Look Back

The Gamecocks are coming to our Columbia after a loss on a last minute field goal against a Tennessee Volunteers team that gave Georgia all they could handle just a few weeks before and a team that appears to be very much improved over the Dooley led Vols of the past. As improved as the Vols appear to be, it did take a miracle catch to set up that last minute field goal and put the game to rest with the win on the Vols' side.

The Gamecocks didn't have the best of performances late in their game, there were plenty of opportunities for the Cocks to maintain control, but some poor execution in the passing game by their QB Shaw and their receiving corps kept the door open just long enough for the Vols to slip through with the miracle catch and walk off field goal.

The Gamecocks offense seems to have been carrying the team in recent weeks after some less than stellar performances by the SC defense in which the Cocks gave up 25 points to the Knights of UCF and 28 points to the Kentucky Wildcats. However, the defense did step up late versus the Vols coming up with two drive ending stops late in the game and keeping the team in a position to win even with the poor offensive execution.

Clowney was a major part of that defensive execution, and the Volunteers didn't have the opportunity to do much on his side of the line. However, when they weren't able to avoid Clowney he produced results, he had five tackles including three tackles for loss and was able to break through and hurry the quarterback on occasion. Clowney was matched up against Vols NFL Prospect tackle Antonio Richardson and his presence on the field was still very much felt, national commentators are saying this was Clowney's best performance all season. He also appears to have gotten over his early season issues with cramping and fatigue and played all but two plays of the first half.

Okay, Let's look forward.

Well, it appears Connor Shaw is out for our game with a strained knee (thanks again, Vols.) However, the Gamecocks' backup QB Junior Dylan Thompson has seen action this year after Shaw's earlier injury, and from what I gathered from some Gamecocks fans put up a bit of a battle for the starting QB position during this past offseason. Thompson got significant playing time in the Gamecocks' game versus the Knights of Central Florida and looked like he had the ability to command the USC offense completing 15 of his 32 pass attempts and getting 261 yards through the air. He did not complete a pass for touchdown and had one interception, but the offense was clicking. Thompson has game experience and should be ready to roll assuming Shaw doesn't recover and start the game versus our Tigers. Having a backup QB in for the Gamecocks versus our secondary (which I'm still not personally sure is great) will give me a little cause for comfort, but USC has shown they can air the ball out with Thompson, and had a 44 yard pass versus UCF.

Mizzou has a QB injury issue as well, and will be starting our backup redshirt Freshman Maty Mauk. The team seemed to rally around Mauk to give him support; settling Maty down and airing the ball out early into the game to get him the confidence he needed was a great call by the coaching staff and a few posters here on the Mizzou board. Hopefully we'll see some of the same versus the South Carolina. With the Mizzou receiving corps being what they are, they should be able to put some balls up against a USC secondary that has shown it can give up yardage to good QB and receiver play. Aaron Murray and the healthy Georgia Bulldogs were able to put over 300 yards of passing up versus the Gamecocks in the Cocks' 41-30 loss between the hedges.