Just like that, South Carolina is set for its final SEC matchup of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n
The Gamecocks\u2019 momentum has never been higher, coming off three straight wins over conference opponents by 20-plus points. But the team will face another tough test when Missouri, a nationally-ranked squad that still has postseason aspirations, comes to Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Before\u00a0the game kicks off at 4:15 p.m. on the SEC Network, here\u2019s what the Tigers brings to the table.<\/p>\n
[GamecockCentral: $1 for 7 days and 50% off first year]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Missouri was considered one of the top contenders for a College Football Playoff berth at the beginning of the campaign. The Tigers started the season ranked No. 11 overall in the preseason AP poll. By mid-September, they had climbed to No. 7 after season-opening wins over Murray State (51-0), Buffalo (38-0) and then-No. 24 Boston College (27-21).<\/p>\n That matchup against the Eagles \u2013 who now sit in the bottom half of the ACC \u2013 and a 30-27 double-overtime win over Vanderbilt the following week showed there may be some writing on the wall for Missouri. And that would rear its ugly head during the thick of conference play, as the Tigers suffered blowout losses to both Texas A&M (41-10) and Alabama (34-0). In between those two losses were victories over Massachusetts (45-3) and Auburn (21-17).<\/p>\n But Missouri got a significant momentum boost of their own last week, when a late comeback vaulted them to a 30-23 win over Oklahoma. The Tigers were down 23-16 at the two-minute mark in the fourth quarter, but two touchdowns \u2013 including a 17-yard fumble recovery score by Zion Young<\/a><\/strong> with 22 seconds remaining \u2013 helped keep them to two losses on the year.<\/p>\n Like kryptonite is to Superman, Missouri seems to be for South Carolina. The Gamecocks and Tigers have faced off each season since the latter joined the SEC ahead of the 2012 season. Missouri holds a 7-5 series lead since then (and a 9-5 advantage all-time).<\/p>\n And the Gamecocks are in the midst of a five-game slide against the Tigers. In Shane Beamer<\/a><\/strong>\u2018s three years as South Carolina\u2019s head coach, he has yet to earn a win over Missouri.<\/p>\n The last time the two teams met on the gridiron, the Gamecocks suffered their largest defeat to the Tigers. South Carolina fell behind 21-0 by the midway point of the second quarter and, despite holding Missouri scoreless during the third quarter, struggled overall to get back into the game and lost 34-12. All 12 of the team\u2019s points that day were scored by former kicker Mitch Jeter<\/a><\/strong>, who is now at Notre Dame.<\/p>\n [See the Gamecock discussion on The Insiders Forum!]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Spencer Rattler<\/a><\/strong> completed 23 of his 40 passes for 217 yards and one interception in the contest. While the Gamecocks did not have any 100-yard rushers or receivers, Mario Anderson<\/a><\/strong> (12 carries, 68 yards) and Nyck Harbor<\/a><\/strong> (two receptions, 50 yards) led the team in their respective metrics.<\/p>\n The Tigers are ranked in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls. Missouri is currently No. 24 in the AP poll, the same spot it occupied last week, after receiving 176 votes. The USA Today Coaches poll also pegged the Tigers as the No. 21 team in the country with 277 votes. Missouri was also ranked No. 23 by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee in its most recent rankings.<\/p>\n ESPN\u2019s College Football Power Index (FPI) ranks the Tigers No. 25 with a 10.6 FPI. Their projected record is 8.6-3.4. The team has a 0.2 percent chance of winning the SEC and a 4.8 percent chance of making the College Football Playoff this season.<\/p>\n In ESPN\u2019s SP+ rankings, Missouri checks in at No. 17.<\/p>\n The Tigers sit 20th in the Massey Ratings. They rank 41st in offense and 21st in defense.<\/p>\n ESPN gives Missouri a 30.4 percent chance to win this weekend. The Tigers head into the contest as 13.5-point underdogs, according to ESPN BET.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/a>[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Wofford football game]<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Luther Burden<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Junior, wide receiver)<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Burden has served as Missouri\u2019s top offensive threat over the past two seasons. Last year, he earned First-Team All-SEC honors after finishing third in the conference in receiving yards (1,212) and scoring nine touchdowns on 86 catches. Burden has seen his yardage totals drop early in the 2024 season, though. Through nine games, he has just 505 yards and four touchdowns on 45 catches. But he is on track to be a potential first-round selection in the next edition of the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n Drew Pyne<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Graduate student, quarterback)<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 With Week 1 starter Brady Cook<\/a><\/strong> doubtful for Saturday\u2019s Game, Pyne could be next in line to start. Pyne has appeared in six of the Tigers\u2019 games this season, completing 49 of 82 passes for 391 yards. He has also thrown three touchdowns (all of which came against Oklahoma) and three interceptions (all of which came against Alabama) this season. Before suiting up for the Tigers, Pyne played three seasons at Notre Dame and one at Arizona State.<\/p>\n Johnny Walker<\/a><\/strong><\/em>\u00a0(Graduate student, defensive end)<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Walker has emerged as one of the most disruptive forces along Missouri\u2019s defensive line. He currently leads the Tigers in both sacks (4.5) and tackles for loss (six), and he has recorded an additional 25 tackles, one quarterback hurry and one fumble recovery. Walker has spent his entire five-year college football career with Missouri.<\/p>\n <\/strong><\/a>[On3 App: Get South Carolina push notifications from GamecockCentral]<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n South Carolina\u2019s five-game losing streak to Missouri will be looming large over this contest. During this time frame, no matter how strong or weak both teams looked heading into the game each year, the Tigers always came out on top.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Shane Beamer<\/a><\/strong> pointed to physicality as one of the reasons why this was the case. Missouri has been strong in the run game over the past three editions of the all-time series \u2013 while the Tigers have gained more than 100 rushing yards in each game, the Gamecocks have been held to 69 or fewer.<\/p>\n But South Carolina\u2019s ground game looks much different this season than it has in years past. Rocket Sanders<\/a><\/strong> is in the midst of his best run of form of the campaign, scoring a combined four touchdowns and rushing for a combined 270 yards in the Gamecocks\u2019 wins over Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. LaNorris Sellers<\/a><\/strong> eclipsed 100 rushing yards against the Aggies, too. Generating yards after contact will be helpful in sustaining long drives and getting South Carolina on the scoreboard.<\/p>\n Physicality is important on the defensive side of the football, too. The Gamecocks\u2019 pass rush remains one of the best in the nation, with Kyle Kennard<\/a><\/strong> and Dylan Stewart<\/a><\/strong> leading the charge. While Pyne may not be as flashy of a player as Cook, limiting the production of whoever is under center will set up South Carolina\u2019s offense for success.<\/p>\n The offensive threats South Carolina\u2019s defense should be most prepared for, though, are Burden and Theo Wease<\/a><\/strong>. Beamer has labeled Missouri\u2019s pass-catching room \u201cthe best receiving corps in this conference.\u201d Both Burden and Wease have the potential to turn routine plays into large gains and, potentially, touchdowns. Because of this, the Gamecocks must be strong with their tackles to prevent explosive plays.<\/p>\n The post Game 10 Preview: Scouting the Missouri Tigers<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Just like that, South Carolina is set for its final SEC matchup of the 2024…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75504\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}How they got here<\/h2>\n
Last time out<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Where they sit in the rankings<\/h2>\n
Players to watch<\/h2>\n
Path to victory<\/h2>\n
Discuss South Carolina football on The Insiders Forum!<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n