will 100% be on Dowell Loggains play calling. It’s been pretty good the last few games but he’s going to have to step it up a level this Saturday.
You left out the stats for another common opponent in Oklahoma. Missouri only won that game because Oklahoma fumbled in the last minute and Missouri picked it up and scored. Of course, we blew them out 35-6.They have a strong defense, but their numbers may be somewhat inflated by shutouts against Murray State and Buffalo and a UMass game where they allowed 3 points. In SEC play they have allowed 28.4 ppg. We have allowed 18.8.
Our games against mutual opponents Vandy, A&M and Bama are stark contrasts. They were completely non-competitive in 2 of those games and Vandy took them to the wire. In contrast, we had 2 easy wins and took Bama to the wire.
I think, like most of our games this year, it comes down mainly to our pass rush. But, yes, we will need a good offensive game plan. Hopefully we are trending in the right direction there. We blitzed A&M for 530 yards and then put 452 on Vandy, which were season highs allowed for both I believe.
The biggest challenge in this game, though, will be whether or not we can handle playing with the distraction of expectations. I was mightily concerned about focus heading into the Vandy game on the heels of the big win over A&M, but the team aced that test. Now it's a different set of challenges. We're one of the most talked about teams in terms of "can they make the CFP" and even though it's not a realistic possibility, it's still a distraction. This is historically where we've stumbled. Indeed, last time we got ranked in the regular season was in 2022 and we came out and laid an absolute turd on the field...against Mizzou in WB no less.
Beamer will have to earn his chops this week getting the team ready from the mental standpoint.
Funny that you mention 1979. That season South Carolina played Missouri in the Hall of Fame Bowl. One of the few times South Carolina played at Legion FieldSure, we could lose, because anyone can lose. But the difference this year is a completely dominant defensive front. That gives a lot of wiggle room to the other parts of the team to overcome slow starts, adjust, etc. And with Mizzou struggling offensively all year, we are going to be fine.
But then again, I’ve been a fan since the 1979, so maybe I should delete that
That’s a hard one to compare, due to the way we scored our points. The defense gave us 21 points. We were not very good offensively in that game at all. I think Missouri’s offense probably out performed ours against Oklahoma.You left out the stats for another common opponent in Oklahoma. Missouri only won that game because Oklahoma fumbled in the last minute and Missouri picked it up and scored. Of course, we blew them out 35-6.