Eli Drinkwitz says South Carolina playing with 'great momentum and energy'

Ahead of the Missouri Tigers matchup against the top-25 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks, Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz broke down their opponent and gave his assessment on South Carolina this season.

“Coach Beamer has done an excellent job as he continues to build and establish his program,” said Drinkwitz. “They’re playing with great momentum and energy in all three phases. That stadium will be very loud, and we’ll have to do a great job of replicating that noise and having a good practice today. I believe Texas A&M had seven false start penalties or delay of games related to noise.

“We have to protect the football. We’re going to have to play well on special teams. They’ve blocked five points this season and had multiple returns for touchdowns on the kickoff game.

While South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer has had a solid two-year run of football thus far, even he would say his program has more work to do yet. The Gamecocks have pulled off a few thrilling upsets but have yet to hit the consistency that takes you into contender status in the SEC.

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“Offensively, they have dynamic weapons, Josh Vann; the quarterback is extremely talented. MarShawn Lloyd, Jaheim Bell, transfer tight end Austin Stogner; so they’ve got a lot of weapons,” said Drinkwitz. “And again, consequently, why they’re ranked in the top 25 and will be a challenge for us. They do a good job with their schemes. Clayton White, defensive coordinator, is doing an excellent job… Pete Lembo, their special team’s coordinator, does a tremendous job; former head coach at Elon and some other places and has always been regarded as one of the best special teams coaches in the country. So we’ve got a tough challenge ahead of us.”

Drinkwitz and the Tigers are halfway to being bowl eligible on the season with a 3-4 record. For Missouri, they would have to win three out of their next five games to continue on into postseason play. Unfortunately, their next run of opponents are as follows: No. 25 South Carolina, No.19 Kentucky Wildcats, and No.3 Tennessee Volunteers. While the Gamecocks will be a difficult opponent to take down on the road, a win against their SEC East rival is critical on Saturday. Especially if Drinkwitz and the Tigers have plans to go bowling at the end of this season.