No. 21 South Carolina football wins a thriller over No. 23 Missouri

The South Carolina football team has been the source of national conversation in recent weeks. The Gamecocks’ status as the No. 21 team in the country, per the College Football Playoff Committee, further pushed those narratives.

Shane Beamer was not going to let that number affect South Carolina’s preparations this past week. On Tuesday, Beamer said the Gamecocks “didn’t play worth a crap” the last time it was ranked.

So, that beckoned the question: How would South Carolina perform with a rank attached to its name? And would they expel the demons haunting them since 2018, the last time they beat Missouri?

The answer to that second question proved to be “yes,” as the Gamecocks completed their conference slate of games on Saturday with a dramatic 34-30 win over the No. 23-ranked Tigers at Williams-Brice Stadium.

“What a win for our guys. The resiliency that we showed, the togetherness, the ‘never panic’ – (there were) just so many moments and plays from that game,” Beamer said. “We talk about remembering November, and they’re putting together one heck of a story right now with what we’ve done in November.”

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Missouri (7-3, 3-3 SEC), which received the opening kickoff, began the game with two mirror-image drives. The Tigers gained 57 yards across 10 plays on both possessions.

And these two drives ended the same way, too. South Carolina’s (7-3, 5-3 SEC) defense came up with third-down stops when Missouri came within striking distance in the end zone, resulting in two field goal attempts. Both of Blake Craig‘s attempts – from 38 and 37 yards out, respectively – were successful.

While the Gamecocks found themselves in an early hole after the Tigers’ first drive, South Carolina provided an immediate response shortly afterward. Its offense relied heavily on deep passes from LaNorris Sellers, who went a perfect 3-for-3 for 70 yards on the drive. Sellers’ final completion of the possession resulted in a 26-yard touchdown to Nyck Harbor, giving the Gamecocks a 7-3 lead.

The Gamecocks’ subsequent two possessions would not bear fruit, despite promising starts to both. South Carolina led a 16-play, 57-yard drive that lasted seven-and-a-half minutes following Craig’s second made field goal. The Gamecocks faced fourth-down situations twice and converted on both. But when it elected to do so again at Missouri’s 18-yard line, the third time was not the charm – Rocket Sanders was tackled for a one-yard loss, resulting in a turnover on downs.

After the Tigers pushed themselves deeper into their own territory with two false start penalties on their next possession, South Carolina found itself with good field position at their own 40-yard line midway through the second quarter. Two plays later, the ball was back in Missouri’s hands. Sellers recovered his own fumble on the first play; on the second, he threw an interception to Dreyden Norwood.

The Gamecocks’ defense was then called upon to put out the fire after the team’s second straight turnover. And it did so successfully, flipping momentum back in the home team’s favor before the stroke of halftime.

Over three plays, South Carolina forced the Tigers’ offense three yards backwards from where it took over at the Gamecocks’ 32-yard line. Craig stepped up to attempt his third field goal of the game, but it dropped short of the goal post.

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South Carolina would go on to capitalize on Craig’s miss. The Gamecocks soon found themselves at Missouri’s six-yard line after a 43-yard pass from Sellers to Harbor. Sellers’ next pass found Joshua Simon in the end zone for a six-yard touchdown.

“(I was) wide open,” Simon said. “We kind of knew he was going to have that look. They went for it, and (we scored) six points.”

Missouri had an opportunity to trim South Carolina’s lead with under two minutes remaining. But after holding the Tigers to a three-and-out, the Gamecocks marched down the field with a five-play, 77-yard drive that lasted less than a minute. The possession culminated in a 38-yard touchdown by Jared Brown that put South Carolina up 21-6 at the game’s midway point.

The Gamecocks built their wide lead in the first half, in part, to its aggressiveness. Beamer called timeouts early to conserve time on the clock, and South Carolina’s offense consistently attempt fourth-down conversions.

That aggressiveness would backfire early in the third quarter. The Gamecocks elected to go for it on a fourth-and-four situation in Missouri’s territory, but a pass to Simon fell incomplete. After regaining possession of the ball, the Tigers scored their points since the first quarter on a two-yard touchdown run from Marcus Carroll.

Missouri proceeded to attempt a two-point conversion to make it a one-possession game. South Carolina’s defense stopped Cook short of the goal line, though, thus maintaining a nine-point advantage.

And that fourth-down play would not be the last South Carolina failed to convert. Facing fourth-and-one at their own 37-yard line, Sellers tried to find the yard to gain on a quarterback keeper. The Tigers’ defense swallowed up his space to run, stopping him for no gain.

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Missouri would once again take advantage of the Gamecocks’ turnover but only managed to score three points on its ensuing possession. Craig made his third field goal attempt of the contest from 25 yards after a defensive stand from South Carolina.

The Gamecocks would not have as much success the next time their defense stepped onto the field. South Carolina allowed 65 yards on its next three plays, setting up a one-yard rushing touchdown by Nate Noel. The score gave the Tigers their first lead of the contest.

For the first time all game, the Gamecocks had a lead to chase. And after experiencing its lowest low, South Carolina quickly regained control of the lead.

The Gamecocks were on the cusp of a second straight three-and-out when they faced a third-and-10 play at their own 35-yard line. But Sellers found Brady Hunt for a first down to keep the drive alive.

“I saw the backer come in. I don’t know if he was the one that hit me or somebody else. But once he grabbed me, he didn’t have enough leverage, so I just got out of it,” Sellers said. “I saw Brady (and was) just hoping he saw the same thing. He caught the ball. He’s big, and he made the first down.”

On South Carolina’s next play, Sellers’ dual-threat abilities helped the team in a big way. He escaped pressure and fired a pass to Dalevon Campbell, whose 47-yard gain brought the Gamecocks into the red zone.

South Carolina eventually scored on a five-yard pass from Sellers to Michael Smith. But it failed to convert on the subsequent two-point attempt, keeping the score 27-22.

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Missouri did not give up, though, and quickly found an answer. South Carolina needed to make one more after Alex Huntley and Debo Williams tackled Cook for a two-yard loss on third-and-three. But Luther Burden delivered when the Tigers needed him most, finding the end zone on a 37-yard catch. Missouri’s successful two-point conversion, on a run by Jamal Roberts, made it a three-point game.

South Carolina was given one last chance to tie – or potentially win – the game with one minute and two seconds remaining. And the Gamecocks would make the most of it.

Sellers threw passes to Brown and Campbell that went for lengthy gains, bringing South Carolina to the Tigers’ 21-yard line. A Sellers run on the next play brought the Gamecocks six yards closer to the end zone.

And then “Rocket” took off. After receiving a shovel pass from Sellers, Sanders barged his way through Missouri’s defense to score a game-winning touchdown with 15 seconds remaining. Alex Herrera‘s made extra point put the Gamecocks up by four points.

“Once he broke that tackle from the backer, I don’t think any DB in the conference wants to tackle Rocket. Once he did that, he broke the second one. I was like, ‘Alright, maybe he’ll get down to the five,” Sanders said. “But then, he broke another one, and another one, and another one. And I was like, ‘Well, that’s game.'”

Despite Sellers’ best wishes, the game technically did not end after that play. The Tigers also had an opportunity to get back into the game, but Jalon Kilgore picked off a pass from Cook to end the threat and seal the win.

Next up

South Carolina will take on Wofford (5-6, 3-4 SoCon) in its final home game of the 2024 season on Saturday, Nov. 23. The game will kick off at 4 p.m. and air on both ESPN+ and SEC Network+.

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