Staff picks: South Carolina-Missouri, other Week 9 picks

South Carolina enters Saturday looking to push a season-long four-game win streak to five.

To do it, the Gamecocks will have to beat Missouri (4 p.m., SEC Network) for the first time since 2018. With that said, here’s how the GamecockCentral staff sees this game going and other highlights during the week.

Chris Clark: The Tigers have had a knack for getting into close games this season and also boast a pretty salty defense. That’s a concern for a South Carolina team that has had turnover issues and wants more consistency on offense. Carolina’s defensive line should be able to do some damage against Missouri’s offensive line and quarterback Brady Cook, who has never thrown a touchdown pass on the road. USC should do enough here to win, but it will likely be tight. South Carolina 24, Missouri 17.

Terry Ford: The South Carolina defensive front will take advantage of a bad Mizzou O-Line, harass QB Brady Cook all day and force a couple of turnovers to give the offense short field scoring opportunities. The Tigers will find a way to keep it close…because that’s what they do. South Carolina 23, Missouri 19.

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Pearson Fowler: Another ugly game and Missouri’s defense gets Carolina off track early, but Carolina has had a knack for putting together good drives to close out close wins. The Gamecock defense, which has turned in consecutive solid performances, should be able to control a pretty awful Missouri offense. Special teams will play a factor once again in the field position game, and Carolina will move to 6-2 despite looming questions about the offense. South Carolina 20, Missouri 13.

Wes Mitchell: South Carolina has passed its last two tests and now it gets a third: Can it handle some success and not get ahead of itself with a beatable opponent coming to town? Missouri isn’t a great football team and is even less so on the road. South Carolina 27, Missouri 17

Jay Phillips: The Gamecocks employed the methods that have been working for them into success against A&M: run the ball and play disruptive defense while using a big play on special teams to make a difference. No reason to stop now. Mizzou struggles to score, but at times their defense is good. That said Florida, Georgia and Kansas St all ran the ball well against them, and the Tigers lost all three. I’d like to see more from the Carolina passing game; maybe this is the week – just don’t look for it in spite of the run game. Homecoming alums leave WB happy. South Carolina 27, Missouri 16.

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Michael Sauls: If South Carolina’s defense and special teams can get off to a hot start like the last two games then they’ll be fine. The Gamecocks absolutely need their offense to be consistent throughout the game or else this game will be a lot closer than it needs to be, just like last week. That being said, I don’t have the most faith in Mizzou so this should be a solid win for South Carolina. But it would also be the most South Carolina thing ever (not a shot at Beamer, just based on what feels like history) to have two big wins back-to-back and then lose this game. South Carolina 35, Missouri 17.

Kendall Smith: Can South Carolina handle its recent success and an AP top 25 ranking? This week will be one of the Gamecocks biggest challenges yet in my opinion, not even from a talent standpoint, but from a mental standpoint. I think they can do it, though. I do not, however, think it will be the offense that shines through this game. I’m anticipating South Carolina’s defense, which has been phenomenal on third down stops and leads the SEC in interceptions, will be the focal point of this match-up. Missouri has a strong defense too, but I think some turnovers from the Tigers will bode well for South Carolina. Missouri has always given the Gamecocks a headache, and I feel this week will be no different, but I think South Carolina can get it done. South Carolina 24, Missouri 20.

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Collyn Taylor: South Carolina fans hoping for a nice, easy win are probably not going to get it this week. The Gamecocks should beat Missouri, and that’s what I’m picking. But the Tigers have played four SEC games decided by a combined 17 points. It’s a scrappy group, but I think South Carolina pulls out another close one. South Carolina 24, Missouri 20.

Mike Uva: Missouri’s defense will create problems for South Carolina early but the Gamecocks will overcome it in the second half. In large part to the leg of Mitch Jeter who will play a key role in USC’s win in this low scoring affair. South Carolina 23, Missouri 17.

Jack Veltri: South Carolina hasn’t been in this position in a long time. As a matter of fact, the last time it won five straight games was 2013. I expect the No. 25 Gamecocks to pull out the win against Missouri this weekend. It’s going to be tough because of how good the Tigers’ defense is, but I think the run game will eventually take control. South Carolina 31, Missouri 20. 

Picker	Ohio State at Penn State	Kentucky at Tennessee	Wake Forest at Louisville	Northwestern at Iowa	Oklahoma at Iowa State	South Alabama at Arkansas State	East Carolina at BYU	Arkansas at Auburn
Chris Clark (47-24)	Ohio State	Tennessee	Louisville	Iowa	Oklahoma	Arkansas State	BYU	Auburn
Terry Ford (48-23)	Ohio State	Tennessee	Wake Forest	Iowa	Oklahoma	South Alabama	BYU	Arkansas
Pearson Fowler (41-30)	Ohio State	Tennessee	Wake Forest	Iowa	Iowa State	Arkansas State	BYU	Arkansas
Wes Mitchell (47-24)	Ohio State	Tennessee	Wake Forest	Iowa	Iowa State	South Alabama	BYU	Arkansas
Jay Phillips (46-25)	Ohio State	Tennessee	Wake Forest	Iowa	Oklahoma	South Alabama	BYU	Arkansas
Michael Sauls (42-29)	Ohio State	Tennessee	Wake Forest	Northwestern	Oklahoma	South Alabama	BYU	Arkansas
Kendall Smith (42-29)	Ohio State	Tennessee	Wake Forest	Iowa	Iowa State	South Alabama	BYU	Arkansas
Collyn Taylor (45-26)	Ohio State	Tennessee	Louisville	Iowa	Iowa State	South Alabama	BYU	Auburn
Mike Uva (50-21)	Ohio State	Tennessee	Wake Forest	Iowa	Oklahoma	South Alabama	East Carolina	Arkansas
Jack Veltri (46-25)	Ohio State	Tennessee	Louisville	Iowa	Oklahoma	South Alabama	BYU	Arkansas

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