* Missouri just can’t make it easy. But a win is a win, and that’s pretty clearly the best win of the season for Mizzou, so you take it however you can get it.
* The Mizzou defense has taken a ton of heat this season, almost all of it deserved. The Tigers have gotten consistently gashed all year. But the defense won this game. That was the best performance we’ve seen from the unit all season, by far. The run defense has suddenly gone from epically bad to solid. South Carolina rushed for just 57 yards. Even if you discount sacks, the Gamecocks only averaged 3.3 yards per carry. And Mizzou didn’t even have to devote every available body to the run game in order to accomplish that. Most of the time, when Jason Brown dropped back to pass, he couldn’t find an open receiver, at least until he bought some time with his feet. I think Steve Wilks probably ensured he’ll be back next season today.
* The defensive unit that impressed me most was the defensive line. Isaiah McGuire was a monster. His play in the first half when he met Marshawn Lloyd in the backfield and basically took the handoff from him can’t be overstated. Mizzou had no momentum at that point; if South Carolina scores there and goes up 14-0, who knows how the rest of the game progresses. McGuire also had a sack and a couple pressures, one of which resulted in Kris Abrams-Draine’s interception. Fellow defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat got back to looking like his 2020 self, as well. He was in the backfield quickly on several plays and recovered a fumble for a defensive score.
* The defensive performance came in spite of a few brutal penalties. Abrams-Draine had another interception negated by a holding penalty. At one point, South Carolina looked like it would have to punt from its own end zone, then the Gamecocks got 45 yards from Mizzou penalties in two snaps. Perhaps the worst call came when Akayleb Evans looked to have a pick, but it, too, got wiped away by a holding flag. Instead of pouting, Martez Manuel stripped Brown on the following play and Jeffcoat fell on the ball for the touchdown that really put South Carolina away. Penalties do continue to be a bit of a concern for this team, but a couple of the whistles in this game were bad calls (the officiating overall was god awful). Props to the Mizzou defense for living up to the overused axiom of “control what you can control” and overcoming those.
* The offensive MVP is Tyler Badie, of course. Badie just keeps delivering when Mizzou needs him most. He now has four 200-yard games this season. On the final drive, everyone in the stadium had to know he was getting the ball, and he still won the game. Badie has had a lot of strike out or home run to his game this season. Today, he was only able to break one run of more than 20 yards, but he consistently found positive yardage, despite running behind a patchwork offensive line. And of course, the Tiger offense leaned on him heavily. Badie ran the ball 34 times and caught it five, gaining 231 total yards.
* The big question, of course, is whether the quarterback change we saw at the end of the game is permanent. Eli Drinkwitz has given Connor Bazelak a long leash all season, but after his second pick gave South Carolina life at the end of the game, Drinkwitz switched to Brady Cook. Huge props to Cook for entering the game in that massive moment and having the poise to slide in bounds a couple times. We’ll update you with what Drinkwitz says about the QB situation after the game.
* This game didn’t get a lot of buzz coming in, and rightfully so. But this was a really big win for Missouri. Lose, and you pretty much had no chance to make a bowl game. Worse, the possibility of finishing the season 4-8 with the only win over a Power Five opponent coming against Vanderbilt would have looked like a very real possibility. That would have been worse than even the most doom-and-gloom predictions entering the year. As it is, Mizzou might be favored next week to beat Florida at home, which would qualify the team for the postseason and at least allow Drinkwitz to sell that they kept fighting and made progress as the year went on and made the postseason. It may not be the year some fans hoped, but I think winning today takes off the table a complete submarining of the momentum that could actually impact recruiting.
* The Mizzou defense has taken a ton of heat this season, almost all of it deserved. The Tigers have gotten consistently gashed all year. But the defense won this game. That was the best performance we’ve seen from the unit all season, by far. The run defense has suddenly gone from epically bad to solid. South Carolina rushed for just 57 yards. Even if you discount sacks, the Gamecocks only averaged 3.3 yards per carry. And Mizzou didn’t even have to devote every available body to the run game in order to accomplish that. Most of the time, when Jason Brown dropped back to pass, he couldn’t find an open receiver, at least until he bought some time with his feet. I think Steve Wilks probably ensured he’ll be back next season today.
* The defensive unit that impressed me most was the defensive line. Isaiah McGuire was a monster. His play in the first half when he met Marshawn Lloyd in the backfield and basically took the handoff from him can’t be overstated. Mizzou had no momentum at that point; if South Carolina scores there and goes up 14-0, who knows how the rest of the game progresses. McGuire also had a sack and a couple pressures, one of which resulted in Kris Abrams-Draine’s interception. Fellow defensive end Trajan Jeffcoat got back to looking like his 2020 self, as well. He was in the backfield quickly on several plays and recovered a fumble for a defensive score.
* The defensive performance came in spite of a few brutal penalties. Abrams-Draine had another interception negated by a holding penalty. At one point, South Carolina looked like it would have to punt from its own end zone, then the Gamecocks got 45 yards from Mizzou penalties in two snaps. Perhaps the worst call came when Akayleb Evans looked to have a pick, but it, too, got wiped away by a holding flag. Instead of pouting, Martez Manuel stripped Brown on the following play and Jeffcoat fell on the ball for the touchdown that really put South Carolina away. Penalties do continue to be a bit of a concern for this team, but a couple of the whistles in this game were bad calls (the officiating overall was god awful). Props to the Mizzou defense for living up to the overused axiom of “control what you can control” and overcoming those.
* The offensive MVP is Tyler Badie, of course. Badie just keeps delivering when Mizzou needs him most. He now has four 200-yard games this season. On the final drive, everyone in the stadium had to know he was getting the ball, and he still won the game. Badie has had a lot of strike out or home run to his game this season. Today, he was only able to break one run of more than 20 yards, but he consistently found positive yardage, despite running behind a patchwork offensive line. And of course, the Tiger offense leaned on him heavily. Badie ran the ball 34 times and caught it five, gaining 231 total yards.
* The big question, of course, is whether the quarterback change we saw at the end of the game is permanent. Eli Drinkwitz has given Connor Bazelak a long leash all season, but after his second pick gave South Carolina life at the end of the game, Drinkwitz switched to Brady Cook. Huge props to Cook for entering the game in that massive moment and having the poise to slide in bounds a couple times. We’ll update you with what Drinkwitz says about the QB situation after the game.
* This game didn’t get a lot of buzz coming in, and rightfully so. But this was a really big win for Missouri. Lose, and you pretty much had no chance to make a bowl game. Worse, the possibility of finishing the season 4-8 with the only win over a Power Five opponent coming against Vanderbilt would have looked like a very real possibility. That would have been worse than even the most doom-and-gloom predictions entering the year. As it is, Mizzou might be favored next week to beat Florida at home, which would qualify the team for the postseason and at least allow Drinkwitz to sell that they kept fighting and made progress as the year went on and made the postseason. It may not be the year some fans hoped, but I think winning today takes off the table a complete submarining of the momentum that could actually impact recruiting.
