South Carolina football embarrassed in 34-12 loss to Missouri with zero touchdowns
COLUMBIA, Mo. — South Carolina football was embarrassed in a 34-12 loss at Missouri on Saturday, its fifth consecutive loss to the Tigers and third under coach Shane Beamer.
Excluding the shortened COVID-19 season in 2020, South Carolina (2-5, 1-4 SEC) now has its worst record through seven games since it went 0-11 in 1999. The Gamecocks' offense did not reach the end zone against No. 20 Missouri (7-1, 3-1) with all 12 coming from kicker Mitch Jeter on field goals.
Quarterback Spencer Rattler had one of his least efficient performances of the season, going 23-of-40 passing for 217 yards. He connected with eight different receivers but none for more than 20 yards, and he had just four explosive passes of 15-plus yards. The Gamecocks also lost star wide receiver Xavier Legette to an upper-body injury in the first half.
Offensive line crumbles without Vershon Lee
While offensive line has been a weakness for South Carolina all season, the unit had a meltdown against Missouri after showing improvement against Florida. Western Illinois transfer Sidney Fugar started at right tackle with starter Vershon Lee out with a knee injury, and he was replaced by Tyshawn Wannamaker after the unit's disastrous first half.
The Gamecocks gave up three sacks in the first half, two of those on third-down attempts. A third third-down sack was called back for a facemask penalty. They gave up another three in the second half for a total loss of 48 yards. Rattler also struggled to escape the pocket and didn't take advantage of windows to throw the ball away when he saw pressure coming. His most egregious decision came on a third-down red zone attempt in the third quarter when tight end Trey Knox was wide open at the end zone.
Gamecocks can't stop explosive plays
While Missouri's star receiver Luther Burden didn't make many catches against the Gamecocks, he finished with 90 yards and grabbed a 42-yard touchdown despite double coverage on his first reception of the game. The South Carolina secondary gave up 198 total passing yards, and 124 of those came on explosive plays. Quarterback Brady Cook hit three different receivers on 20-plus yard passes, and a 29-yard connection with Theo Wease set up the Tigers' second touchdown in the first quarter.
The Tigers were even more explosive on the ground, gaining 139 yards on nine runs of 10-plus yards. Running back Cody Schrader, who was questionable entering the game with a quad injury, ran for 159 yards including seven explosive rushes and two touchdowns.
Run game regression limits offense
After three straight games of 80-plus rushing yards, Gamecocks running back Mario Anderson logged just 68 yards on 12 carries averaging 5.7 yards per touch. Including sacks, South Carolina rushed for 69 yards as a team, but even the sack-adjusted total came in at 117 to Missouri's 221 yards on the ground.
As the run game struggled, so did the rest of the offense. Rattler's 217 yards were his second-lowest total of the season, and the team averaged just 4.1 yards per play.
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This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina football embarrassed in 34-12 loss vs Missouri Tigers
