Mizzou Football: Good, Bad, Ugly Vs South Carolina Gamecocks

UGLY: SPECIAL TEAMS

There was nothing special about MU’s special teams unit in this game. The momentum was on Mizzou’s side with a 10-0 second quarter lead. That all changed when South Carolina returned a kickoff 97 yards down the field for a touchdown. From there… Missouri appeared to be sunk.

Near the end of the second quarter, Tucker McCann missed a chip shot field goal from 24 yards out, which just further showcased that this could be a rough night for the special teams squad. That field goal would have cut the Gamecocks lead to just one at half time and could have propelled this team to have fought harder.

There’s no question that the worst part of this game was special teams.

Oh, but the bad special teams play didn’t end there. A penalty for an illegal motion took away a punt that would have put the Gamecocks on their own five yard line. Instead, the next punt went for a touchback and the Gamecocks went down the field to score in the third quarter.

Just when things didn’t feel like they could get any worse on special teams, Johnathon Johnson fumbled the football while attempting to return a punt. Blaaaaah.

There’s no question that the worst part of this game was special teams. Missouri simply can’t afford to allow kickoffs returned for touchdowns, miss field goals, fumble punt returns, and have stupid penalties in the same night. Special teams has to be better.