Mizzou football was a slight favorite heading into their game against the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Tigers could not deliver a win despite facing a backup quarterback.
Mizzou football started the season 3-0 and while no one was calling for this team to win it all, there was hope that maybe this team could be playing in the SEC Championship Game. After all, the Tigers have Drew Lock, an explosive offense, and a defense that can be pretty solid.
Yeah, not so much. MU has dropped to 0-2 in conference play and any hope for a bid in the SEC Championship Game is long gone.
Missouri had a very winnable game in Columbia, South Carolina, but couldn’t get the job done. It’s been the same story for this MU team since Barry Odom has taken over: Dominant against bad teams and not good enough against decent teams.
South Carolina was without their starting quarterback and were rolling with backup Michael Scarnecchia, who cooked Mizzou’s defense to the tune of 249 yards and three touchdowns. If people had no prior knowledge on South Carolina football, they’d probably have thought Scarnecchia was the initial starter and that he was a potential Heisman candidate because he looked really good in this game.
Missouri, much like in their loss to Georgia, couldn’t get out of their own way in this one. Drew Lock played even worse than he did against the Bulldogs, throwing just 204 yards and two interceptions. He’s now gone two straight games without throwing a touchdown pass. That’s simply not good enough to be in consideration for the Heisman Trophy.
Happened during Mizzou-South Carolina game:
— (((Jacob Bogage))) (@jacobbogage) October 6, 2018
SC fumbled punt
SC blocked punt
SC missed fake FG
SC unsportsmanlike conduct x3
SC passing TD x3
MU fumbled punt
MU missed FG
MU missed 2pt PAT
MU botched onside kick
MU INT x2
MU unsportsmanlike conduct x3
MU run TD x3
weather delay
As you can see from the tweet above, both teams made errors, but Missouri made more and it cost them. In what was a winnable game for the Tigers and one they desperately needed, MU failed to stop the Gamecocks offense in the most critical moments in the game and paid the price.
The weather can certainly be to blame for why Missouri played so poorly, but South Carolina was playing in the exact same gross weather. After two lightning delays and plenty of time to rest up, regroup, and buck up, the Tigers couldn’t get a much needed win.
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Mizzou now sits 3-2 on the year and they’ll be staring 3-3 in the face because next week they travel to Tuscaloosa to play the reigning National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide. As much as I’d love for Missouri to win that game, that’s not going to happen. Bama is going to roll Mizzou and that 3-0 start to the season will be forgotten about just like that.
It’s disappointing to see Missouri fade away, but this seems to happen to them every year. They just can’t get past the big dogs in the conference. Yes, MU should still be able to make a bowl game, with winnable games against Memphis, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Arkansas still on the schedule.
Still… In a season where fans had hoped for much more, this looks to be yet another disappointing year for the Missouri Tigers.