Mizzou Football: South Carolina must-win game for Tigers
Mizzou football faces the South Carolina Gamecocks this weekend at Faurot Field and while it might seem crazy to call a week four/first SEC match-up of the season a “must-win” game, this is most certainly a must-win game for MU.
Were it not for a sloppy and disgusting loss to the Wyoming Cowboys of the freaking Mountain West Conference, the Missouri Tigers would be sitting at 3-0 and riding high after shutting out their opposition last week.
While that loss to Wyoming doesn’t have to be the nail in the coffin for the Tigers this year, it does mean that they can’t slip up again this year. They were allowed very few mistakes in 2019 and they used one of those few mistakes in the very first game of the season.
Coming to Columbia this Saturday is a team that Mizzou football is very familiar with, and that’s the South Carolina Gamecocks.
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The Gamecocks – simply put – have had Missouri’s number since the Tigers joined the SEC, especially over the last three years. During that time, USC has outscored Mizzou 99-69 and really frustrated Tiger fans everywhere.
Last year’s game in particular was very annoying, as it was a rainy game in Columbia, South Carolina, and Missouri had every opportunity to win that game and break their losing streak to the Gamecocks. When push came to shove, however, they couldn’t pull out the stops and win the game, losing 37-35.
Missouri can’t sleepwalk through this game like they did last year. For one, this battle is at home in Columbia, Missouri (the better Columbia). Second, if the Tigers drop another early season game, their chances of being one of the top dogs in the SEC East are done for. They still have a match-up against Georgia in a few weeks, so they HAVE to win these up in the air SEC games. HAVE TO.
Beating South Carolina won’t be a cakewalk, as Mizzou fans have come to learn over the last three years. They have a keeper at quarterback in freshman Ryan Hilinski, who held his own against a stingy Alabama defense last week. So far, Hilinski has thrown for 600+ yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions in two games under center.
The Gamecocks’ defense is a decent unit, though their stats are a little unfair right now due to having played Bama last week. That being said, Missouri is more talented on offense than USC is on defense. Kelly Bryant has been sharp thus far, Larry Rountree III has picked up where he left off last year, and Albert Okwuegbunam has been as good as advertised.
Missouri’s defense hasn’t really played anyone good to this point, but they’ve done what’s been asked of them. They did get gashed on the ground by Wyoming in the run game in week one, but they’ve shored up their issues since then and should be able to get South Carolina to make mistakes, especially in a rowdy Faurot Field.
The Missouri Tigers have to beat South Carolina on Saturday or else the 2019 season will feel like it’s over before it’s even truly begun.