Gamecocks Win OT Thriller Over Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. (USC SID) — Behind a big performance off the bench from senior quarterback Connor Shaw, No. 20/20 South Carolina (6-2, 4-2 SEC) came back to take a 27-24 overtime win at No. 5/7 Missouri on Saturday evening at Faurot Field/Memorial Stadium.
Shaw, who entered the game after the Tigers made it 17-0 on a third-quarter, 27-yard Andrew Baggett field goal, went 20-for-29 for 201 yards and three TDs. Junior wide receiver Bruce Ellington caught a career-high 10 passes for 136 yards, while sophomore running back Mike Davis tallied 150 all-purpose yards, including catching 10 passes for 99 yards.
On Shaw’s second drive, he led the Gamecocks to pay dirt, hitting Ellington in the front of the end zone for a six-yard touchdown. An 11-play, 69-yard drive followed, where freshman Elliott Fry hit a 20-yard field goal to make it 17-10. Getting the ball back with 3:08 remaining, Shaw marched the Gamecocks 63 yards in eight plays, hitting junior Nick Jones for the two-yard score. Shaw, in regulation, went 17-for-22 with two TDs while also getting a big 11-yard run that moved the Gamecocks into Missouri territory on the second scoring drive
The Tigers scored on their first overtime possession in five plays, with Marcus Murphy getting a one-yard score to cap it. The Gamecocks gained a first down on its first offensive play of overtime when Shaw hit Ellington for a 16-yard pass. A sack moved South Carolina back to the 15, and two incomplete passes put the game down to one play. Shaw found Ellington again in the end zone to knot the game at 24-24. Fry hit a 40-yard field goal on the second possession to put the Gamecocks ahead, and Missouri missed its shot from 24 yards away, hitting the left upright to hand South Carolina the win.
South Carolina fell behind 14-0 in the first half, hurt by two lost fumbles and an interception. The first Missouri score, however, came after the Gamecocks missed a 40-yard field goal. The Tigers used nine plays to cover 77 yards, with Murphy ending the drive with an 11-yard touchdown run with 1:23 to go in the first quarter. The second Gamecock fumble, coming on the Missouri 2, swung the momentum fully toward the Tigers. On third-and-8, Missouri quarterback Maty Mauk hit L’Damian Washington for a 96-yard score, making it 14-0.
The Gamecocks tried to get back some points on the next possession, but Missouri’s Josh Gibson intercepted the pass at the Tiger 10. Missouri moved back toward midfield quickly before having to punt. South Carolina gained nine yards on the first down but could not get another in the next three plays, turning the ball back over to the Tigers at the 34-yard line. The Gamecock defense stepped up and held Missouri there, all but ending the first half.
Sophomore linebacker Kaiwan Lewis had one of South Carolina’s highlights of the first half, picking off Mauk’s second pass of the game for his first career interception. Junior quarterback Dylan Thompson went 12-for-20 for 171 yards before half, with Ellington grabbing five of them for 69 yards. While the Gamecocks held the ball for 16:43 of the first half, South Carolina struggled on third down, converting just one out of seven chances.
