Preview: Bentley aims to stay unbeaten as Gamecocks host struggling Mizzou
What: Missouri (2-6) at South Carolina (4-4)
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, SC
When: Sat., Nov. 5, 4 p.m. ET
TV/Radio: SEC Network (Tom Hart, Andre Ware, Cole Cubelic); Gamecock IMG Sports Network (Todd Ellis, Tommy Suggs, Langston Moore); Sirius 113/XM 191
Between 2010 and 2014, South Carolina and Missouri combined to win three of five SEC East titles. Now both programs are battling to return to the top of the division after slipping to losing seasons in 2015. The Gamecocks appear to be on the road back after last week’s 24-21 win over Tennessee. Missouri, suffering through a 10-game SEC losing streak, is rebuilding under first-year head coach Barry Odom, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. November is here.
WHEN SOUTH CAROLINA HAS THE BALL
With Jake Bentley firmly entrenched as the Gamecocks’ starting quarterback after completing almost 70 percent of his passes (32-46) for 368 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions in the victories over UMass and Tennessee, an equally intriguing storyline has been the constructive reaction of backups Perry Orth and Brandon McIlwain to their plight.
Earlier this week, Muschamp continued his praise of Orth, a fifth year senior, for his mentorship of Bentley. After Bentley ran a play in practice, Orth was the first to ask the true freshman what he saw on the play and go through the progressions. McIlwain, meanwhile, has maintained a positive attitude despite being displaced by Bentley. His last game with extensive action was Texas A&M on Oct. 1. He has thrown just one pass in the last month.
Going forward, this is Bentley’s gig. Beat Missouri and the frenzy around him will begin to escalate much like Steve Taneyhill in 1992. Obviously, huge road tests await at Florida and Clemson, but there is no doubt Bentley has given the Gamecock offense a much-needed spark.
Six years ago, former Gamecock running back Marcus Lattimore announced his arrival on the national stage with a huge game against Georgia. Did the same thing happen for Rico Dowdle last week when he ran for 127 yards in the win over Tennessee? Perhaps. Since recovering from an injury that forced him to miss the first four games, Dowdle has steadily emerged as the Gamecocks’ best rusher, pushing A.J. Turner (7 carries in last 2 games) and David Williams (3 or fewer carries in three of last four games) to the background.
Dowdle’s rushing numbers are seat-belted into an upward trajectory, going from 30 yards (Georgia) to 87 (UMass) to 127 (Tennessee). Will Dowdle set a new career high against Missouri? Well, the Tigers are last in the SEC in rushing defense (240.0 yards) and have allowed 287 yards or more on the ground in each of the last four games, including 377 to Kentucky in last weekend’s 35-21 loss in Lexington.
While Dowdle has taken over at running back, a healthy Deebo Samuel has quickly become Bentley’s favorite target at receiver. Samuel, USC’s best deep threat, has 16 receptions for 189 yards (11.81 yards per catch) in the past two games after catching just eight passes in his first three games of the season (he missed the ECU, Kentucky & Texas A&M games). Bentley throwing to Samuel is something Gamecock fans should see a lot over the next two years.
Bryan Edwards, another true freshman, is clearly on track for Freshman All-SEC honors with 27 receptions for 341 yards and two touchdowns. His 17-yard TD catch from Bentley last Saturday was well executed and beautiful to watch while providing a tantalizing glimpse of the future.
Clearly, the strength of the Missouri defense is the secondary. While the defensive front seven has been a sieve in the run game, the defensive backfield leads the SEC in interceptions (11), including three vs. Florida three weeks ago, and passes defended (53). Senior Aarion Penton has been one of the top cornerbacks in the SEC this season with a SEC-high 12 passes defended and three interceptions. Penton was named a Midseason All-American by Pro Football Focus.
WHEN MISSOURI HAS THE BALL
Thirteen months ago, sophomore Drew Lock made his starting debut against the Gamecocks, replacing the disgraced Maty Mauk, who was later dismissed and transferred to Eastern Kentucky. Lock enjoyed an encouraging debut in Missouri’s win over the Gamecocks, completing 21-of-28 passes for 136 yards. However, the rest of the season was a nightmare for Lock and the Missouri offense as the Tigers didn’t win another SEC game and typically looked horrid in the process.
When Barry Odom was promoted to head coach, he astutely hired former Oklahoma quarterback Josh Heupel as offensive coordinator. Mizzou’s offense has done a complete 180 degree turn statistically from 2015. Last season, Mizzou ranked an average of 115th in 11 different statistical categories. The average this
year is a combined 28th nationally, good for an average of 87 places higher than a year ago.
Lock ranks second in the SEC in average passing yards (276.9 YPG) and third in total offense (294.2 YPG), and is just one of three SEC quarterbacks with more than 2,000 yards passing. His 18 passing TDs are tied for first in the league with Chad Kelly (Ole Miss) and Austin Allen (Arkansas).
Just like the Gamecocks, Missouri’s ground game has cranked up in recent weeks. Following the fifth game of the season at LSU, Mizzou ranked 81st nationally and 11th in the SEC in rushing, averaging just 158.0 yards per game. Since then, the Tigers have been on a tear running the football, moving to seventh in the SEC by averaging 195.0 yards per game on the ground against Florida (265 rushing yards), Middle Tennessee (348)_ and Kentucky (157).
Additional parallel with the Gamecocks: a true freshman running back has been the catalyst for Missouri’s rushing attack as Damarea Crockett (601 yards rushing on 96 carries) has keyed Missouri’s run game over the last three weeks. After posting a
career-high 156 rushing yards and four touchdowns against Middle Tennessee, he ran for 55 yards on 13 carries in the loss to Kentucky. Crockett has three 100-yard outings, all in the last five games.
J’Mon Moore leads Missouri’s receiving corps with 33 receptions and six touchdowns in eight games. Just one other receiver has more than 18 catches – Dimetrios Mason with 26. The most talented receiver on the Tigers could be redshirt freshman Johnathon Johnson, who has posted nine plays of 20+ yards this season in four different ways - receiving, rushing, punt return and kick return He owns the team’s longest receptions, punt return and kick return this season.
The South Carolina defense has been much improved this season compared to last season through eight games as points per game allowed has dipped by more than six points to 21.2, fifth in the SEC. The Gamecocks were last in the SEC in total defense in 2015, but currently rank sixth (382.5) as the third best defense in the SEC east behind Florida and Georgia.
After struggling to stop the run against Kentucky, Texas A&M and Georgia (all had 216+ rushing yards), the Gamecocks have held UMass (142 yards) and Tennessee (136 yards; fewest by SEC opponent in post-Jadeveon Clowney Era) to more respectable rushing figures in the last two games, taking moderate steps towards finally demonstrating the ability to consistently stop opponents on the ground.
Bolstered by Jamarcus King (and perhaps motivated by Muschamp’s famous words from the spring that the secondary was “light years” away from being a solid SEC unit), the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week, the secondary has been a pleasant surprise for the Gamecocks, ranking second behind Missouri with 10 interceptions along with Florida. The Gamecocks are second in the SEC in pass defense (180.8 ypg), a much higher conference ranking than most people predicted a few months ago.
SYNOPSIS: Falling between Tennessee and Florida on the schedule, this game has ‘trap’ written all over it for the Gamecocks. Muschamp has stressed the importance of this game with his players all week. Lose this one and all the goodwill built up from the Tennessee win vanishes quickly along with USC’s bowl hopes. If the Gamecocks take care of business and win the games they should win, they’ll be playing somewhere during bowl season. Missouri’s numbers on offense look good, but the Tigers defense is a shell of what they once were a few years ago. Jake Bentley and the Gamecock offense should be able to move the football and score points. The Gamecocks snapped a 3-game losing streak to Tennessee last weekend. This time, they break a 2-game losing skid to the Tigers and move to within one game of bowl eligibility as Bentley moves to 3-0 as the USC starting quarterback ahead of his first SEC road trip to Gainesville.
PREDICTION: Gamecocks 27, Missouri 17.
