No. 7 South Carolina Crushes Mizzou 31-10

COLUMBIA, S.C. — In their first Southeastern Conference road game, the Missouri Tigers fell victim to a 31-10 thrashing at the hands of the 7th-ranked South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Down 31-3 late in the fourth quarter, Mizzou went on an 11-play 75-yard touchdown drive. The Tigers (2-2, 0-2 SEC) scored on a 1-yd TD pass from freshman quarterback Corbin Berkstresser to junior wide receiver Marcus Lucas.

After a scoreless first quarter, things quickly unraveled for Mizzou.

Down 7-0 in the second quarter, MU freshman running back Russell Hansbrough lost a fumble on Mizzou’s 37 yard line. That turnover turned into another rushing TD for Gamecocks junior RB Marcus Lattimore, and the Gamecocks (4-0, 2-0 SEC) took a 14-0 lead.

Shortly thereafter, the Tigers went on a 12-play 76-yd drive that stalled at SC’s four yard line. MU settled for a 22-yd field goal that cut the deficit to 14-3 with 1:20 to play in the first half.

After a 50-yd kick return on the ensuing kickoff, junior QB Connor Shaw threw a 23-yd TD pass to junior WR Ace Sanders to give the Gamecocks a 21-3 lead at halftime.

Shaw put the nail in the coffin with another TD pass early in the third quarter that extended the lead to 28-3. Shaw was lights out, completing 20 of 21 passes for 249 yards and 2 TD’s. Lattimore had 21 carries for 85 yards and 2 TD’s.

Franklin faced an uphill climb for most of the afternoon, finishing 11-19 for 92 yards. Franklin also had 15 carries for six yards. Berkstresser finished 7-8 for 54 yards and a TD. Murphy finished with nine receptions for 78 yards and a TD.

South Carolina racked up 396 total yards of offense. Mizzou finished with a season-low 255 total yards.

Next Saturday, Missouri hits the road for a non-conference showdown against the UCF Knights at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando.