Sometimes games aren't defined by overall themes throughout. Singular moments can make a team pay the ultimate price.
That team on Saturday was almost the Mizzou Tigers.
The time of possession at halftime was 18:01-11:59 in favor of Mizzou. Two individual breakdowns in secondary coverage led to South Carolina holding a 14-12 lead at the half, despite seeing the field for blank minutes and blank seconds less than Eli Drinkwitz's offense.
In Mizzou's 29-20 win against the Gamecocks, the good ultimately won the game, but the bad almost lost it.
The good? By the end, a vast advantage of the total yardage on offense, 456-293, and a pure domination on the ground. 285 yards to the Gamecocks' negative nine yards accumulated. The Tigers can thank their two running backs, Ahmad Hardy and Jamal Roberts, who combined for 210 yards, churning through the Gamecocks' defense like knives through butter.
"I didn't think [Hardy] was gonna be this good," Drinkwitz said. "Let's be honest...through the run game, we just kept hammering away."
The bad? 293 total yards of offense given up and 302 from the air attack of South Carolina. Drinkwitz was blunt and to the point in his post-game evaluation of how the defensive secondary performed.
"We'll watch the tape tomorrow, but I'm gonna be on some secondary coaches, this is getting out of hand," Drinkwitz said..."There are way too many holes in our secondary... We gave up 293 total yards and 302 passing yards, ridiculous."
"Our stats and our numbers and our time of possession are dominating and yet the scoreboard is not," Drinkwitz said. "That's because we're giving up explosive plays."
The individual moments were outweighed by the main theme, which was a tale of two offenses. The passing game was in favor of the Gamecocks. Eight passing plays of 15+ yards, to Mizzou's four, were a microcosm of the throwing ability of LaNorris Sellers, who was questionable to play throughout the week leading up to Saturday.
The right corner of the end zone was open grass for Sellers in the first half, on 49-yard and 24-yard passing touchdowns.
Both occurred in the second quarter, and the Tigers' secondary left Gamecocks receiver Brian Rowe Jr. and Vandrevius Jacobs in acres of space, which made the pair of throws rather elementary for the Gamecocks quarterback. The Gamecocks led 14-12 at the break, more so down to the individual moments rather than having 101 fewer yards of total offense.
The second half began the same way for the Gamecocks' offense, a 43-yard pass from Sellers to Jacobs once again, marking South Carolina at the Tigers' 3-yard line. This time, the Tigers' defense stood strong.
A sack for a loss of 13 and a holding penalty pushed the Gamecocks back to the 25 and eventually led to a yard field goal. After the Tigers' first three-and-out drive began the second half, the momentum of the stand helped pull back the offensive efficiency.
[The tackles for a loss] bring a spark to the defense," linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez said. 'For our offense as well, before they head onto the field to take advantage of their opportunity.”
That burst was kick-started by a 38-yard run by the express lane creator known as Ahmad Hardy. The second time Hardy ran for 25+ yards, he began the six-play, 75-yard drive by the Tigers, which ended in a five-yard run into the end zone by Hardy. All in all, an 138-yard day on the ground is another strong performance for the Tigers' lead back.
"This is the mindset we got, a tough team," Hardy said. "We run the ball and we know we have to go out and execute."
The fourth and final quarter of the defense saw the best brought out of the Tigers' defense. 19 total yards given up, whereas the Gamecocks had accumulated over 100 yards apiece in the previous two.
Sellers faced Mizzou's high pressure in the pocket, including one incomplete pass on 3rd-and-9 that sailed just over the hands of Rowe Jr. Trotter's pressure influencing the speed of the release by Sellers. Apart from a taunting penalty, Josiah Trotter led the defense with 8 total tackles, establishing his presence at the linebacker position.
One drive later, a 40-yard field goal by Robert Meyer, his first of the season from 30+ yards, sealed a Tigers victory, giving the Tigers a two-possession lead with 1:34 to play.
“Ice in his veins, "Mizzou quarterback Beau Pribula said. "When the game mattered most to be a true freshman and do what he did, on an important SEC night game, I’m so proud.”