Ready, Set, Recruit

The South Carolina Gamecocks will be visiting the #23 Missouri Tigers this Saturday in Columbia, Missouri, which kicks off at 7 PM on ESPN. The Gamecocks come into this game unranked after dropping out of the AP Top 25, previously being a consensus top 15 team in the preseason, along with having some question marks on offense. QB Lanorris Sellers left the game last weekend against Vanderbilt after suffering a concussion early in the second quarter, and has not yet been confirmed to be playing this Saturday, however his status is trending upwards according to Coach Shane Beamer.

The Gamecock Offense has looked lowly throughout the first 3 games of the season, only scoring 3 touchdowns against power 4 opponents and struggling against FCS opponent SC State. Mike Shula’s offense has not looked very creative and has failed to sustain drives after the opening drive of the game, leading to many fans wanting Shula canned.

Vanderbilt scored 31 points last week in their winning effort against the Gamecock defense last week leading to many questioning the Gamecock’s defensive prowess. However, I would not put much stock into their performance last week. The lack of sustained drives with Luke Doty at QB and Vandy’s long methodical drives to run out the clock did not give the defense an ability to maintain its edge, contrary to Shane Beamer’s comments post-game.

Throughout the first 3 games of the 2025 season the Missouri Tigers have looked excellent on both sides of the ball. Penn State transfer QB Beau Pribula has added some juice to the Tigers offense, completing 76% of his passes for 7 TDs and just 1 interception. The star QB for Mizzou has also ran in 3 TDs to help start Tiger’s season at 3-0.

Sophomore Ahmad Hardy has also looked excellent in the Tigers’ ground game, averaging 8.1 YPC on 57 attempts with 5 TDs. Mizzou’s TE Brett Norfleet is the team leader in receiving touchdowns with 3 and has become a major target for Pribula early in the season out of play action.

The Tigers’ defense has had its holes at times during their game against Kansas, but ultimately held Kansas to less than 300 total yards. Standout Linebacker Josiah Trotter, son of Eagles legend Jeremiah Trotter, has looked excellent for them so far this season, especially against the run.

Missouri Tigers Film Breakdown

Watching the Tiger’s first few games of the season has revealed some tendencies in their play calling and what QB Beau Pribula likes to do.

Two out of the last three games the tigers have started their opening drive with a play action pass to one of their tight ends followed by an inside run to Ahmad Hardy. Each of their first drives has been heavily run focused, which sets up designed QB runs and play action passes to the tight end or a wide receiver on a quick slant across the middle of the field. The Tigers are do not tend to run a lot of RPOs and lean on Pribula’s ability to run the football.

The way Mizzou’s offense is set up allows Pribula to make quick decisions and target his first read in the short to intermediate range allowing for large chunk plays, mainly through play action. Pribula’s ability to keep the play alive by scrambling created a problem for the Jayhawks, as they had to worry about both Hardy and Pribula. Missouri also uses a lot of motion in their offense pre-snap, something South Carolina severely lacks in.

Looking at the defensive side of the ball, Mizzou has some playmakers on the field, with defenders flying around. Josiah Trotter and Damon Wilson II are two key players to keep your eyes on during Saturdays game. Wilson is a game wrecker who already has 3 sacks on the season and will likely add another before the game ends tomorrow.

However, Missouri has struggled with covering designed QB runs, read options and play action passes. Missouri also likes to run zone coverage on defense, look for them to also run a spy on Sellers if he does play this Saturday.

Gamecocks’ Keys to Victory

There is no doubt that South Carolina is one of the most talented teams in the country especially if QB Lanorris Sellers is starting, but can they put it together? In order to beat the 23rd ranked Tigers I have put together 5 keys to securing a victory in Saturday’s matchup in Columbia MIssouri:

1. Let Lanorris Sellers be himself, do not try to force him to be a pocket passer. Draw up some designed QB runs and let him do what he is best at, turning nothing into something.
2. Get the run game going early and often, establish a ground presence to set up play action to exploit Mizzou’s weak points.
3. Get Nyck Harbor involved early and often.
4. Stuff the run, stop Ahmad Hardy at all costs, if they happen to beat you with some passes to their WR so be it, but take away their main playmaker.
5. Be on the lookout for play action and take away their tightends, Pribula is always looking for his TE especially in play action, if you take it away he may panic.

Overall I’m not too worried about the Gamecock defense, I’m worried about how the offense will fair after three consecutive subpar performances against teams that are not world beaters. Mike Shula has to allow Sellers to be the guy he was last year, he is not a pocket passer. Also, put some pre-snap motion in that offense, it’ll be easier to tell what coverage the defense is running by motioning some guys pre-snap. If Shula does not figure it out against Mizzou this weekend, I’m not sure he ever will.

Editor’s Pick

As we get closer to game time, the less confident I become in the Gamecocks ability to get it done with or without Lanorris Sellers in this game. Missouri has been a thorn in South Carolina’s side for years and I don’t see this game being much different.

I have Mizzou winning this game 30-21 with the Gamecocks offense looking surprisingly alive but ultimately putting the defense in bad positions to lose the game.

I would love to pick the Gamecocks here, as I believe they are the more talented team, but I just have not seen them put it together in all three phases in a game. Coaching is holding this team back and until I see otherwise I will have to give the nod to Mizzou.