Sunday grade card: South Carolina
Each Sunday, PowerMizzou.com will hand out a position-by-position grade card for Missouri from Saturday's game. Here are the marks from the Tigers’ 37-35 loss to South Carolina.
Quarterback: Yes, Emanuel Hall and Nate Brown were injured. Yes, the third quarter was played in a downpour. Drew Lock has excuses, but the fact remains he did not play well Saturday. Lock completed 17 of 36 passes, didn’t throw a touchdown and was intercepted twice. One of those interceptions, a screen pass intended for Tyler Badie that was picked off in the third quarter, has to rank among the worst decisions of Lock’s career. Worst of all, Lock struggled when it mattered most, finishing the game with zero completions on eight attempts in the red zone. This might have been his worst game since his freshman season. GRADE: F
Running backs: The one thing Missouri had going for it all game against South Carolina was its rushing attack. Damarea Crockett had the breakout game fans have expected from him all season, rushing for 154 yards on 20 carries. He had one touchdown and had another overturned. Larry Rountree III racked up 90 yards and two scores, and Badie had 45 yards on the ground and another 25 in the air. After a slow start to the season, the trio looked Saturday has suddenly become the strength of Missouri’s offense. GRADE: A
Wide receivers: Unsurprisingly, Missouri’s receiving corps didn’t put up its usual numbers without Emanuel Hall and Nate Brown. But unlike last game, the Tiger pass-catchers did at least create some separation from time to time. They just failed to take advantage because of drops. Jalen Knox had a nice 44-yard catch early in the game, but he also had multiple drops. Johnathon Johnson dropped what would have been an easy touchdown in the first half. Kam Scott couldn’t corral a jump ball that turned into an interception. Those three receivers were put in a tough position due to the absence of Hall and Brown as well as Lock’s bad play, but they didn’t help themselves, either. GRADE: D
Tight Ends: Albert Okwuegbunam was Lock’s favorite target Saturday, but the two never got in sync. Some passes were off-target, others were broken up. It may not always have been Okwuegbunam’s fault, but on a day when Missouri needed someone to step up as a receiving threat, especially in the red zone, he caught just four passes for 13 yards. Kendall Blanton had one nice catch and run, but other than that was largely invisible. Quite simply, the Tigers needed more from the duo. GRADE: D
Offensive line: Missouri’s line opened up some impressive holes in the running game. But they didn’t do as well protecting Lock, who was hurried on a few of his errant throws. Case Cook, playing in place of Kevin Pendleton at left guard, struggled most notably. GRADE: B-
Defensive line: For most of the game, Missouri’s defense didn’t play quite as poorly as the scoreboard indicated. Two of South Carolina’s four touchdowns resulted directly from Missouri miscues: an unsuccessful onside kick in the first half, and the Lock pick in the second. The defensive line did a good job of stuffing the run, holding South Carolina to 2.8 yards per carry, but the whole unit fell flat when it mattered most, and the defensive line shares the blame there. As usual, the pass-rushers got no pressure on Gamecocks backup quarterback Michael Scarnecchia, and he made them pay on the game’s final drive. GRADE: C-
Linebackers: Cale Garrett and Terez Hall made their presences known, especially in the first half. Hall led the Tigers with 11 tackles in the game, three of which resulted in a loss of yardage. Garrett finished second with eight tackles and also had four quarterback hurries. Questions persist about the coverage ability of the group, however. South Carolina’s 27-yard gain on its final drive was likely the fault of a linebacker. GRADE: B-
Secondary: The Tiger pass defense once again made a backup quarterback look pretty good on Saturday, especially when the game was on the line. Scarnecchia, who entered the game having thrown just 13 passes in his college career, completed 20 of 35 passes for 249 yards and three scores. The Gamecocks certainly have some formidable weapons in the receiving game, particularly Bryan Edwards, who had a huge game, but the Missouri secondary had chances to win the game by making a stop late, and it failed to do so. GRADE: F
Special Teams: We knew beforehand that special teams would loom large in Saturday’s game, but we didn’t realize just how big a role it would play. There were some good moments for the Tigers. Missouri kept Deebo Samuel from making a big play in the return game. It also blocked a punt early in the fourth quarter, which sparked the team’s comeback attempt. Tucker McCann made a 57-yard field goal. But there was at least as much bad as good for Andy Hill’s unit. In the first half, Missouri squandered its momentum by attempting an onside kick that didn’t work, leading to a South Carolina touchdown. Later, McCann missed a 25-yard kick, and Corey Fatony mishandled a snap on a punt. So far, it hasn’t been a great season for Hill in his new role. GRADE: C-
Coaching: The fact that Missouri allowed a couple miscues to snowball into a full-blown meltdown in the third quarter ultimately reflects on the coaching staff. Throw in some blame for the team’s red zone woes and the failed onside kick, and Saturday was pretty damning for Barry Odom and his staff. If things continue to go South for the Tigers this season and Odom loses his job, he’ll likely rue this game more than any other. GRADE: F
Final Overall Grade: D