Mizzou Football Claims Mayor's Cup with 34-14 Win over South Carolina

Saturday, September 21

Columbia, Mo.

3 p.m.

University of Missouri

3-1 , 1-0

South Carolina

1-3 , 0-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

South Carolina

Mizzou Tigers

Mizzou Football Claims Mayor's Cup with 34-14 Win over South Carolina

9/21/2019 7:09:00 PM | Football

Box Score Postgame Notes

Perkins records school record with 100-yard pick-six touchdown in third quarter

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Football opened its SEC schedule with a 34-14 win over South Carolina on Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The Tigers scored 30+ points for the ninth-consecutive game and scored two defensive touchdowns for the first time since 2014, as senior S Ronnell Perkins set a school record with a 100-yard INT return in the third quarter.

Mizzou will head into its bye week with a 3-1 record, while South Carolina drops to 1-3. Mizzou continues its five-game home stand on Saturday, Oct. 5 when the Tigers host Troy at Memorial Stadium.

TOP PERFORMERS

RS senior S Ronnell Perkins recorded his first career touchdown with a school-record 100-yard pick-six in the third quarter. It was Mizzou's second defensive TD of the game. Senior LB Cale Garrett's recovered a fumble in the end zone in the first quarter to put Mizzou up 7-0, marking the first time since 2014 Mizzou scored on a fumble recovery and an interception return in the same game.
With 88 rushing yards, junior RB Larry Rountree III moved into 11th-place on Mizzou's all-time rushing list with 2,294 yards.
Senior QB Kelly Bryant completed 19-of-33 passes for 227 yards and 2 TDs on the day, while rushing for 77 yards on 11 attempts. Bryant was Mizzou's second-leading rusher of the day.
RS junior TE Albert Okwuegbunam made three receptions for 19 yards and one TD, his fourth TD reception of the season and the 21^st of his career.

A QUICK RECAP

Mizzou opened the scoring in the first quarter, as senior LB Cale Garrett's fumble recovery made the score 7-0. South Carolina's QB Ryan Hilinski caught his own tipped-pass and the ball rolled into the endzone, where Garrett fell on it for the score. It was the second consecutive time Garrett has found the end zone in as many weeks, and the third consecutive week Mizzou has recorded a defensive score, a feat which has not been accomplished since the first three games of the 2008 season. Mizzou closed the first frame with a 7-0 lead, and has now outscored opponents 58-0 in the first quarter this season, and 74-7 since Nov. 10, 2018.

Senior K Tucker McCann increased Mizzou's lead to 10-0 early in the second quarter, as he connected on a 42-yard field goal. It was McCann's four consecutive made field goal of 40+ yards, and his fifth of the season. After South Carolina scored a touchdown, Mizzou responded with a touchdown of its own, as senior QB Kelly Bryant found RS junior TE Albert Okwuegbunam for a three-yard TD to cap a seven-play, 56-yard drive. The score was Okwuegbunam's 21st receiving TD of his career, as he moved into a tie for fourth-place with J'Mon Moore on Mizzou's career TD receptions list.

South Carolina opened the third quarter with a quick touchdown to bring the score to 17-14, but Mizzou responded quickly, as the offensive moved methodically down the field once again. Mizzou finished off a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 21-yard TD on a screen pass from Bryant to sophomore RB Tyler Badie, the first TD reception of his career. The Gamecocks were about to respond with a score of their own, driving down to the Mizzou three-yard line. S Ronnell Perkins was able to intercept a South Carolina pass in the end zone and return it 100 yards for a touchdown, setting a school record and surpassing Marcus King's 99-yard pick-six against the same Gamecocks in the 2005 Independence Bowl.

Senior K Tucker McCann connected on a 25 yard FG in the fourth quarter to close the scoring at 34-14.

TEAM NOTES

Mizzou recorded its first victory in an SEC opener since winning on the road against South Carolina on Sept. 27, 2014.
The Tigers last victory in their SEC home opener also came against South Carolina on Oct. 3, 2015.
With the victory, the Tigers broke their four-game losing streak in conference openers. Mizzou is now 3-5 in Southeastern Conference openers since joining the league for the 2012 season.
Mizzou has scored at least 31 points in nine-consecutive games, dating back to last season. The Tigers last accomplished this feat in 2007 when they had a 14-game streak (Nov. 25, 2006 - Dec. 1, 2007).
With a fumble recovery in the endzone in the first quarter and a 100-yard interception return in the third, Mizzou now has 41 points off of turnovers this season while their opponents have just 24.
Mizzou's defense has now forced at least three turnovers in two of their four games this season (also doing so against West Virginia on Sept. 7).
Mizzou has now outscored its last three opponents by a combined score of 122-21
The Tigers evened the all-time series with the Gamecocks (5-5) and between the two teams at Memorial Stadium (2-2).

OFFENSIVE NOTES

Mizzou has outscored its opponents 58-0 in first quarters this season, and 74-7 since Nov. 10, 2018.
With a 12-yard reception in the first quarter, senior WR Johnathon Johnson became the 11th receiver in Mizzou history to eclipse 2,000 yards receiving for his career.
Johnson's 52 receiving yards marked the 17th time in his career that he has amassed more than 50 yards in a game.
Senior WR Jonathan Nance tallied four receptions on Saturday, his most since transferring to Mizzou.
Sophomore RB Tyler Badie notched the first receiving touchdown of his career in the third quarter on a 21-yard pass.
Sophomore WR Daniel Parker, Jr. set a career high with four receptions on Saturday. His 46 receiving yards were also good for a career high.
Mizzou secured its largest margin of victory at home against an SEC opponent (20) since beating Tennessee 50-17 on Nov. 11, 2017.
Ending his day with 88 rushing yards, junior RB Larry Rountree III is now 11th all-time in rushing yards with 2,294 in his Mizzou career. The junior passed Tiger legends Damarea Crockett, Joe Moore and Kendial Lawrence in the record books on Saturday.
With three receptions on the day, junior TE Albert Okwuegbunam now has 82 receptions in his career. His second-quarter touchdown reception moves his average to one touchdown every four catches., while his 21 career touchdown receptions moves him into a tie for fourth place in Mizzou history with J'Mon Moore.

DEFENSIVE NOTES

The Tigers recorded a defensive score for the third-straight game this season. The last time Mizzou recorded defensive scores in three consecutive games was the first three weeks of the 2008 season (against Illinois, Southeast Missouri State and Nevada).
The Tigers' shutout in the first quarter marked the first time Mizzou held its opponents scoreless in the first quarter of a conference opener since Sept. 9, 2017 (31-13 loss to South Carolina).
Mizzou has outscored its opponents 58-0 in first quarters this season, and 74-7 since Nov. 10, 2018. The Tigers' red-hot defense has given up just 129 total yards in the first quarter this season and has forced a three-and-out on each of its four opponents' opening drives this season.
The Gamecocks' 271 total offensive yards were the fewest the Tigers have ever allowed in the ten all-time games against South Carolina (next fewest was 298 yards in a 24-10 victory over the Gamecocks on Oct. 3, 2015).
South Carolina's 16 rushing yards were the fewest rushing yards for the Gamecocks in a game since failing to gain a yard against LSU on Oct. 18, 2003
The Tiger secondary allowed just 19 passing completions on the day, the fewest by a Mizzou opponent since Nov. 3, 2018 (38-17 victory over Florida).
Senior LB Cale Garrett's fumble recovery for a touchdown in the first quarter was Mizzou's first since Nov. 23, 2018 (38-0 victory over Arkansas). Garrett's fumble recovery was the Tigers' third fumble in the last six games, Mizzou recorded just one fumble recovery for a touchdown from 2013-17.
Garrett is the first Tiger to record back-to-back games with a defensive score since Mizzou legend Sean Weatherspoon in 2008.
RS senior S Ronnell Perkins' 100-yard interception return for a touchdown was the longest in Mizzou Football history (Marcus King returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown in the 2009 Independence Bowl). It was just the seventh 100-yard scoring play in program history.
Garrett and Perkins' defensive scores marked the first time since Oct. 18, 2014, the Tiger defense recorded both a pick-six and fumble recovery touchdown (Marcus Golden and Darvin Ruise in a 42-13 victory over Florida).
Thanks to sacks by RS junior DT Jordan Elliott, junior DT Kobie Whiteside and junior SS Tyree Gillespie, the Black & Gold defense has now recorded at least three sacks in three straight games for the first time since 2014 (against Toledo, UCF and South Carolina in the first three weeks of the season).
Whiteside's pair of sacks on the day were a career high for the junior. He now has four career sacks in a Tiger uniform.

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