COLUMBIA, Mo. – The season's best performance by the Tigers' defense and the running of Tyler Badie propelled Missouri (5-5, 2-4) to a 31-28 SEC victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks (5-5, 2-5). With their third straight victory over Carolina, the Tigers retained the Mayor's Cup.
On the night, Badie ran 34 times for 209 yards – his fourth 200-yard game of the season, most in school history – and he climbed to fifth place on Missouri's single-season rushing chart. He now has 1,239 yards this season.
The Tiger defenders forced three turnovers, sacked the quarterback three times and had three other tackles for loss and limited the Gamecocks to 250 total yards – the fewest USC has ever gained against Mizzou. That included just five yards in the third quarter when Mizzou scored a defensive touchdown and 57 rushing yards for the game.
Missouri seemingly had a safe 31-14 lead in the fourth quarter and was about to score again when Mookie Cooper lost a fumble – the first the Tigers' have surrendered this season – at the Carolina 20-yard line. The Gamecocks responded with an 80-yard drive and scored on a 38-yard pass from Jason Brown to Zaquandre White with 6:56 to play.
On the next series, Connor Bazelak's third-down pass intended for Badie was intercepted by linebacker Brad Johnson and returned to Missouri's 14-yard line, and three plays later Carolina scored on a 3-yard run by White to close within 31-28.
But Badie made sure that was as close as the Gamecocks would get. Missouri ran the final 4:30 off the clock with Badie carrying five times for 57 yards.
Missouri led 17-14 at halftime on the strength of a 19-yard field goal kicked as the clock hit 0:00 by Harrison Mevis.
With Missouri leading 17-14 coming out of halftime, the two teams took turns pinning each other deep inside the 10-yard line early in the third quarter. USC was operating from its own 17-yard line when Martez Manuel blitzed Brown and forced a fumble that was recovered in the end zone by Trajan Jeffcoat for a touchdown.
Minutes later, Missouri had the ball again and Badie gained 42 yards on a 61-yard scoring drive including the final 19 on a burst up the middle for a TD that upped the MU lead to 31-14. It was his 16th touchdown of the season – three off the school record of 19 by Brad Smith. Badie gained 152 rushing yards in the second half. He also caught five passes in the game for 22 yards.
Bazelak was back at quarterback after missing the Georgia game with an injury. He started slowly, throwing an interception on Mizzou's third play of the game that South Carolina turned into a touchdown with a 45-yard drive ending with a 2-yard Kevin Harris touchdown run.
It looked like the Gamecocks might extend the early lead later in the first quarter after a short punt put them in business near midfield and they marched to the Missouri 17-yard line. But there, Isaiah McGuire stripped the ball from running back MarShawn Lloyd and recovered at the 21. Bazelak mounted a 79-yard scoring drive and tied the score with a two-yard toss to Daniel Parker, Jr. when he made a pair of nifty run fakes in the backfield before throwing to the tight end in the front right corner of the end zone.
The Tigers forced a three-and-out by the Gamecocks, and three plays after the punt, Bazelak completed a 60-yard bomb to Cooper to give Mizzou a 14-7 lead. It was Cooper's first career TD.
South Carolina put together a 13-play drive of 75 yards to tie the score at 14-14, converting four third downs along the way. The TD came on a 26-yard pass by Jason Brown to Josh Vann.
After a three-and-out by the Tigers, South Carolina had the ball at midfield after a 25-yard punt return by Vann. But Mizzou's defense pushed the Gamecocks backward, and on a third-and-20 play, McGuire sacked Brown for a 13-yard loss and USC had to punt. Taking over with 1:20 to play in the half, Bazelak tossed a little inside pass to Boo Smith who scooted 47-yards to the Carolina 24-yard line. On third-and-10, Parker made a one-hand catch of a Bazelak pass over the middle for a 47-yard gain to the USC 24. The Tigers moved the ball to the one, but with no timeouts remaining Missouri's field goal team rushed onto the field and Harrison Mevis kicked a 19-yard FG with no time remaining on the clock to put the Tigers up 17-14.
UP NEXT
The Tigers will play their final home game of the 2021 season next week when the Florida Gators come to town for a Nov. 20 SEC East matchup. Game time will be 3 p.m. CT and the game will be televised on the SEC Network.
For all the latest on Mizzou Football, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter (@MizzouFootball) and like the team on Facebook and Instagram.
