COLUMBIA — It’s a ranked versus ranked SEC showdown on Saturday.
No. 23 South Carolina football hosts No. 21 Missouri in Williams-Brice Stadium. (4:15 p.m., SEC Network) in the final conference game for the Gamecocks this season.
The Gamecocks (6-3, 4-3 SEC) are riding a three-game win streak, as they defeated Vanderbilt last Saturday 28-7 to clinch bowl eligibility. The Tigers (7-2, 3-2) beat Oklahoma 30-23, for win No. 7 last Saturday.
The Gamecocks are 0-3 against Missouri in the coach Shane Beamer era.
Here’s what to know about the matchup:
The Tigers won’t likely depend on the run game. The Gamecocks defense is third in the SEC at defending the run and the Tigers are averaging 167 rushing yards per game compared to their 218 passing yards per game. They’re led by two main wide receivers, Luther Burden and Theo Wease Jr.
Wease Jr leads the team with 552 receiving yards on 41 receptions, and three touchdowns with Burden right behind with 505 receiving yards on 45 receptions and four touchdowns. Their third-best receiver Mookie Cooper has 235 receiving yards, barely behind South Carolina’s second-best receiver, Mazeo Bennett, who has 289.
Beamer said he’d love if their star receivers had zero catches Saturday but that’s unrealistic, and said it’s about tackling after catches to prevent damage.
Last week Kyle Kennard had a forced fumble and recovery for the Gamecocks. Nick Emmanworri still leads with 60 tackles and Demetrius Knight Jr is second with 54. Knight had three tackles against Vanderbilt.
Missouri QB Brady Cook’s status for Saturday is still up in the air. He didn’t play last week against Oklahoma. Cook has thrown for 1,575 yards and seven touchdowns, throwing just one interception all season.
Backup Drew Pyne has 391 passing yards on 49 completions in six games. He started for the first time last week, throwing three touchdowns on 14-of-27 passing.
South Carolina defensive coordinator Clayton White said his group’s preparation won’t change much no matter what quarterback ends up playing.
South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers was 14-of-20 for 238 yards and two touchdowns against Vanderbilt.
These two teams are nearing the end of SEC play and have faced four of the same teams.
South Carolina lost to Alabama 27-25, and Missouri lost to Alabama 34-0.
Missouri beat Vanderbilt 30-27 in double overtime, South Carolina beat Vanderbilt 28-7.
South Carolina beat Oklahoma 35-9, Missouri beat Oklahoma 30-23.
Texas A&M beat Missouri 41-10, South Carolina beat Texas A&M 44-20.
South Carolina 24, Missouri 14: South Carolina’s secondary eliminates the wide receiver success to take the win.
HISTORY:Why South Carolina’s Shane Beamer said he hasn’t beaten Missouri and what could be different this time
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at lkesin@gannett.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Lulukesin
