Mayor's Cup on the Line Saturday in CoMo

The Mayor’s Cup is on the line when first-year head coach Shane Beamer takes his South Carolina Gamecocks (5-4, 2-4 SEC) to Columbia, Mo., for an SEC Eastern Division showdown with the Missouri Tigers (4-5, 1-4 SEC) on Saturday, Nov. 13. The Gamecocks’ final road game of the 2021 regular season is set for a 4 pm ET (3 pm local) kick at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field (62,621).
 
OVER THE AIRWAVES: SEC Network has the television broadcast with Dave Neal and Deuce McCallister in the booth and Andraya Carter on the sidelines. Todd Elis and Tommy Suggs handle the call for the Gamecock Radio Network with Jamar Nesbit on the sidelines.
 
A LITTLE HISTORY: 2021 marks the 128th season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina dating back to 1892. It is the 115th-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 619-599-44, a .508 winning pct.
 
IT JUST MEANS MORE: The 2021 season marks South Carolina’s 30th year in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina and Arkansas joined the league prior to the 1992 campaign. The Gamecocks earned the SEC Eastern Division title in the 2010 season. The win earlier this season over Vanderbilt marked South Carolina’s 100th conference win since joining the SEC in 1992. They are 101-138-1 (.423) all-time in SEC regular-season play.
 
WHAT’S AT STAKE: It’s the annual battle for the Mayor’s Cup, as the two SEC schools that call Columbia home are set to play for the silver trophy, given to the winning team.
 
CAROLINA VS. MIZZOU: Missouri has won the last two meetings to take a slim 6-5 advantage in the all-time series with South Carolina. The teams have split four games evenly at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field in Columbia, Mo., while the Gamecocks  hold a 3-2 lead at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mizzou owns a pair of neutral site bowl game wins versus Carolina.
 
IT JUST MEANS MORE: Since Mizzou joined the SEC, the Gamecocks hold a 5-4 series advantage. South Carolina won the first two SEC Eastern Division battles between the two schools, posting a 31-10 win in the Palmetto State in 2012, then pulling out an improbable 27-24 double-overtime victory in Missouri in 2013. In 2014, the Tigers overcame a 13-point deficit in the final seven minutes to squeeze out a 21-20 victory at Williams-Brice Stadium, then won by a 24-10 count at Memorial Stadium in 2015. The Gamecocks then won three-straight games from 2016-18 by scores of 31-21, 31-13 and 37-35, respectively. The Tigers have rebounded with back-to-back wins by scores of 34-14 and 17-10.
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET: After a tumultuous week for South Carolina Football which saw them lose their head coach and four defensive players opt out, the Gamecocks dropped a hard-fought 17-10 decision to the Missouri Tigers at Williams-Brice Stadium on Nov. 21, 2020. Mizzou opened up a 17-0 halftime lead, but the Gamecocks rallied back under interim head coach Mike Bobo to make it a one score game and had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead in the final minutes, before a late interception ended the comeback attempt. Quarterback Luke Doty came off the bench and gave the Carolina offense a spark. He completed 14-of-23 passes for 130 yards and also rushed 11 times for 59 yards.
 
THE LAST TIME THEY MET HERE: The Missouri defense scored twice en route to a 34-14 win in Columbia, Mo. on Sept. 21, 2019. Linebacker Cale Garrett recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown and safety Ronell Perkins returned an interception 100 yards for another score. Mizzou outgained the Gamecocks, 421-271 on the day and held the ball for 37:50. Ryan Hilinski was just 13-for-30 for 166 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Carolina was able to muster just 16 rushing yards on 24 carries in the loss.
 
THE LAST CAROLINA WIN: In what has become known in South Carolina as the “Michael Scarnecchia Game,” the Gamecocks’ backup quarterback threw for three touchdowns in his only collegiate start and Parker White hit the game-winning 33-yard field goal with two seconds left to lift Carolina  to a 37-35 victory over Missouri on Oct. 6, 2018 in Columbia, S.C. The Tigers had gone ahead 35-34 on Tucker McCann’s career-long 57-yard field goal with 1:18 remaining, but Scarnecchia and the Gamecocks drove to the Missouri 16 where White nailed his third field goal of the game. The Gamecocks rallied from 23-14 at halftime in a game that lasted more than five hours due to rain and lightning delays. Scarnecchia completed 20-of-35 passes for 249 yards. Missouri’s Drew Lock, the SEC’s passing leader, was held to 204 yards.
 
BLACKJACK FOR THE WIN: The Gamecocks are 5-1 against the Tigers when scoring 21 or more points. They are winless in five games when scoring 20 or fewer, including each of the last two contests.
 
HOLD THAT TIGER: Though the tiger is a solitary animal, where a number of these cats occur together the correct name for the group is a ‘streak’ of tigers. The Gamecocks will be facing a “streak” of Tigers to finish the season, as they will face the Missouri Tigers, the Auburn Tigers and the Clemson Tigers in successive weeks to wrap up the 2021 regular season.
 
THE LAST TIME OUT: The Gamecocks scored on each of their five first-half possessions and added a defensive score to open up a 30-10 halftime advantage in a 40-17 rout of  the Florida Gators in Columbia last Saturday night. Jason Brown, making his first start of the season, completed 14-of-24 passes for 175 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Running backs Kevin Harris (128) and ZaQuandre White (111) both went over the century mark, as the Gamecocks rolled up 284 yards on the ground, while holding the Gators to just 82. Josh Vann caught a career-high seven passes for 111 yards and a score. Carolina finished with a season-high 459 yards of offense. Parker White added a career-high four field goals and four extra points, tallying a career-high 16 points in the contest. Jabari Ellis returned a fumble 18 yards for a score and Cam Smith notched his first interception of the season.
 
GATOR CHOMPED: The 40 points scored by Carolina last Saturday was their most points ever against Florida and the 23-point win was Carolina’s largest margin of victory against the Gators.
 
EARLY AND OFTEN: In the win over Florida, the Gamecocks scored on each of their first five possessions for the first time since scoring on their first six possessions against FCS Coastal Carolina in 2013. The 30 first-half points scored against the Gators were the most since scoring 44 against FCS Charleston Southern in 2019.
 
TWO FOR 100: Kevin Harris (128) and ZaQuandre White (111) both went over the 100-yard rushing mark in the win over Florida. It was just the second- and third 100-yard rushing games for the Gamecocks this season and marked the first time Carolina had a pair of backs go over the century mark in the same game since Tavien Feaster (107) and Rico Dowdle (102) accomplished the feat against Kentucky in 2019.
 
WHITE SHINES: “Super Senior” Parker White connected on all eight of his kicks in last Saturday’s 40-17 win over Florida. White, who was snubbed earlier in the week on the Groza Award semifinal list, set a career-high with four field goals made, hitting from 39, 35, 40 and 39 yards, while scoring a career-best 16 points. He became the first Gamecock to make four field goals in a game since 2015. White has missed just one kick all season. He was recognized as the SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance.
 
THE BEST OFFENSE IS A GOOD DEFENSE: The Gamecock defense has scored four times this season, three on pick-sixes and one scoop-and-score. Jordan Burch picked off a pass and rumbled 61 yards to paydirt in the opener against Eastern Illinois. That was Carolina’s first pick-six since Israel Mukuamu went 53 yards for a score at Georgia in 2019 and the first for a Gamecock defensive lineman since Devin Taylor raced 48 yards at Arkansas in 2011. Damani Staley got the Gamecocks on the board with just a minute left in the first half on a 63-yard interception return at East Carolina. David Spaulding went 74 yards with an interception return in the final minute of the first half against Troy. Jabari Ellis recovered a fumble and rambled 18-yards for a score late in the first half vs. Florida.
 
AMONG THE LEADERS: The Gamecocks lead the SEC and are in a four-way tie for fourth nationally with four defensive scores behind Nevada (6), Ohio State (6) and UTSA (5). The three interception returns for TDs are tied for third in the NCAA behind Ohio State (4) and Appalachian State (4) and are the most for Carolina since 2010 (5).
 
THAT’S OUR BALL: The Gamecock defense has been outstanding in forcing turnovers this season. They forced a season-high four turnovers against Troy, and have forced at least two turnovers in seven of their nine games (EIU-2; ECU-2; UGA-3; UK-3; Troy-4; UT-0; VU-2; A&M-1; UF-2). For the season, South Carolina has forced 19 turnovers – 12 interceptions and seven fumbles, ranking first in the SEC and in a five-way tie for seventh in the NCAA in turnovers gained. The 12 interceptions have the Gamecocks ranked tied for first in the SEC and in a seven-way tie for eighth in the country.
 
WE’RE GOING THE OTHER WAY: The Gamecocks have logged 281 interception return yards this season on 12 picks, just 63 yards off the record of 344 return yards, set in 1984 when the squad intercepted 23 passes. The 281 interception return yards is the second-most in the NCAA this season, behind only Ohio State’s total of 286.
 
SO YOU’RE SAYIN’ THERE’S A CHANCE: The Gamecocks have been very good in the fourth quarter, outscoring their opponents by a 60-26 margin in the final period. They rallied late to defeat both East Carolina and Vanderbilt in the final minute.