MU senior running back Tyler Badie finds the edge in Missouri football's 31-28 win against South Carolina.
Missouri football made the end of its 31-28 win against South Carolina much harder than it needed to be.
Up 31-14 early in the fourth quarter, the Tigers had all the momentum and appeared to be cruising to a crucial SEC home win against the Gamecocks. Then, just over five minutes later, Missouri found itself up just 3.
In front of a rowdy Faurot Field, the Tigers managed to close the game out, winning their third-consecutive Mayor’s Cup contest.
“The energy level was different today,” senior tight end Daniel Parker Jr. said. “From the first kickoff, everyone from freshmen to seniors was jumping up and down.”
How much value does the Mayor’s Cup actually hold? Who really knows? But Missouri retained the trophy, and more importantly, earned its first SEC home win of 2021.
On Saturday night, redshirt sophomore quarterback Connor Bazelak returned to action, the defense “Scored on D” and the Tigers overcame several late mistakes to inch one win closer to bowl eligibility.
Drinkwitz brings back Bazelak
Listed as a game-time decision, Bazelak started under center against the Gamecocks Saturday afternoon.
Bazelak went down with a soft tissue injury in the second half against Vanderbilt on Oct. 30, and didn’t play in the Tigers’ 43-6 loss against No. 1 Georgia on Nov. 6. Cleared to start, Bazelak finished with 180 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Both freshman quarterback Tyler Macon and redshirt freshman quarterback Brady Cook split snaps against the Bulldogs last weekend, but neither orchestrated a touchdown drive. Bazelak didn’t play much better against the Gamecocks, as he began his afternoon with an interception followed by a three-and-out.
Bazelak nearly made a game-changing mistake when he threw an interception up 10 points late in the fourth quarter. A few plays later, South Carolina cut the Tigers’ advantage down to just three.
The redshirt sophomore’s best throw of the afternoon came on a deep touchdown pass to redshirt freshman wide receiver Mookie Cooper early in the second quarter, but even that was more a product of Cooper’s breakneck speed than Bazelak throwing him open.
In Eli Drinkwitz’s first major move as head coach of the Tigers, he replaced then-junior quarterback Shawn Robinson with Bazelak. The Dayton, Ohio, product led Missouri to a 5-5 record and bowl bid. Bazelak is Drinkwitz’s guy, and he’s proven that he can manage a game well.
But how long is his leash? Missouri fans may have gotten their answer when Drinkwitz replaced Bazelak with Cook for the game’s decisive drive.
“[The interceptions] were just really poor decisions,” Drinkwitz said. “Really poor decisions.”
Still, Drinkwitz trusts Bazelak. He had both good and bad moments against the Gamecocks, but with Macon and Cook behind him –– and four-star high school recruit Sam Horn arriving ahead of next season –– Drinkwitz has options should Bazelak struggle.
Cooper scores first touchdown as a Tiger
When Cooper announced his decision to transfer from Ohio State to Missouri in January, excitement reverberated around the Missouri fan base on social media, and for good reason.
Rated a four-star prospect according to recruiting website 247Sports, the receiver who graduated from St. Louis-area Pattonville High School was considered another big step in Drinkwitz’s goal of keeping the Show Me State’s most talented prospects within its borders.
Expected to play a large role in the Tigers’ offense this season, injuries have hampered what he’s been able to do. But on Saturday, Cooper flashed exactly what many anticipated from him coming into the season, at least on his 60-yard touchdown just minutes into the second quarter.
With both teams tied at 7, Cooper had a step on his defender right at the line of scrimmage, ran right past the Gamecocks’ secondary and took Bazelak’s deep pass into the end zone for his first touchdown in black and gold. The touchdown –– his first since his junior year of high school –– capped a three-play, 71-yard drive that lasted just over a minute.
Plays such as those are exactly why so many fans were excited at the news of his transfer. It’s why Drinkwitz pushed so hard to land Cooper during his transfer process. And if the wideout’s health continues to improve, there’s much more for Missouri fans to be excited about going forward.
“I know that was something he’s wanted to do all year,” Parker Jr. said. “He just couldn’t score, but today he punched one in.”
Missouri’s defense has a field day
The Tigers’ defense made its intentions clear from the second snap of the afternoon.
Dropping back into coverage, sophomore defensive back Kris Abrams-Draine read the eyes of South Carolina redshirt senior quarterback Jason Brown and leapt into the air to intercept his pass.
The interception was one of three turnovers Missouri forced Saturday afternoon, the other two came off of forced fumbles, including the scoop-and-score in the third quarter. The Tigers’ defense intercepted Brown two other times, but both were negated due to defensive penalties.
“They held their side of the ball down,” Drinkwitz said. “Every time I looked up, the quarterback was scrambling. I was really proud of the way they performed.”
Missouri not only came up with several turnovers, but also prevented the Gamecocks from generating much offense on their own. The visitors finished with just 250 yards of total offense and were kept at bay until late in the fourth quarter.
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks’ unit had no trouble breaking into South Carolina’s pocket and pressured Brown all afternoon. They sacked South Carolina’s signal caller three times and pressured him on countless others.
Was Missouri’s defense perfect? No. It still allowed the Gamecocks to stay in the game with six third-down completions and a few timely touchdowns. But in Saturday’s win, they made their presence felt, something they haven’t been able to do throughout much of 2021.
Tigers finally play a close game at Faurot Field, and win
While Cooper’s touchdown reception served as a personal milestone, it was also a significant moment for the Tigers as a team. Missouri’s 14-7 lead against the Gamecocks was its first home lead against an SEC opponent all season.
The three-point margin was the closest game the Tigers have played at Faurot Field since beating Central Michigan 34-24 on Sept. 4. In its two other SEC home games, Drinkwitz’s team lost 35-14 to Texas A&M on Oct. 16 and 62-24 against Tennessee on Oct. 2.
Against South Carolina, the Tigers played an SEC home game in which late-game execution mattered. It shouldn’t have been as close as it was with the Tigers up by 17 points in the fourth quarter, but South Carolina scored 14-consecutive points to cut Missouri’s deficit to three.
But up three points, Missouri wrapped up the game with a drive that encompassed the final 4:32. On that drive, senior running back Tyler Badie had runs of 30 and 11 yards. Cook ran for another first down. While the Tigers put themselves in a difficult situation, they showed poise late to close out the win.
“It’s a feeling that I hope we keep around,” junior safety Martez Manuel said. “Just the winning vibe and the winning culture. We’ve had a rough time this season in a lot of aspects, but hopefully we can keep this momentum going against Florida.”
Missouri inches closer to bowl eligibility
Missouri’s result against South Carolina puts the Tigers just one win shy of qualifying for a bowl game. Their final two games are at home against Florida, and then on the road against Arkansas on the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Florida is coming off a 70-52 win against FCS-side Samford, and will be two weeks removed from firing defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. Last year, Missouri lost to the Gators 41-17 on Halloween night in Gainesville, Florida. They last beat the Gators in November 2018, but have won their last five games against the Razorbacks.
Qualifying for a bowl game has been Missouri’s goal as a team over the past few weeks, something that players have vocalized. The Tigers’ first chance to clinch bowl eligibility comes against a wounded Gators team at 3 p.m. next Saturday.
Edited by Mason Arneson, marneson@themaneater.com