Weather and mistakes doom Mizzou against South Carolina

In a game that was back and forth and as wild as the weather was, Mizzou fell to South Carolina on a last-second field goal, 37-35.

Rain poured down throughout the second half after a bright and sunny first half as the Tigers fall to 3-2 on the season and 0-2 in the SEC.

Tucker McCann won the game off a 57-yard field goal, but South Carolina drove down the field and nailed a kick through the uprights.

Drew Lock finished 17-36 passing with 206 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. Lock passed Eli Manning during the game for 8th all time in passing yards in SEC history.Following a three-and-out forced by Mizzou’s defense, the Tiger offense went to work. Drew Lock found Jalen Knox deep for a 45-yard reception. Upon review, Knox was down at the one-yard line. Larry Rountree punched it in the end zone on the very next play to give Mizzou a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.

The pass to Knox pushed Lock past 10,000 career yards passing in his college career. He is the 10th SEC quarterback to ever reach the mark and second in Mizzou history. Chase Daniel was the first. 112 quarterbacks in college football history have now reached 10,000 career passing yards.

Things went south on the kick off for the Tigers as Tucker McCann attempted an onside kick. The kick did not go 10 yards, and Mizzou was offsides. The result gifted South Carolina great field position. Michael Scarnecchia passed to the corner of the end zone to Bryan Edwards for the touchdown. The score tied the game 7-7 with 11:02 left in the first quarter.

Barry Odom said at halftime that McCann was not attempting an onside kick and just mishit the ball.

Mizzou retook momentum on its next drive. The Tigers marched 61 yards down the field in six plays. Damarea Crockett capped the drive off with a one-yard touchdown rush to give Mizzou a 14-7 lead with 4:25 left in the first quarter.

The Tigers gashed the Gamecocks on the ground with 94 rushing yards in the first quarter alone.

After a drop in the end zone by Johnathon Johnson, the Tigers were forced to settle for a field goal to go up 17-7 to start the second quarter.

The Mizzou pass defense struggled on the ensuing drive as the Gamecocks marched 68 yards on just five plays. Edwards caught his second touchdown pass of the day to draw the score to 17-14 Mizzou with 12:57 remaining in the half.

Later in the second quarter, Mizzou’s offense got going. Lock bought himself time and rolled to his right before passing over the middle. Johnathon Johnson made a nice catch with one hand for the first down. The officials flagged South Carolina for a late hit, which gave the Tigers the ball inside the 20-yard line of the Gamecocks.

The drive stalled a few plays later, and Mizzou settled for a field goal to take a 20-14 lead with 6:16 left in the first half.

Mizzou’s offense added another field goal to end the first half to lead 23-14.

Out of the break, Deebo Samuel caught his first touchdown of the game for the Gamecocks to put South Carolina within two. The Tiger defense struggled again through the air as South Carolina went 66 yards on 12 plays for the score.

The Mizzou running game went back to work on the ensuing drive. Crockett took the handoff right and found the hole. He beat a pair of arm tackles and busted the run down the sideline for a 60-yard run. The initial ruling said Crockett stayed in bounds for a touchdown, but after review, the officials ruled he was out at the 10-yard line.

After three penalties pushed the Tigers out of field goal range, Mizzou was forced to punt. As the rain poured down, Corey Fatony bobbled the snap, and the Gamecocks tackled him to give themselves great field position.

The Gamecocks kept their momentum going and hit a field goal on their next drive for their first lead of the game, 24-23, late in the third quarter.

The meltdown for Mizzou continued on the next drive as Lock lofted a pass short as Tyler Badie slipped and fell. Sherrod Greene intercepted Lock’s pass and took it in for a touchdown to give the Gamecocks a 31-23 lead.

Larry Rountree tried to calm the Mizzou sideline with a 51-yard rush deep into South Carolina territory. The drive once again stalled at the goal line. McCann missed the field goal, and the Tigers came up empty.

Tavon Ross made a game-turning play and blocked the punt giving the Tigers the ball on the 22-yard line of South Carolina. After a pair of runs, Rountree ran the ball into the end zone from three yards out to put the Tigers behind 31-29. Mizzou did not convert on the two-point conversion.

Special teams issues for South Carolina continued as the Gamecocks bobbled the punt on the ensuing drive. Mizzou took over on South Carolina’s 32-yard line. McCann made a 44-yard field goal to put the Tigers back on top 32-31 with 11:01 left in regulation.

After South Carolina hit a field goal to retake the lead, Drew Lock threw deep to Kam Scott. The ball came out of Scott’s hands and fell into the hands of a South Carolina defender. The Gamecocks took over on Mizzou’s side of the field.

The Mizzou defense stood tall and stopped a fake field goal attempt by the Gamecocks. Lock and the Tigers took over on their own 29-yard line with 4:01 left in regulation.

The game then entered a lightning delay for more than an hour.

After the Gamecocks forced a fourth down, Odom elected to kick a 57-yard field goal. Tucker McCann drilled it through the uprights to put the Tigers ahead 35-34 with 1:18 to go in regulation. The kick is the second longest made field goal in Mizzou history.

South Carolina retook the lead on a last-second field goal to seal the game.

Next up for Mizzou, the Tigers travel to face (1) Alabama on the road Oct. 13.