Final thoughts and a prediction ahead of South Carolina’s football game at Missouri

South Carolina (2-4, 1-3 SEC) looks to get back on track after a two-game skid when it travels 714 miles northwest to Columbia, Missouri to take on Mizzou (6-1, 2-1 SEC) on Saturday.

This will be the 14th meeting between USC and Missouri, with the Tigers holding an 8-5 edge. The game’s champion is awarded The Mayor’s Cup trophy, which Mizzou has had in its possession for the past four years.

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Eastern, and the game will air on SEC Network. Those are the facts. Here are some thoughts.

1. Eli Drinkwitz is the Gamecock killer

One must imagine when the SEC schedule comes out, Drinkwitz — now in his fourth season as Missouri’s head coach — runs his eyes down the Tigers’ slate and looks for South Carolina. Then he must lick his lips and circle it as a victory.

In the parity-filled world of college football, it is remarkable to see a coach with a flawless record against a single school. Heading into Saturday’s matchup, Drinkwitz is 4-0 as a head coach against the Gamecocks.

Back in 2019, when he was leading Appalachian State, Drinkwitz’s Mountaineers upset the Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium. Then, in each of the past three seasons, the 40-year-old Missouri head coach coached the Tigers to victory over South Carolina.

Even when Drinkwitz was just starting his coaching career as a quality control coach at Auburn in 2010 and 2011, he was on the winning side versus South Carolina on both occasions.

The only time Drinkwitz has ever lost to USC as a coach was back in 2017, when he was the offensive coordinator at N.C. State and the Wolfpack fell by a touchdown.

Right now, Drinkwitz is South Carolina’s Kryptonite — and many aren’t giving the Gamecocks much of a chance to dispel that. According to the oddsmakers in Vegas, Missouri heads into Saturday as a 7.5-point favorite over USC.

2. What is DC Clayton White trying to do?

There are times when you can watch a struggling defense and think to yourself: “Did the defensive coordinator fall asleep? What is going on?”

South Carolina’s defense has, at times, looked completely lost this season. It’s not just that the Gamecocks are giving up more passing yards than any team in America, they are breaking down at the most inopportune times.

Take the Florida game for example. On the Gators’ final drive, they completed a pass on 4th-and-10 to set up the eventual game-winning touchdown on 2nd-and-15. Everyone in the stadium knew both passes were going to receiver Ricky Pearsall, and USC still couldn’t stop it.

A lot has been made this week about South Carolina blitzing on more than half its plays, but I was curious what White — South Carolina’s third-year defensive coordinator — is trying to accomplish with his scheme.

MIke Sanford Jr. gave White his first coordinator job at Western Kentucky back in 2017. Sanford loved that White had an offensive background (He coached running backs at UConn for two years) and he loved White’s scheme, one with a lineage to current Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi and former Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio.

“The base scheme is truly four down (linemen), it’s three-technique to the tight end side, nine-technique outside the tight end, which is basically four true linemen,” Sanford said of White’s scheme. “It’s a two-man box and you usually have a nickel, whether it’s a big nickel or a regular nickel. What I love is the aggression to take away the free-access throws — the easy throws to the outside — because you press so much.

“The downside of it is you’re pretty aggressive in the run fits, and if your corners aren’t elite players,” he added, “they can give up some big ones down the field. But it takes away a lot of the easy stuff.”

3. USC needs to win Saturday to boost bowl chances

Here’s the percentage chance ESPN Analytics gives South Carolina to win its remaining games:

• at Missouri — 35.3%

• at Texas A&M — 17.6%

• vs. Jacksonville State — 85.6%

• vs. Vanderbilt — 86.8%

• vs. Kentucky — 60.7%

• Vs. Clemson — 31.4%

In short, ESPN is projecting South Carolina to finish the season 5-7, which seems like a fair— if not, generous — assessment.

The harsh reality is this: It is going to take one heck of a back-half stretch for the Gamecocks to make a bowl game. South Carolina is going to have to upset somebody.

Perhaps Missouri (6-1) is gettable this week. Perhaps USC could stun Clemson for the second straight season and become bowl-eligible. Right now, the Gamecocks are facing an uphill battle to play in its third bowl in as many years.

4. Does Shane Beamer coach in a boot?

OK, hear me out: No publicity is bad publicity.

On Friday, I typed “Hugh Freeze” into my Google search bar. The fourth option was “Hugh Freeze hospital bed.” Yes, it was just over four years ago that Freeze — now Auburn’s head man — coached Liberty while lying in a hospital bed as he recovered from a herniated disc in his back.

The pictures of Freeze giving a thumbs-up from his hospital bed are just as ridiculous today as they were back then.

You know who’s not complaining about it? Liberty University. Publicity is expensive and, that night, Freeze put a lot of eyeballs on the Flames.

Which brings us to Beamer, who admitted he broke a bone in his foot after kicking a Gatorade cooler in frustration after the Gamecocks’ loss to Florida last week. The USC head coach showed up to his weekly radio show on Thursday with a walking boot on his right foot.

If I were Beamer, I’d keep it on for the game. South Carolina would be trending on social media in five seconds.

Prediction: Missouri 43, South Carolina 33