Mizzou receivers Luther Burden (3) and Theo Wease (1) celebrate Wease’s touchdown during last Saturday’s win over Kentucky. (Photo: Terrance Williams)

Mizzou Football – Gameday Info
Game No. 8 – South Carolina (2-4, 1-3) at #20 Missouri (6-1, 2-1)
Date/Time – October 21, 2023 – 2:30 pm
Location – Faurot Field — Columbia, MO
Broadcast – SEC Network
Live Stats – Mizzou StatBroadcast

Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

COLUMBIA, MO — It’s Homecoming at the University of Missouri this weekend. A time for fun, reflection, and celebration, as the school that invented Homecoming gets to throw its annual all-campus party again.

And it should be an especially fun time for fans of the Missouri Tigers football team, which is having its best season in nearly 10 years, with a unit that is 6-1 overall, 2-1 in SEC play, ranked No. 20 in the country, and coming off an exciting and dominating 38-21 win over rival Kentucky.

The Tigers have big dreams have put themselves in position to possibly accomplish them, if they can keep racking up wins like they did last week.

This week, Mizzou will host South Carolina, a team that also had big dreams coming into this season. But things haven’t gone nearly as well for the Gamecocks, who are 2-4 overall, 1-3 in the SEC, and coming off a pair of tough losses at Tennessee two weeks ago, and at their own Homecoming last week against Florida.

In fact, things got even worse after last week’s game, as head coach Shane Beamer broke his foot when he admittedly, “kicked something he shouldn’t have.”

Missouri and South Carolina will play for the “Mayor’s Cup”, the victory trophy award to the winner of the game between two teams whose home town is Columbia. (Columbia, Mo. for the Tigers and Columbia, S.C. for the Gamecocks).

This will be the 14th time Mizzou and South Carolina will have played, with Mizzou owning a slight edge of 7-6 in the previous matchups, with a 3-2 mark in games in CoMo. Missouri has won four straight in the series, including a 23-10 victory in South Carolina last year.

Players to Watch: Missouri is led by its high-powered offense, which features quarterback Brady Cook, running back Cody Schrader, and wide receivers Luther Burden III and Theo Wease, Jr. The Tigers are the third-ranked offense in the SEC, with averages of 446.6 yards and 33.9 points per game.

Cook is third in the conference with 2,054 passing yards and 14 touchdown passes. Schrader is second with 648 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. And Burden and Wease are the league’s second-best WR duo with a combined 90 catches for 1,208 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Just this week, Burden was named to several mid-season All-American teams, including lists released by CBS Sports and the Associated Press.

South Carolina’s offense is led by QB Spencer Rattler. The senior from Phoenix, Ariz., has 1,724 yards and 11 touchdowns passing, including a season-high four scores last week against Florida.

Missouri senior defensive lineman Darius Robinson was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week, after posting six tackles and two quarterback sacks last week at Kentucky.

Junior cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine leads the nation in passes defended (13) and is tied for third in interceptions (4).

The South Carolina defense has had a rough go of it all season. The Gamecocks have the fourth-worst pass defense in the country and their overall defense ranks last in the SEC.

One bright spot though, has been sophomore defensive lineman T.J. Sanders, who leads the team with five sacks this season.

Up Next: Mizzou will get a well-deserved bye next week, before heading down south for what many believe will be the Tigers’ biggest game of the season. Missouri will be between the hedges in Athens to face the No. 1-ranked and two-time defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs.

That game will be played on Saturday, November 4, with game time and broadcast selections yet to be determined.

South Carolina will be on the road again next week, with a game at Texas A&M.

When Missouri Has the Ball

Missouri’s Offense vs. South Carolina’s Defense

When South Carolina Has the Ball

Missouri’s Defense vs. South Carolina’s Offense

2023 MISSOURI TIGERS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

DateGametimeAtOpponentLocationTV
October 21, 2023 (Saturday)2:30 PMHomeSouth CarolinaFaurot Field
November 4, 2023 (Saturday)TBAAway#1 GeorgiaAthens, Ga.
November 11, 2023 (Saturday)TBAHome#17 TennesseeFaurot Field
November 18, 2023 (Saturday)TBAHomeFloridaFaurot Field
November 24, 2023 (Friday)3:00 PMAwayArkansasFayetteville, Ark.CBS