The most important details about a matchup that’s detrimental to the Tigers season.
In arguably the most important game of the No. 23 Missouri Tigers’ season, they are tasked with making the trip to Columbia, S.C. to face the No. 21 South Carolina Gamecocks.
The implications a Tiger loss or win would have on its College Football Playoff chances make or break the rest of Missouri’s season. Leaving Williams-Brice stadium with a victory will not be easy, however. The Gamecocks are hitting its stride at the perfect time and pose a threat to any team that comes in its direction.
From the defensive line and its hard-to-get-past secondary to its powerful runners at the forefront of the offense, the Gamecocks are rising the ranks of the SEC late in the season. Here are the three most important details about South Carolina football ahead of Missouri’s matchup in Columbia.
Physical Runners
The two best players on the Gamecock offense are the quarterback and running back spot. Freshman LaNorris Sellers is slowly establishing himself as one of the best young quarterbacks in the country. He currently sits at 1,450 passing yards and nine touchdowns, but that isn’t his strongest trait at the spot. A common theme for the opposing quarterbacks the Missouri defense has faced, Sellers is another mobile quarterback.
He’s rushed for 391 yards and four touchdowns, but his running style is what makes him such a threat. With a 6-foot-3, 240-pound frame, Sellers is as powerful a runner at the quarterback that you will find. Sellers is a challenge to bring down in the open field and it’s clear he loves absorbing the contact. His running style, if it were to be compared, shows similar traits to Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. Both are strong and love taking hits, but both are also capable of breaking off large runs.
The Gamecocks have a similar player at the running back spot in senior Rocket Sanders. A transfer from Arkansas, Drinkwitz and the Tiger defense are quite familiar with Sanders. They’ve seen him twice in his four-year SEC stint, but Sanders has yet to torch the Tigers. This year could be the year Sanders gets his chance to do so.
He’s rushed for 696 yards and 10 touchdowns to start the season, with three 100-yard rushing games to his name this year. This is Sanders’ first true, healthy season since 2022 where he ran for 1,443 yards with the Razorbacks and he’s taking the most of it. Like Sellers, Sanders runs strong and efficient. He’s hard to bring down and once he gets moving up the field, it’s like stopping a freight train.
Defensive Line Talent
On the other side of the ball, the Gamecocks boast one of the best defensive lines in the SEC and the entire country. Pro Football Focus grades the South Carolina pass rush as the second-best in the country, only behind the Michigan Wolverines. Its run defense ranks No. 23 nationally and as a whole, PFF lists the Gamecocks with the third-best defensive unit. The group’s performance starts with the talented defensive line.
Headlined by veteran defensive tackle Tonka Hemingway and transfer defensive end Kyle Kennard. the Gamecocks have the perfect blend of athleticism and power in its front line. Hemingway has 17 quarterback pressures and four sacks on the season and Kennard has 33 and eight, leading the team in both stats. Hemingway is a force in the middle that uses his power and bag of tricks to get at the quarterback and Kennard a big, speedy mass who’s not easy to block. Kennard fits the mold of what most NFL general managers search for in a pass rusher, sitting at 6-foot-5, 255-pounds. He will certainly garner NFL attention when that process rolls around.
When talking about the Gamecock defensive line, you can’t forget about freshman phenom Dylan Stewart. He is second in both pressures and sacks with 35 and six, with a 17.4% pass-rush win percentage to pair with it. Stewart, like Kennard, is everything an NFL scouting team would want in a defensive end. The speed Stewart possesses off the edge will be challenging for both Marcus Bryant and Armand Membou.
Sticky Secondary
The Gamecock front line applies plenty of pressure on the quarterback and the run game, but the back line of defensive backs provides similar help to the passing attack. The face of the secondary is led by safety Nick Emmanwori, a three-year starter for the Gamecocks. He leads the team in tackles and interceptions currently, with 60 total tackles and four picks, two of which returned for touchdowns. On 29 targets, he boasts one of the lowest completion percentages allowed with 51.7%.
The cornerback trio of O’Donnell Fortune, Jalon Kilgore and Judge Collier command the best coverage in the secondary. Fortune and Kilgore are in the top five in coverage rating on PFF for the Gamecocks and the three have six interceptions between them.
Freshman Vicari Swain has shown moments of greatness, allowing only six receptions on 14 targets this season. The room is deep for the Gamecocks and they have plenty of names they can throw at differing offenses. Kilgore, Fortune and Emmanwori at safety will be the three that challenge the Missouri receiving core the most.
