The South Carolina football team is coming off of its first loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores since 2008 and is heading into a matchup against the undefeated No. 23 Missouri Tigers in Columbia, Missouri.
The Daily Gamecock spoke with Killian Wright, the sports editor for The Maneater, to learn more about the upcoming matchup. The two teams are set to face off at 7 p.m. at Faurot Field. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
The Daily Gamecock: Last year, coming off a 10-win season and then so far undefeated, how are you feeling about the team?
Wright: “I would say it’s kind of hard to not feel as good as possible about them. Obviously, they’ve kind of crushed their two weaker opponents in Central Arkansas and Louisiana in week three as expected … And then obviously against Kansas, which was definitely the hardest competition so far. Overall, pretty impressive game (to) go down 15 points early … and they really battled adversity which was ... really impressive to see that group kind of come together.”
“I think Missouri has blown by my expectations and as far as how good the offense looks. The run game between (sophomore running back) Ahmad Hardy, who most people thought would be good, I don’t know if they were thinking 187 yards in the first half good … Missouri has looked even better than I thought they would be, in all honesty.”
With graduate quarterback Beau Pribula looking great and Hardy coming out the gate, how do you think he’s looked since last season?
“Pribula I will say, for a quarterback that had never started a game until this year, and I know he’s had plenty of experience playing games over at Penn State. But never starting a game from buzzer to buzzer, he has looked relatively seasoned … He looks pretty decisive out there for a guy who hasn’t seen too many snaps. He can kind of read all areas of the field. He’s OK with checking down … For a guy who hadn't played very much, he doesn’t make very many dumb mistakes.”
“For Hardy, last season, he’s just doing the same thing as he was last year. He was tearing down guys left and right. It took three, four guys to bring him down. I think he was top-five in the nation in yards after contact or something like that. Hardy is doing the same thing again. He had a 71-yard touchdown yesterday. He shook three guys off like it was nothing. I know it’s Louisiana, but … It looked like a video game. So for Ahmad, he’s really doing the same stuff as he was last year except now he’s got the run blocking of an SEC offensive line which has question marks but it's certainly better than what he was dealing with at ULM last year. So, I think Hardy is really making a case as one of the best running backs in the nation as just a sophomore. I think that's something to watch out for no matter how good your front-seven is.”
Who are some other players that you think could play an impact in Saturday’s game?
“(Senior wide receiver) Kevin Coleman Jr. has really emerged as a wide receiver one, which I think was the consensus to what was going to happen coming into the season. He was really good at Mississippi State last year, and he’s just kind of a reception monster. They find any way to put the ball in his hands, and then he'll make it work after that. He's been a pretty nice Luther Burden replacement, which I think there's a lot of people wondering if he could recreate the same talent that Burden was … he’s a nice gadget player.
"(Redshirt sophomore linebacker) Josiah Trotter has been a monster this year. Had a few early (tackles-for-loss) against Louisiana. He is just full of energy all the time. There was one of his teammates, (senior linebacker) Khalil Jacobs, we interviewed him ... before the season and said that Trotter goes around barking and growling during practice whenever he makes big plays. So, if that gives you any type of idea what type of player Josiah Trotter is, there you go. But he's been a monster just everywhere on the field.”
What does Missouri have to do to win this game?
“I think they have to keep doing what they're doing. If (Redshirt sophomore quarterback LaNorris) Sellers is not going to be playing, it's just going to be a lot of ball security, not turning it over in bad spots, taking long drives, running the ball, which has been the bread and butter this year …. So I think that's going to be the key for Missouri. If Sellers doesn't play, hold the ball. Run the ball with (redshirt sophomore Jamal) Roberts, Hardy, even a little bit of Pribula. Hit some short passes down to Kevin Coleman … If Sellers does play, be prepared to be in a shootout just in case, because Sellers is obviously an elite quarterback talent, and he can really hang with the best of them out there.“
Is there anything else you’d like to note about the game?
“I think it'll be a good game. These are two teams who have been pretty good … the Seller's injury is just kind of the stickler … So overall, I think it's an interesting game. It obviously matters for the AP poll. We'll see where the Tigers sit soon, see where the Gamecock sits soon, but, there definitely will be implications on that game for both teams on Saturday."
What’s your score prediction for the game?
“Missouri scored at least 30 points in every game, given it was lesser competition. I'm going to go ... 31-20 or 31-14, Missouri beats South Carolina. I would give a little bit more credit, but Sellers is out. I don't really think there's much of a chance."