By the numbers: Missouri

¼ - The number of inches that could've changed the game.

2 - The number of Gamecock quarterbacks with 200 yards passing. That hasn't been done since at least 2000, and I'm not sure it's ever been done before. As will become a theme with this post - Dylan did not have a bad game.

2.1 - Rush yards per attempt. While the Gamecocks were able to throw the ball all over the field against the Tigers, the run game never got going even when you take out the two sacks for 20 yards (the remaining 33 rushes yielded a paltry 2.89 yds/att).

4 - Balls from Dylan that hit guys in hands: (Adams and Anderson on second drive; McLaurin on the first 2H drive though Byrd caught it, and Anderson again that drive). These balls were mostly uncatchable, but the point is Dylan wasn't far off, and with an entire offseason of being The Guy he can probably correct these things. He's been over-praised a lot; let's not over-criticize him.

5 - The rank of Mizzou. Clemson, take notes on how to beat a #5 team that's an intra-division foe on national television.

5 - Times we went on 4th. The sneak was controversial, but we do it all the time, and it was a 1-yard to go situation. Maybe we shouldn't have done it because Mizzou has a very strong D-line, but the exchange was bad and the line got beat. It's not a horrible call, but it certainly put us further behind the 8-ball. The defense held firm and kept the team in the game.

7 - Carolina offensive drives, of 12 total, that went for over 40 yards - Shaw had three of them in four opportunities, while Dylan had four in eight chances. Missouri only had three such drives in 12 opportunities (to be fair, they had two drives that went over 30 yards that didn't qualify). The Gamecocks moved the ball up and down the field all game, and deserved the 17 points they got. The Tigers gave Carolina too many chances, and in the fourth quarter the Gamecocks finally made them pay for it.

8 - Penalties for 65 yards. Bruce had an illegal formation, which he seems to do a lot (Spurrier called him out for lining up wrong earlier this year). But this game did not seem well-officiated, and at least two 20-yard gains for Carolina were negated by very questionable penalty calls. Of course Mizzou will have their gripes (they had 7 for 50, with a roughing the passer I'm sure they hated, as well as a PI that extended our FG drive in the 4Q), so let's just chalk this up to us living up to our reputation with Missouri fans for complaining about the refs.

8.2 - Yards per play for Dylan Thompson, as compared to 5.8 for Connor Shaw [h/t Rock M Nation]. In case you need more proof that Dylan played pretty well. Of course I agree Connor was amazing and deserves all the credit he's gotten, but this still points out that some of the things that happened to Dylan (the fumbles especially) weren't his fault. Basically, Shaw kept getting into bad spots and bailing himself out; Dylan kept the team moving on a number of occasions, but couldn't make the plays when the team got off-schedule.

9 - Screen passes thrown by the Gamecocks on the evening, who completed every single one for a total of 116 yards (12.9 yds/att). They were: the third drive to Busta for 23, and Bruce for 9; the fourth drive to Bruce for 7; first second-half drive to Davis for 25; the second drive of the second half for no gain to Davis; the third second half drive to Davis for 19; the fourth second half drive to Davis for 5; the fifth second half drive to Davis for 13, then for 15. The rest of the passing game went 26-47 for 307 yards (6.5 yds/att), which isn't bad, but the passing game was helped along substantially by the ability of the Gamecocks skill players and linemen to bust the screen plays for big gains.

10 - Passes completed by Maty Mauk, who was 9-24 for 153 yards but for one particularly painful 96-yard strike. The Gamecocks did a great job of keeping Missouri in check in both areas but for that one play - Missouri averaged 6.4 yds/att passing the ball but for the big play, and only 3.8 yds/att on the ground (41 carries for 155 yards). Time and time again, the Gamecock defense gave the offense the chance to get it right, and at the end, they did.

27 - Yards on seven carries by a very underappreciated Shon Carson on the evening. He looked as confident as he's seemed as a runner all season, which should be useful until Brandon Wilds returns, likely after the bye week.

66 - Plays that Missouri ran, including overtime.

91 - Plays that the Gamecocks ran. Again, this is a game that, when you take out the one big Missouri play and the turnovers, the Gamecocks really did outplay the Tigers. The way we got to the result made us look lucky, but that was just fate catching up with the way we'd played all evening.

99 - Yards receiving for Mike Davis, who found a way to impact the game and still managed to hold onto his spot as the leading rusher in the SEC this season.

136 - Yards receiving on 10 receptions for Bruce Ellington, which included the biggest one of the game to keep the Gamecocks alive.

All in all, the Gamecocks put together a sound performance on both offense and defense, and did enough not to lose the game on special teams. That allowed them to overcome their two-turnover differential and ultimately prevail in one of the most exciting games in the school's history.