South Carolina vs. Missouri: Roundtable Predictions

The new-look South Carolina Gamecocks host the Missouri Tigers tonight after a tumultuous week that culminated in the firing of head coach Will Muschamp. Now under the leadership of offensive coordinator Mike Bobo — and without some key players on defense, who chose to opt out for the rest of the season — we’ll see how the Gamecocks can respond against a team they’ve traditionally competed well against. Here’s what the GABA gang thinks.

Matt: I really don’t know what to think with this Missouri team. Their win at home against LSU was impressive, but they got killed on the road against Tennessee. Maybe they don’t like traveling, which is good for South Carolina, but the Cocks may be worse when playing at night. Truthfully, playing these primetime games have never been the Gamecocks’ strong suit, but how they’ve performed under the lights this year has been dreadful. With the exception of their game against LSU, Missouri hasn’t been a passing team, though, which is undoubtedly South Carolina’s weakness. As long as the Cocks limit turnovers, this game should be closer than the three games prior. I’ll take Missouri 28-24.

Katie: Yet again, South Carolina really just needs to get a win, because watching the Gamecocks play has become fairly depressing these days. USC has taken care of one team of Tigers this year and lost spectacularly to another, so they might as well break that tie with a victory on Saturday night. Given [gestures broadly] everything, I really don’t know what to expect out of this team on the field, but I don’t think we’ll see another shootout like last week. If the defense can do a decent enough job of keeping Missouri out of the end zone, I think the Gamecocks have a legit chance to win. Is that my eternal sports optimism talking? Maybe, but I can’t fight who I am. For the love of Cocky, let’s get back in the win column tonight.

Kody: This is a game that should be competitive, and one that many had penciled in as a probable win before the season started. As we’ve seen, though, things haven’t exactly played out in positive fashion for our Gamecocks, so this is looking like a much taller task than folks may have expected at first. Having said that, this team is truly a wildcard right now — they might rally under Mike Bobo and salvage some pride, or they might just mentally shut down and walk away from the flaming wreckage that is 2020. I’m going with Mizzou by about 10, but really interested to see what the mindset on the South Carolina sideline is like.