Pete Iacobelli
Associated Press
Columbia-South Carolina No. 25 is thrilled with its first ranking in four years and its longest winning streak in almost a decade.
This week, fourth-year defensive back Cam Smith was asked how he keeps his young teammates focused on the field instead of midseason success.
“I’ve never been ranked. I’ve never won this much money. So it’s new to me, too,” said Smith, a Gamecox nickelback who turned pro. Considered a first-round selection in the NFL if they did.
Smith and the Gamecocks (5-2, 2-2 SEC) will seek a fifth straight victory against Missouri (3-4, 1-3) on Saturday.
“Taking it every day and just trying to keep everyone on course,” Smith said. “Then it’s fine.”
South Carolina, in coach Shane Beamer’s first season, indicated early on that they may not match last year’s bowl qualifier team, trailing Arkansas (44-31) and Georgia (48-7) in the first half. Two teams fell into the top 10. 3 games.
Things changed with back-to-back non-conference wins over Charlotte and South Carolina, with the Gamecocks scoring over 50 points in both. After his comfortable 24-14 victory over then-13th-ranked Kentucky, South Carolina’s 30-24 win over Texas A&M earned it its first win of the series.
Entered the ranking for the first time at the beginning of the 2018 season. Since ending 2013 with a six-game winning streak, they haven’t won four in a row.
Beamer admitted he was thrilled to welcome a Top 25 team as head coach for the first time. He quickly got back to the Tigers, who have beaten South Carolina three times this week.
According to Beamer, gamecocks had their minds in the right place during practice, concentrating on how it worked rather than thinking it had arrived.
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said the Beamer team is doing well at things that don’t always top the SEC stats.
The Gamecocks are “excellent at gaining good field position and the ability to play in the lead, creating havoc plays, forcing thirds and longs, and taking advantage of special teams,” he said. I was. “They were able to create swings with huge momentum.”
honor the victims
Missouri pays tribute to those killed and injured in the St. Louis school shooting at Saturday’s game. Tigers manager Eli Drinkwitz said, “For me, it’s not about politics. It’s about protecting the future of our country. Our children are our future. And we’ll continue to live like this.” I can not do it.”
Mayor’s Cup
South Carolina will be playing for the trophy for the second week in a row, this time at the Mayers Cup, which has been contested every year since Missouri joined the SEC East Division in 2012. Trophy is named because both schools are based in the state of Columbia. The Gamecocks beat Texas A&M to win the Bonham Trophy last week.
Burden’s Rise
Five-star freshman Luther Baden III has shown his immense talent at receivers since picking Missouri out of many states like Georgia, Alabama, and Ohio. Baden stole the Tigers’ 0-3 start in SEC play with a 17-14 win over Vanderbilt. Baden leads the Tigers with 5 touchdowns, 2 receptions, 2 rushes, and 1 punt return.
Tiger D
Missouri is averaging 325 yards per game, which ranks fourth in SEC defense. The group is also one of the leaders in stopping teams on third down, holding opponents’ chances to less than 30{ea2cba5bdf6fe62bbe85e24807814144a71e77d3ae7311fbc27a008558d1372c} of his (30 out of 103). This is his second number after Alabama. Linebacker Tyrone His hopper is second in the league with 8.5 tackles.
beamer ball
South Carolina’s Shane Beamer coach seems like a chip off the old punt block. Gamecocks leads the nation in his five blocks in his punts and fans of the “Beamer Ball,” a brand of top-tier special teams made famous by Beamer’s father, Frank, during nearly three decades at Virginia Tech. is rooting for you.
