Spurs Up, Spurs Down: South Carolina football gets win over Mississippi State
South Carolina got its first SEC win of the year with a 37-30 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. A look at what went right (and wrong) for South Carolina in the win:
Spurs Up
▪ Two long drives: The Gamecocks had a pair of 90-plus yard scoring drives against the Bulldogs. The first was a 98-yarder capped off by Spencer Rattler’s 76-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Legette.
South Carolina then went 99 yards to take a 14-0 lead on Rattler’s 17-yard pass to Trey Knox.
According to the SEC Network broadcast, the Gamecocks were the first team since Washington State in 2018 to have multiple scoring drives in a game over 90 yards.
▪ Mario Anderson: The Gamecocks have been looking for a spark in their running game and found one Saturday in Mario Anderson.
The Newberry College transfer ran hard with authority and was physical between the tackles. Anderson finished with 88 yards rushing in the game and scored his first touchdown of the season, a powerful 9-yard run with a push from the offensive line in the fourth quarter that put the Gamecocks up 37-27.
▪ Spencer Rattler and Xavier Legette: The Gamecock quarterback and receiver continued their torrid start to the season.
Rattler was perfect through three quarters and finished 18-of-20 passing for 288 yards and three touchdowns.
Legette’s breakout season continued on Saturday night. The Mullins native had TD catches of 75 and 76 yards on his way to another big effort.
Legette finished with five catches for 189 yards and has two games of more than 170 yards receiving this season.
Spurs Down
▪ Pass defense: The Gamecocks have been good for most of the season in limiting big plays. That wasn’t the case on Saturday as Bulldogs quarterback Will Rogers and receiver Tulu Griffin torched the USC secondary. Griffin had two plays over 60 yards on his way to a school-record 256 yards receiving. Rogers finished with 487 yards passing.
▪ Two-point gamble: South Carolina has been good on two-point plays under Beamer and took a gamble after a touchdown in the second quarter.
After Dakereon Joyner’s 3-yard touchdown run, the Gamecocks lined up in a two-point conversion formation. Punter Kai Kroeger, the team’s holder, had a wide-open TJ Sanders in the end zone but put too much air under the ball and it was tipped away.
Luckily, the gamble didn’t come back to haunt USC.
Player stats
RUSHING—Mississippi State, Jo.Marks 12-27, Li.Griffin 1-9, W.Rogers 6-0, Mk.Wright 3-(minus 2), Jf.Pittman 1-(minus 2). South Carolina, Mi.Anderson 26-88, Rattler 8-43, Da.Joyner 10-24.
PASSING—Mississippi State, W.Rogers 30-48-0-487. South Carolina, Rattler 18-20-0-288.
RECEIVING—Mississippi State, Li.Griffin 7-256, Ju.Robinson 6-91, Zv.Thomas 5-56, Jo.Marks 5-15, C.Whittemore 2-17, Jf.Pittman 2-13, Jo.Mosley 1-19, F.Roberson 1-11, A.Harmon 1-9. South Carolina, X.Legette 5-189, Tr.Knox 4-53, O.Blake 2-13, E.Lewis 2-8, Da.Joyner 2-6, Mi.Anderson 1-10, Th.Russell 1-5, L.Doty 1-4.
USC football updates
The latest from South Carolina's home football game against Mississippi State.
