COLUMBIA, MO - The "Battle of the Columbias" was a one-sided battle.
Quarterback Connor Shaw completed 20-straight passes, throwing for two touchdowns to lead the South Carolina Gamecocks (4-0, 2-0) to a 31-10 victory Saturday over the Missouri Tigers (2-2, 0-2). Shaw finished 20-21 for 249-yards.
"South Carolina is a really good football team and I think we have to give them a lot of credit," said Missouri Head Coach Gary Pinkel. "That was a pretty dominating performance so we will learn from it and get better."
Shaw had plenty of help in the backfield. Junior running-back Marcus Lattimore rushed for 85-yards on 21 carries, scoring two touchdowns. South Carolina out-gained Mizzou 396-to-255 in total yards. That was a season-low performance this season for the Tigers.
"I think it was evident we were a little stronger than Missouri," said South Carolina Head Coach Steve Spurrier. "Our defensive guys were really fast out there today and it was just a really good win for us."
South Carolina scored the first two touchdowns of the game. Missouri answered with a field goal late in the first-half. Then, the Gamecocks went 50-yards in four plays with Shaw hitting receiver Ace Sanders with a 23-yard touchdown pass. That extended the lead to 21-3 before halftime. Missouri never threatened after that.
Missouri's offense struggled too in the school's first Southeastern Conference road test in the inaugural season. Junior quarterback James Franklin was 11-of-18 for 92-yards. Mizzou's lone touchdown came with 4:28 to go in the game when backup quarterback Corbin Berkstresser hit Marcus Lucas for a one-yard touchdown pass.
"We had some good drives where we drove in to their territory, and we just need to build off it and have confidence in our game," said Lucas. "And we can play with these guys. We just have to remain confident."
Mizzou returns to the road next Saturday for a non-conference test against the University of Central Florida. Kickoff is at 11:00 a.m.
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