No. 23 Missouri uses ground game to keep South Carolina at bay

Ahmad Hardy rushed for 138 yards and one touchdown and Jamal Roberts recorded the go-ahead score as No. 23 Missouri notched a 29-20 victory over South Carolina on Saturday night in Southeastern Conference play at Columbia, Mo.

Beau Pribula passed for 171 yards, one touchdown and one interception and also rushed for 72 yards for the Tigers (4-0, 1-0). Joshua Manning had a receiving touchdown and Robert Meyer kicked three field goals for Missouri, which is unbeaten after four games for the third straight season.

Roberts rushed for 76 yards, including a 16-yard scoring scamper around the left side with 9:32 remaining in the contest. Pribula then ran in a two-point conversion to give the Tigers a 26-20 lead en route to registering their 14th consecutive home win.

LaNorris Sellers passed for 302 yards and two touchdowns for the Gamecocks (2-2, 0-2), who dropped their second straight game.

Vandrevius Jacobs had seven receptions for 128 yards and one touchdown and Brian Rowe Jr. also had a scoring reception for South Carolina.

Missouri outgained South Carolina 285 to minus-9 on the ground and had a 456-293 edge in total offense.

Missouri took an 18-17 lead in the third quarter when Hardy broke multiple tackles to reach the end zone on a 5-yard run with 5:34 left. The UL Monroe transfer entered the game as the nation's second-leading rusher and has topped 100 in each of Missouri's games.

South Carolina responded on a drive in which it faced third-and-37 as Sellers hit Nyck Harbor for 33 yards to set up a field-goal attempt. William Joyce came in and booted a 36-yarder to give the Gamecocks the lead with 18 seconds remaining in the period.

The Tigers then answered with the drive capped by Roberts' TD run. Meyer kicked a 40-yard field goal with 1:34 left to seal it.

Sellers threw two first-half touchdown passes as the Gamecocks led 14-12 at the break.

After a scoreless first quarter, Missouri took the lead in the first minute of the second quarter on Pribula's 8-yard scoring pass to Manning to cap a nine-play, 99-yard drive. Meyer's point-after clanked off the right upright and was no good.

South Carolina answered with a 49-yard touchdown pass to Jacobs with 11:26 left in the half. However, Missouri went back ahead at 9-7 on Meyer's 23-yard field with 5:54 remaining.

Just over three minutes later, Sellers connected with Rowe on a 24-yard touchdown pass to put the Gamecocks up by five. Meyer kicked a 22-yard field goal for the Tigers with 17 seconds left in the half.

--Field Level Media