Defensive Film Review: South Carolina @ No. 20 Missouri

South Carolina's football program saw their defense have another slow start, but get off the mat in the second half against the Missouri Tigers.

The Gamecocks' defense had yet another rough start to a football game last Saturday against Missouri, as the Tigers scored 24 unanswered points in the first half. With missed tackles and misplayed assignments against a team as good as Missouri is, that's the last thing they could afford to do. Despite the second half being better, the film shows why South Carolina's defense has yet to be able to play a complete game all season long.

Tale of Two Halves

In the first half for the Carolina Defense, the unit struggled to make critical plays and stay disciplined in their assignments, which helped Missouri score on four straight possessions after going three-and-out to start the contest. However, they only gave up 10 points in the second half, limiting the Missouri offense to 115 yards, with 67 of those yards coming on the final drive for them, excluding the game-ending kneel.

TJ Sanders on the sideline (14th Oct., 2023) / Fisher Brewer

Brady Cooks' Legs

This facet of the game was a relatively easy one to catch on film, but the threat of Brady Cook's legs and being able to utilize them caused issues for the defense. The edges had to honor any type of read look, allowing the running backs and mainly the offensive line to worry about one less defender. Even with Cook being tackled twice behind the line of scrimmage, he finished with 64 total yards on the ground, including a touchdown.

The defense continued to make some costly mistakes but showed glimpses of being good at times. It's hard to win games when you end up in such a deep hole after the first half, and while they did do a better job defensively in the second half, it wasn't enough. As they move forward to Texas A&M, they must find a way to put a complete game together, which could lead to some desperately needed wins for South Carolina down the stretch.

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