South Carolina walked out of Columbia, Missouri with more bruises than bright spots in a 29-20 loss to the No. 23 Missouri Tigers on September 20.
The Tigers' Ahmad Hardy ran wild for 138 yards and the game-sealing touchdown, part of Missouri's 287 rushing yards. The Gamecocks just couldn't wrap him up, missing his waist, missing his ankles, or just realizing that shoulder-checking a back won't do it. The Missouri offense leaned simply on efficiency. They kept feeding Hardy and spreading the ball to their runners, knowing the Gamecock defense couldn't consistently tackle in space. Every time South Carolina needed stops, they came up empty.