For the first time in SEC history, two true freshmen started in the same game. One played more like one than the other. Luckily for Missouri, it had the better of the two in a 24-10 win over South Carolina on Saturday.

Here’s a breakdown of Missouri’s win:

5 TAKEAWAYS

  • Drew Lock gets it done: With any true freshman the thought is to ease them into the offense and hope they make the right decisions and don’t turn the ball over. However, that’s especially true with Drew Lock given just how good Missouri’s defense can be. Lock delivered on that by posting an efficient stat line of 21-for-28 passing, 136 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Both Lock and fellow true freshman Lorenzo Nunez, his counterpart on Saturday, had similarly efficient first halves. Lock stayed sound while Nunez threw three straight interceptions on each of the team’s first three drives out of the break.
  • Missouri’s defense makes life miserable: This unit can fly to the ball. The only thing the Gamecocks’ offense could really rely on against the Tigers’ defense was a few opportunities for Nunez to run the ball (15 carries for team-high 60 yards) and Pharoh Cooper (team-high nine catches for 102 yards). But those yardage totals made up more than half (54 percent) of the team’s offense. There wasn’t much else going for South Carolina.
  • Running game shows a pulse: With the uncertainty surrounding RB Russell Hansbrough’s health all season, it seemed like the Tigers’ ground game took a step in the right direction. The team recorded season-highs in rushes (42) and rushing yards (169) while recording just its second run for a score (Ish Witter’s 1-yard TD run in the third quarter). However, a key stat is first downs via the run, where Mizzou posted a season-high 13, five more than they had in any game previously. The Tigers seemed to trust their running game on Saturday, and that’s a good sign. Witter (17 carries, 98 yards, TD) and Hansbrough (11 carries, 43 yards) showed promise.
  • Let’s keep the win in perspective: While it’s easy to put a lot of stock in this win, it’s clear that South Carolina is quite possibly at its lowest point in the Steve Spurrier era. The Gamecocks are now 0-3 in SEC play for the first time since 2007, which was the Head Ball Coach’s first season at the school. Keep in mind it was losing 14-8 at halftime against an 0-5 Central Florida team that’s lost to the likes of Florida International, Furman, and as of this week, Tulane.
  • All the sudden next week’s game with the Gators is huge: And speaking of not getting too ahead of themselves, Missouri has no room to do that as its next opponent is Florida, which is unbeaten and coming off an ultra impressive 38-10 win against No. 3 Ole Miss. That win, coupled with Missouri’s promising win, has totally flipped the script on what would’ve been a ho-hummer.

REPORT CARD

Offense: C+ — Missouri doesn’t have any room for error, so the key for the offense is to play mistake-free football, and it did just that. The unit called a great game for a unit not only being led by a true freshman, but being led by a true freshman that figured out halfway through the week he’d be starting.

Defense: A — Missouri limited South Carolina to five rushing yards on 17 carries in the first half. You read that right. The Tigers did what good defenses do: force you to be one-dimensional and get some turnovers. Another solid performance.

Special Teams: C — It was a pretty average day for special teams. Kicker Andrew Baggette made his only field goal attempt, a chip shot from 21 yards away. But Corey Fatony didn’t have a great day punting, averaging just 35.8 yards on five punts.

Coaching: A+ — Gary Pinkel had his team ready to play despite a tough 21-13 loss to Kentucky a week ago and despite a true freshman having to take over starting duties during the course of the week.

Overall: B+ — Missouri was only up by a touchdown at halftime, but overall the team came ready to play in all facets. The team desperately needed a game to build confidence from, and this was one of those efforts.

GAME PLAN

Missouri brought delayed blitzes and corner blitzes at Nunez early and often to speed up the freshman’s clock, and it resulted in four sacks before halftime. Nunez managed to get through the first half without any turnovers, but that quickly changed in the second half. Meanwhile, Missouri made South Carolina’s running game non-existent by crowding the line of scrimmage, anticipating designed runs from Nunez. Offensively, the Missouri coaching staff did a great job of calling high-percentage passing plays for Lock to gain confidence, which he did.

GAME BALLS

  • QB Drew Lock: It wasn’t an earth-shattering performance, but Lock did have some impressive throws. His first touchdown pass in the first quarter came while throwing off his back foot and threading two defenders on an 8-yard pass to Nate Brown. Then in the second quarter, he connected with Brown again on a nice 9-yard sideline pass that was perfectly placed.
  • RB Ish Witter: Missouri entered the week averaging 108.5 rushing yards per game, dead last in the SEC by a wide margin. Witter rushed 17 times for 98 yards (5.8 per carry) and a touchdown to give Mizzou hope that it can turn things around in that department.
  • DE Walter Brady: Brady finished with two sacks and an interception, which was a key play in the game. With Missouri leading 17-10 in the third quarter, Brady intercepted Nunez and took it 22 yards to the Gamecocks’ 31-yard line. That set up Witter’s 1-yard TD run seven plays later that put the Tigers up 24-10.