The over/under for Saturday’s game between the Missouri Tigers and South Carolina Gamecocks was set at 72, and even that high number seemed way too low.

However, somehow, both teams’ defenses showed up in a big way, as the Gamecocks held on for a surprisingly low-scoring 31-13 victory.

Here are a few takeaways from the Gamecocks’ coming-out party in Missouri:

Battle of the QBs?

Saturday’s game hardly lived up to the hype when it came to the quarterback battle between South Carolina’s Jake Bentley and Mizzou’s Drew Lock.

Neither performed especially well, and though the Gamecocks ended up coming away with the big victory, Bentley wasn’t nearly as good as he was against NC State last week.

Yes, he made some incredible throws and didn’t toss any interceptions, but he didn’t exactly take the world by storm against the Tigers’ porous defense, either.

No Deebo?

Star WR Deebo Samuel was not targeted at all on South Carolina’s first drive — a truly surprising development considering how good he was against NC State.

In the second quarter, Samuel burst out in a big way, returning a kickoff 97 yards for a score and adding another touchdown on a run later in the quarter.

After making some other big plays later in the game, it’s simply shocking that the Gamecocks didn’t put the ball in their star player’s hands earlier and more often in a big SEC East showdown.

Yes Deebo

Oh, there he was. After not touching the ball in the first quarter, Samuel scored on a 97-yard kickoff return early in the second quarter.

After an interception on the ensuing possession, Samuel took a handoff from Bentley and scored another touchdown.

Clearly, Mizzou had no one who could cover the talented wide out, but the South Carolina offense was also creative in the way it got Samuel the ball.

Moving forward, getting the ball to Samuel early and often needs to be a priority for the Gamecocks’ offense.

Doing enough to win

Though Bentley made some incredible throws against Mizzou, he didn’t exactly have the performance that was expected against a defense that allowed nearly 500 yards to an FCS opponent last week.

Still, the mark of a good quarterback is doing enough to win even when you don’t have your best stuff, which is exactly what Bentley did at Faurot Field.

After firing several passes over the heads of his receivers early in the game, he settled down and looked like a seasoned veteran guiding his squad to an important 31-13 victory.

Case of the drops?

The Tigers were hurt by two drops on their first drive of the game — one by J’Mon Moore and the other by Dimetrios Mason.

Drops were a problem last year, but against Missouri State in Week 1, the Tigers were mostly sure-handed, so it was a bit surprising to see them have a problem making simple, wide-open catches on Saturday night.

Moore added a second costly drop at the start of the fourth quarter to help stall a Mizzou drive, too.

Fair catches are OK

For the second week in a row, Mizzou PR Johnathon Johnson let a punt sail over his head, only to be downed inside the 10-yard line.

Those sorts of mistakes are on the coaching staff, as Johnson should either be coached to make fair catches in those situations or taken off punt-return duty so someone else can be inserted.

Later in the game, Johnson muffed a punt, leading to another South Carolina touchdown. Special teams killed the Tigers on Saturday night, and Johnson’s adventures in the punt-return game were a big part of that.

A whole new defense

Mizzou had nine months to prepare for Missouri State and struggled mightily. The Tigers only had six days to prep for South Carolina, but shut out the Gamecocks in the first quarter.

The defensive effort was incredible considering how awful the Tigers were against the Bears last weekend.

Players were flying around, making tackles and forcing Bentley out of the pocket. If the Tigers can play defense like they did in the first quarter more often this year, they’ll be a shoo-in for a bowl game.

Just a bit outside

Seriously, how long is Mizzou going to keep this Tucker McCann experiment going?

The sophomore has been inconsistent since the day he stepped on campus last year, but the Tigers refuse to try anyone else at the position.

A second-quarter miss by McCann was a costly error for a Mizzou team that struggled to put the ball in the end zone early against the Gamecocks.

No deep shots?

The Tigers seemingly changed their entire offense heading into Week 2, abandoning the long passes down the field to their talented wide receivers in favor of shorter throws and more runs.

Clearly, it didn’t work, as they lost the game and the offense didn’t manage anywhere near the 72 points and 800-plus yards it put up last week.

Offensive coordinator Josh Heupel will have plenty of questions to answer about his offense’s major letdown this week, but we need to make sure to give credit to South Carolina’s much-improved defense, too.