Jason Brown is well aware of the silver screen nature of this South Carolina football team, and now he’s getting a chance to add his own credit line to the production.

With Zeb Noland recovering from knee surgery, combined with Brown’s ability to escape the pass rush, look for Brown to start the rest of the season. He showed what he does best in the improbable win over Florida as his mobility became a weapon that was a stark contrast to Noland against Texas A&M.

Now, the Gamecocks are 5-4 and on the verge of becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2018. They’ve already surpassed Vegas’ meager projections of a 4-win season.

Entering the season, Shane Beamer pointed to Brown’s weight loss to help him escape pressure and buy more time for downfield receivers.

“It’s a great lesson for everybody,” Beamer said on “SEC This Morning” on Monday. “The guy just worked and prepared. Never complained. I’m sure he was upset that he wasn’t playing. Just kept working.”

Beamer recalled how Brown would be in the building late at night to discuss how to improve.

“When he got his opportunity, he was ready,” Beamer said. “It’s a great lesson for everyone.”

Brown showed that he could digest the offense, read defenses and improve on alignment and getting teammates in the right position, something Beamer has said he didn’t show as well in practice. Keeping his wits about it and showing savvy proved to be the difference.

Brown fired a strike to Josh Vann near the sideline at one point, and Beamer told him when he came off that the 245-pound Brown from spring practice couldn’t have made that play.

Brown even elevated his game with a strong set of completions in tight spaces. He also showed an ability to make decisions on protecting the ball when electing when to run.

Keep in mind, as much as Noland struggled to escape the pass rush at Texas A&M, the offensive line also struggled at Kyle Field. That unit put out a much different effort against Florida. It also helped that the Gamecocks shifted to a man blocking scheme, away from the zone blocking that never seemed to click earlier in the season.

Perhaps the most remarkable stat for South Carolina against Florida, and an area it will need to keep clean going forward, was penalties. Coming into Saturday, the Gamecocks averaged 7.5 penalties per game, but against the Gators, they had just 1 penalty. Beamer said the accountability off the field from keeping the locker room clean, to nutrition and academics translates to the field.

“It’s something that was a point of emphasis last week,” he said. “We had to play clean football, and smart football and be the more disciplined football team, and we were.”

Now the Gamecocks get a Missouri team that is one of those teams in the space they’re fighting to climb to in the SEC East. This is a vulnerable Missouri team with similar quarterback issues as the Gamecocks. The defense, however, is considerably worse, especially against the run, as the Tigers sit second to last in the country in rushing defense.

This is a winnable game, and could make the Gamecocks bowl eligible, even on the road where the temperature is expected to be in the low 40s.