(AUDIO): Mayor’s Cup battle between Mizzou and South Carolina is a ranked matchup

The #24 Missouri Tigers aim for their sixth straight win over South Carolina, when they battle the Gamecocks for the Mayor’s Cup Saturday afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:15 central time.

South Carolina’s Williams-Brice Stadium was built in 1934 by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). It is one of the loudest venues in the Southeastern Conference and in college football (photo courtesy of South Carolina Athletics website)

Eliah Drinkwitz’s Tigers are 7-2 overall and 3-2 in the Southeastern conference, after coming from behind to beat Oklahoma 30-23 last week. South Carolina is 6-3 and is ranked #23 in the nation. The Gamecocks are led by freshman quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who is six foot three and weighs 242 pounds. He has a cannon for an arm and has thrown for 1,450 yards and nine touchdowns this year. Sellers has also rushed for about 400 yards and four rushing scores. Coach Drinkwitz has been coaching his defense to be prepared to tackle Sellers:

“The biggest thing is in the past game when you get to him, he’s really hard to tackle because he’s about 240 pounds. And so arm tackles aren’t going to get it done. We have to have a hard shoulder tackle in order to get him to the ground,” Coach Drinkwitz tells reporters.

Audio is courtesy of Zimmer sister station KTGR. Mizzou’s defense is among the nation’s best: they rank 10^th nationally in total defense. The Tigers had a dramatic 30-23 come-from-behind win last week at Faurot over the Sooners. Mizzou trailed 9-3 at halftime, but their offense came alive in the second half. Mizzou quarterback Drew Pyne was impressive, going 14 of 27 for 143 yards and three touchdowns. Coach Drinkwitz praises his backup quarterback’s performance:

“As he settled into the game, he was able to make some throws with more time. I thought he did a nice job handling. You know we blew a couple of pressure pickups at the running back position, and Drew was able to make it right,” says Drinkwitz.

gvdxxjcwkaar938 — U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt, left, meets with Mizzou football coach Eliah Drinkwitz in Columbia (August 15, 2024 file photo courtesy of Senator Schmitt’s Twitter page)

Tiger wide receiver Luther Burden is just nine yards away from breaking into Mizzou’s all-time top-10 for receiving yards.

You can listen to Saturday’s ranked matchup between Mizzou and South Carolina on the Central Bank Tiger Radio Network from Learfield on Zimmer sister stations KTGR (FM 100.5) and KCMQ (FM 96.7). Mike Kelly and Chris Gervino have the call from Williams-Brice. Pregame coverage begins at 1:15 central time, with a 3:15 kick.