Implosion

Gamecocks collapse in second half

Published on 12/31/05

SHREVEPORT, La. — A season to remember for South Carolina ended with a second half the Gamecocks would like to forget.

South Carolina watched a 28-7 second-quarter lead evaporate in the face of a

furious Missouri comeback that produced a 38-31 victory for the Tigers on Friday afternoon in the Independence Bowl.

"We weren't quite good enough to beat them," said South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier. "We don't block well enough and we don't tackle well enough and that was probably the difference in the ball game. Just a little block here, a little tackle there, maybe we could have won. It didn't work out for us. Give Missouri credit. They hung in there and made some plays. Seemed like they played faster than us tonight. They kicked our tails.

"Hopefully, we can learn from it and try to be a better team next year."

It was a bitter end to the season for the Gamecocks, who finish the season with a 7-5 record.

"We did great at the beginning," said South Carolina senior tackle Na'Shan Goddard. "We just couldn't keep it going. It's a tough way to go out, to lose like that when we started out playing so well."

South Carolina dominated early, thanks to wide receiver Sidney Rice, who would finish the game with an Independence Bowl-record 12 receptions for 191 yards, and tailback Mike Davis, who rushed for 125 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries.

South Carolina led 28-7 just 10 minutes into game after getting a 28-yard touchdown reception from Rice, a 20-yard touchdown catch by tight end Carson Askins and scoring runs of 5 and 2 yards from Davis.

The only score for the Tigers, who also finish at 7-5, to that point had come on a 99-yard interception return for a touchdown by Marcus King.

However, just before the half, the Missouri offense got untracked, driving 64 yards in seven plays with quarterback Brad Smith passing to tight end Chase Coffman for a 5-yard touchdown that cut South Carolina's lead to 28-14 at the half.

In the second half, it was all Missouri, with Smith, a 1,000-yard rusher this season, scoring on runs of 31, 4, and 1 yards, the last score giving Missouri a 38-31 lead.

The only points the Gamecocks could muster in the second half came on a 30-yard field goal by Josh Brown that tied the game at 31 with 5:58 to play.

Smith finished with 150 yards rushing on 21 carries and completed 21 of 37 passes for 282 yards.

He says it was actually the interception return by King that got the Tigers moving.

"I was just trying to press too much in the first quarter, but Marcus King helped out," Smith said. "It was almost like, 'Here we go again.' "

Spurrier said even if the Gamecocks could have avoided the interception and scored on that possession, it likely would not have been the difference-maker.

"We threw one up, but we should have tackled the guy somewhere," Spurrier said. "We should have been able to run that guy down, but we couldn't do it. That was just one of the big plays in the game. Nah, 28-7 is no safe lead for us. We didn't force a punt in the second half, so it wasn't safe. They should have scored another touchdown."

Another interception would clinch the game for the Tigers.

After Smith scored on a 1-yard run to put Missouri ahead 38-31 with 2:03 to play, South Carolina drove to the Missouri 46.

Facing second and one, Mitchell tried to pass to Rice, but Darnel Terrell stepped in front for the interception with 44 seconds to play.

"They did the same things the whole game," Mitchell said. "We just didn't make enough plays to win the game. We were running our stuff, running our plays, they just stopped us. That's it."

Spurrier said he didn't think the Gamecocks relaxed after building the early lead.

"No, I hope we weren't complacent," he said. "We just got our tails kicked the second half. It was as simple as that."

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