Lattimore tallies 2 touchdowns in win 
Throughout its first three games of the season, Missouri was averaging 77 offensive plays per game. In the 31-10 loss to South Carolina, the Tigers ran just 58 plays.
The Gamecocks’ defense held Mizzou quarterback James Franklin, who came in to the game with 400 passing yards in two games played, to just 92 passing yards Saturday. USC limited Mizzou to just 146 passing yards and 109 rushing yards.
For defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward, the key to the success was all about being lined up and ready to go against the fast-paced Missouri offense.
“(The key) is keeping it simple and having great players,” Ward said. “I visited the defensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars and the first thing he told me is that you have to get them lined up and get them running to the football. That’s three-fourths of the battle.”
For the players, it was about proving to the Tigers what a good SEC defense was all about.
“We had the mentality that the game was still 0-0 and throughout the game we kept telling each other that,” senior linebacker Shaq Wilson said. “That’s when we go hard out there and try to dominate and show that we are a good SEC defense. We came out here and put on a show.”
Coming into the game, there was concern that the suspension of senior D.J. Swearinger could pose a problem for the USC defense. Ward was impressed with his replacement, true freshman T.J. Gurley, who finished with two tackles against the Tigers.
“For a true freshman to start the first SEC game in this stadium (this year), I think it will be a huge confidence boost for him,” Ward said. “I think we know now that we have three solid safeties that we can go out and play with.”
Even though Swearinger wasn’t on the field, his impact was still felt by the rest of the team.
“D.J. is a leader for us,” Ward said. “He was very focused and went to the team hotel with the players last night. He was around T.J. and spent the week with T.J., and it’s great having a guy like D.J., being a senior and understanding that he could help the team in all the ways even if he isn’t out there playing.”
Lattimore more involved: Tailback Marcus Lattimore had 28 touches Saturday (21 rushes, 7 receptions), which was the amount from the last two games combined. The junior finished with 147 total yards and two touchdowns, happy to play more of a role against Missouri, particularly in being able to catch the ball out of the backfield.
“We knew what kind of defense they were going to play, and I love catching the ball,” Lattimore said. “I caught the ball in high school and caught the ball a lot here so it’s no problem for me.”
In addition, Saturday’s game was the first time this season that Lattimore played without a knee brace. He said that it was a team decision, and it gave him more mobility on the field.
“I thought I could go out there and take it off and see how it felt, and it felt good,” Lattimore said. “I felt less restricted; That was the main thing. I got my knees up a little bit more.”
“The Mayor’s Trophy”: Because both Missouri and USC play in cities named Columbia, the mayors of the two got together when Missouri entered the SEC and decided that the winner of the annual game would receive a trophy. Sure enough, after the Gamecock’s win Saturday, a trophy was presented to the team and it will stay in “the best Columbia” until Missouri can knock off USC.
Injury Report: Sophomore defensive tackle Kelcy Quarles went down with an apparent shoulder injury in the fourth quarter Saturday. Ward said he doesn’t know how severe the injury was, but did say trainers came up to him and told him that Quarles would be out for the rest of the game. In his Sunday teleconference, USC coach Steve Spurrier said Quarles would be fine.