South Carolina 34, Mississippi State 16

Nov 2, 2013; Columbia, SC, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Connor Shaw (14) throws a pass while being pressured by Mississippi State Bulldogs linebacker Matthew Wells (22) during the first quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Ummm…that sucked. Once again, when facing a good team Mississippi State takes it on the chin. I got so fed up I picked up my lap top to start writing this recap mid-way through the 3rd quarter – I knew there wouldn’t be any jumping around in my living room down the stretch.

MSU actually outgained South Carolina by 78 total yards but still lost 34-16. Almost twice as many first downs too.

Five turnovers in the game gave it to the Gamecocks early (MSU had six total in the previous seven games). State caught a break when the 2nd half kickoff hit Christian Holmes and it was recovered at midfield, however Dak Prescott soon fumbled leading to a USC score. It was 34-10 going into the 4th quarter. State was able to squeeze in a late touchdown – their first since the first drive of the game that gave them a 7-0 lead. The failed two point conversion, however, prevented them from reaching their seven point 2nd half average.

The defense played pretty good other than a couple of big plays, but it’s hard to do much when the offense puts you in terrible situations. South Carolina was 1 of 11 on 3rd down. When you do that, you should win a ball game – or at least come close.

We are dreadful in the second half of games. Some thought maybe this would be different because Dan Mullen was furious going into the half after some poor clock management and substitution attempts, but it didn’t make a difference.

Mike Davis had another big game with 128 yards on 15 carries – an 8.5 yard per carry average.

I’ve harped on it a bunch – when will we play a full 4 quarter game? I’m not even asking for a win. We don’t have to lose in the final seconds – how about just being within a touchdown with 5 minutes to go in the game? (I know we were in the Auburn game, but are they really the 11th best team in the country or have they had some nice breaks this year?).

This was another piss poor performance this year. Outside of the 2nd & 3rd quarters vs. Auburn and the Troy game, this has been pretty much what we’ve seen this year, and over the last year+. Something needs to be fixed, unless of course you enjoy watching this type of football.

STATS