The No. 21 ranked South Carolina Gamecock football team won a thrilling contest against Missouri last Saturday to snap a five-game losing streak against the Tigers. 

It was the first time the Gamecocks beat Missouri in the Shane Beamer era, and for many of the team’s seniors, it was also their first time beating Missouri. 

“I didn't want these seniors to finish their career at South Carolina without bringing this [trophy] back to the best Columbia,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “Our guys were on a mission to go get it. They knew how much this game meant to the seniors, me, everybody.”

South Carolina won the contest 34-30 after Raheim “Rocket” Sanders punched in a go-ahead touchdown that sent the crowd into a craze and caused seismic activity, seismograph data shows.

Sanders was not going to be denied. With 22 seconds left on the clock, South Carolina trailed by three. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers took a snap 15-yard from the endzone and threw a shovel to Sanders. Sanders ran towards the end zone like a raging bull, shaking off four different Missouri defenders before breaking the plane. 

“Once he broke that tackle from the backer, I don't think any DB in the conference wants to tackle Rocket,” Sellers said. “Then, he broke another one and another one and another one. It was just like, ‘Oh well, that's game right there.’"

Missouri scored 16 unanswered points in the third and fourth quarters to take the lead and overcome a 21-6 halftime deficit. The lead changed three times in the last six minutes as both teams made exciting plays to keep their chances alive. 

South Carolina took a 27-22 lead with 5:04 left in the game after a five-yard connection from Sellers to Michael Smith. 

On the following Tigers' possession, South Carolina had Missouri where it wanted. It was fourth down, and the Tigers were five yards from a first and 37 yards from the endzone. However the Tigers not only converted the fourth down, their receiver made separation in the secondary and caught a pass for a go-ahead touchdown with 1:10 left. 

South Carolina did not back down despite the odds and Sellers led the team downfield and Sanders scored the winning touchdown. 

“You leave LaNorris and our offense a minute plus with three timeouts, I like our chances with that guy back there,” Beamer said. “We do spend a lot of time on it. We do it every Sunday night at practice and every Thursday at practice.”

Missouri got the ball back with one more shot, but that drive ended in a Jalon Kilgore interception. 

It was a career game for Sellers who recorded new highs for touchdowns and yards in a game with five passing scores and 353 yards. Sellers accounted for almost 400 yards of offense when adding his rushing stats. 

Sellers continues to progress as the season goes on. It was his third straight game with at least 200 yards and multiple passing touchdowns. The freshman is playing some of his best ball late as the team continues to win. 

“After A&M, another SEC head coach texted me and said, ‘You have bleeping Superman playing quarterback back there,’” Beamer said. “That guy is just a player. He makes plays and the moment is never too big for him."

Sanders finished the game with 74 total yards and the winning touchdown. 

Five different receivers caught a touchdown pass and three had more than 50 receiving yards. Dalevon Campbell led the group with 86 yards. Nyck Harbor had two catches for 69 yards and a touchdown as well. 

"We have depth at all positions. We talked a lot about the depth that we have on defense. We have depth on offense, as well,” Beamer said. 

Nick Emmanwori and Demetrius Knight Jr. led the defense with eight tackles. Kyle Kennard and T.J. Sanders both recorded a sack. 

The win was South Carolina’s first over Missouri since 2018. It was also the first time in program history the Gamecocks defeated ranked opponents in three consecutive weeks. 

“The best days of South Carolina football are right in front of us. I truly believe that with the direction we are heading right now. There has been so many great moments from this season and it is pretty cool to be a part of."

It also kept the Gamecocks’ playoff hopes alive. Though the odds are slim, should South Carolina win out, the team has about a 34% chance to make the playoff, according to ESPN’s playoff predictor. 

South Carolina has two games left, one at home against Wofford and one on the road at Clemson. The Gamecocks will play Wofford this Saturday at 4:00 p.m.