By: Luke Johns

COLUMBIA, Mo. – All eyes were on freshman quarterback Drew Lock going into Saturday’s matchup against South Carolina. He didn’t disappoint, as he led the Missouri Tigers to a 24-10 victory over the Gamecocks.

With starting quarterback Maty Mauk suspended for Saturday’s matchup, Lock filled the void and worked his way to completing 21 of 28 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. He looked sharp and made key situational passes that anchored the offense for 60 minutes.

Lock also showed he has the intangibles to be a consistent winner. He stayed calm in the pocket when under pressure and didn’t make many poor throws into coverage.

Lock’s teammates on offense also played a significant role in Mizzou winning the game. Ish Witter ran for 98 yards while Nate Brown caught both of Lock’s touchdown passes. Russell Hansbrough ran for 43 yards, giving him exactly 2,000 rushing yards in his career here at Mizzou. It was important for Mizzou to regain their once-quality ground game to maintain a balanced attack to keep the opposing defense on their toes.

On the other side of the ball, the defense kept South Carolina in check only allowing five total rushing yards in the first half and 112 overall. Whenever the Gamecocks looked to be putting together that drive to get them back in the game, a defender came up with a key interception getting the ball back to the offense. The defense had three total interceptions.

Mizzou played good overall team football and in doing so improve to 4-1 and get ready for a tough Florida Gators team next week in Columbia, Mo. Meanwhile, South Carolina drops to 2-3 and 0-3 in the SEC.