COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina coach Shane Beamer remembers watching a lot of quarterback Drew Pyne a few years back. Beamer anticipates seeing a lot more of Pyne this weekend.

Pyne, Missouri’s backup behind injured starter Brady Cook, is prepping to start for the 24th-ranked Tigers (7-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) when they take on No. 23 South Carolina (6-3, 4-3) on Saturday.

Beamer was an assistant for Oklahoma when Pyne was the Sooners’ top quarterback prospect. The Gamecocks coach recalled the first recruiting trip Sooners coach Lincoln Riley ever sent him on was to New Canaan, Connecticut, to watch Pyne as a high schooler.

“He was our top quarterback that we were recruiting at Oklahoma,” Beamer said this week.

Beamer and Oklahoma lost out to Notre Dame, where Pyne started 10 games in 2022. He then went to Arizona State last season before joining the Tigers.

Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said Cook’s availability — he got hurt two games ago midway through the loss to Alabama — would not be known until later in the week. But the Tigers would plan for Pyne to start once more.

Pyne subbed in against Alabama and threw three interceptions in a 34-0 loss two weeks ago. He tossed three touchdowns in the 30-23 win over Oklahoma. Drinkwitz said Pyne has settled into the position the more reps he’s gotten and is confident that progression will continue through practice and into the game with South Carolina.

“I think that’s just going to be a little bit easier and easier each week, as we repeat some of the same plays,” Drinkwitz said. “Different ways, but the same plays.”

Cook’s string of 35 straight starts for Missouri ended last week. Beamer said the Tigers have one of the SEC’s best receiver groups and any passer will look to Luther Burden III and Theo Wease downfield. “And no matter who the quarterback is back there, they’re going to do that,” Beamer said.

Stunning finish

Missouri pulled off a late-game stunner to defeat Oklahoma with when Zion Young returned a fumble 17 yards for a touchdown with 22 seconds remaining. Triston Newson sacked Oklahoma’s Jackson Arnold and knocked the ball loose. Young, a defensive end, picked it up and raced in for the score. He called the play a “surreal moment.”

Playoff position

It’s South Carolina’s first game as a ranked team in two years. They also were included at No. 22 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Missouri was in the AP top 10 earlier this season before falling out — and returning this week at No. 24. The Tigers are 23rd in the CFP rankings.

Missouri dominance

The Tigers have had their way with South Carolina in recent years, winning the past five games in a series where the winner receives the Mayor’s Cup since both campuses are located in the city of Columbia in their respective states.

Arkansas’ Rocket

South Carolina has gotten a big boost from tailback Raheim “Rocket” Sanders in winning its past three SEC games with the last two coming against ranked opponents in then-No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 24 Vanderbilt. Sanders, who rushed for 1,443 yards at Arkansas two years ago, finally looks healthy after dealing with injuries last year and earlier this season. He’s run for 100 or more yards the past two weeks and accounted for five of his 10 touchdowns during the Gamecocks current win streak.

Close calls

If this game is close, look for Missouri to call on its past success in tight contests. The Tigers have won all four one-score games they’ve played this year against Boston College (27-21), Vanderbilt (30-27, OT), Auburn (21-17) and Oklahoma (30-23). Coach Drinkwitz said its a complete team effort to do what’s needed to succeed.

“They’ve all had a little bit different flavor,” he said of the games. “So, I think it’s just all three phases of the game and needing to work together to find ways to win.”

—-

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

The Missouri Tigers are gearing up for an SEC showdown with the South Carolina Gamecocks in Week 12. Ahead of that matchup, both teams have provided their initial availability reports.

The big news for Missouri is that Brady Cook is listed as doubtful. The veteran signal-caller didn’t play in Week 11 against Oklahoma due to a hand/wrist injury sustained against Alabama. Cook is also still dealing with a lower-body injury as well.

Cook had to leave the Alabama game after hurting his hand, and the Tigers went on to lose that game 34-0. The team had a bye week after that game, but Cook was still not ready to go even with the added time off.

Former Notre Dame and Arizona State QB Drew Pyne filled in for Cook against Oklahoma. The transfer did well enough, completing 14 of 27 passes for 143 yards with 3 TDs and no interceptions. If Cook can’t go, Pyne should be expected to fill in once again.

In 2024, Cook has thrown for 1,575 yards with 7 TDs and 1 INT through 8 games. The QB has also rushed for 109 yards and 4 TDs on the season.

Elsewhere on the injury report, wide receiver Mookie Cooper is also listed as doubtful. The team has 5 players listed as out and 1 listed as questionable. Cooper is the team’s 3rd leading receiver with 12 catches for 235 yards. Khalil Jacobs is the most notable player out for the Tigers.

The Tigers and Gamecocks will kick off from Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday at 4:15 p.m. ET. The Tigers have won 5 straight against the Gamecocks and have won 9 of the 14 overall matchups.

South Carolina football superfan Chris Paschal writes a weekly column during the season for GamecockCentral called “The Verdict.” Chris is a lawyer at Goings Law Firm in Columbia.

In 2022, we thought we had turned the corner.

After some early season conference losses, the Gamecocks rolled into a visiting SEC stadium (Kentucky) in October and killed their opponent. A few weeks later, South Carolina whipped Texas A&M in front of a raucous, sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium. After being doubted for most of the season, the 2022 Gamecocks were finally ranked in the AP Top 25 and were hosting an underdog Missouri team. 

Sound familiar? 

[GamecockCentral: $1 for 7 days and 50% off first year]

Just like in 2022, these 2024 Gamecocks host Missouri coming off a massive SEC road win over Oklahoma followed by a whipping of the Aggies. And just like in 2022, we have finally been told we are nice and pretty and accomplished and that we should beat the Missouri Tigers for a late-season conference victory.

In 2022, Missouri dismantled the Gamecocks in front of their home fans. They had the edge, the gameplan, and the physicality needed to win a Southeastern Conference football game. We did not. 

It is almost inherent for a South Carolinian to be the underdog. Our state is smaller than our neighbors. Our state is not as wealthy as other states. We are a little grittier. We are a little tougher. We are underestimated at times.

I felt it all the time in mock trial competitions while a student at the South Carolina law school. We competed against North Carolina, Wake Forest, Duke, Georgia, NYU, University of Denver, William & Mary, Washington & Lee, and on and on. Many of them thought they were better than us simply because they went to some school not named South Carolina. And many of them left the weekend wiser and sadder following a resounding Gamecock victory. (My team never lost to a team from a North Carolina law school.) 

Our football team under head coach Shane Beamer has taken on that same mindset. If you doubt us, if you think we are the underdog, if you think we can’t beat No. 5 Tennessee or No. 8 Clemson or No. 10 Texas A&M, then you better think again. Some people take offense to Beamer’s postgame rants where he can sometimes come across as defensive (or vindictive), but to me, that just shows how much he truly cares about this program and how in many ways he is just like the people that fill Williams-Brice Stadium every Saturday.

If he feels as if someone is disrespecting the Gamecocks, then I hope he always possesses that hellfire to prove them wrong. We have wanted that in our football coach for years. We have wanted a coach that believes in Carolina, fights for Carolina, and wins for Carolina. 

But what about when Carolina is finally deemed the favorite? I’m not talking about being the favorite in a few one-off games against Vanderbilt or Mississippi State or fill-in-the-blank bottom dweller. I’m talking about being tabbed a double-digit favorite over a team that has won 18 of their last 22 games. 

This team has been fueled by being doubted. And certainly, there are still plenty of doubters. But can there be something else from within this program that fuels their fire other than being the underdog? I don’t worry about the Gamecocks being outmanned by Missouri, because I think we have the better team. What I am worried about is that the moment is just too big for us. For Carolina to win this weekend, they must go out and prove that the past few weeks were not just nice wins but the status quo. A win this Saturday proves that these Gamecocks win not in spite of being Gamecocks, but because they are Gamecocks. 

[Win two tickets to the South Carolina-Missouri football game]

For years, heck for decades, when South Carolina wins it’s because they did something outside their character. When Carolina wins, it’s because they didn’t play like Carolina and instead played like winners. That’s what the national media and rival fanbases think when we win. 

In years past, if Carolina won, it was because Carolina decided that weekend to buck the usual trend. That is what they all thought. And (withstanding the 2011-2013 seasons) the second the narrative outside Columbia was anything remotely close to “we think these Gamecocks are actually pretty good,” the very next second was when they all pointed and laughed as we failed to live up to the moment. 

The national media, the playoff committee, the rival fan bases, they all think deep down inside that a massive letup is right around the corner. Sure, they may pick us to win this game, but they all know a choke job is a matter of when not if. 

Almost everything positive being said about this team is still somewhat backhanded. This Carolina team is ranked? This defense has elite players? This quarterback – the quarterback some preseason prognosticators picked last in the conference – is playing good football? Wow, good for them! Many pundits and fans didn’t have much hope for this team in August and September and October. And those same pundits and those same fans are just waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

A win this weekend is not only a win over Missouri and their smug head coach, but it’s also a win for living up to expectations. It’s a win for proving you do belong. It’s a win that allows you to still sit at the table, even if the rest of the college football community doesn’t want you there. A win this weekend tells the wolves dressed in sheeps’ clothing that they’ll have to wait a little longer than expected before they can turn their back on this team.