COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Gary Pinkel was preparing a different sort of postgame talk midway through the fourth quarter.
The Missouri coach had watched his team struggle offensively and fall behind No. 13 South Carolina by 13 points with less than 8 minutes left at sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium.
That's when the Tigers turned things around for a stunning 21-20 victory and a strong start in defense of their SEC Eastern Division title.
A repeat seemed unlikely as the Gamecocks' defense kept Missouri off kilter for most of the game. Instead, Russell Hansbrough scored two of his three touchdowns in the final seven minutes to complete the comeback.
"These are games that change a football team," Pinkel said.
They can certainly give you a strong foothold in the East against the preseason favorite to supplant the Tigers. Missouri (4-1, 1-0) entered off an embarrassing home stumble to Indiana last week and looked lost most of the way against South Carolina (3-2, 2-2).
"When things got tough we stayed positive. The defense kept us in it but we stayed totally positive with the offense the whole time," Pinkel said. "I thought [that] was very crucial for us to have the mindset to get back."
Quarterback Maty Mauk got things flowing Missouri's way with two big throws -- 41 yards to Bud Sasser and 26 yards to Wesley Leftwich -- to South Carolina's 1. Hansbrough followed with a score just 36 seconds after South Carolina's touchdown.
Mauk said that perked up Missouri and gave them confidence. Once the defense got the ball back from South Carolina, Mauk was determined to complete the comeback.
"We sat down as a group and said we have to finish," he said. "That's what we do around Missouri. Everybody bought in and brought everything they had for that drive. The offensive line gave great protection, and when they needed to power through to get Russell in the end zone they responded."
When the Tigers reached South Carolina's 2, Missouri was stopped short its first three tries getting in. Pinkel said the coaches decided to just run right at them, and Hansbrough powered through with 1:36 left.
Andrew Baggett kicked the extra point for the go-ahead points. It was a year ago that Baggett's kick clanged off the Missouri goal post in the Gamecocks' 27-24 double-overtime victory.
"I wasn't thinking anything," he said. "I just had to go in there and get it done."
Along with Hansbrough's three touchdowns, Marcus Murphy ran for 98 yards. Mauk completed just 12 of 34 passes for 132 yards, but made his biggest throws at the most crucial times.
South Carolina had one last chance, but Dylan Thompson threw four incomplete passes and Missouri ran out the clock. The Tigers sprinted to their fans in the corner of an emptying Williams-Brice Stadium to celebrate their seventh consecutive road victory, which is two shy of the school's all-time best mark.
It looked like the Gamecocks defense would win this one, holding Missouri to two first downs in the first 23 minutes of the second half and continually harassing Mauk into poor throws.
South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier said he made a mistake not going for a two-point conversion on that score, but did not consider it because of how well the Gamecocks defense had performed.
"Gosh, we were stopping them so well," he said.
South Carolina would soon regret that.
Sports on 09/28/2014