COLUMBIA, Mo. - Hobbled by a sprained left knee, Connor Shaw asked Steve Spurrier if he could play Saturday night at Missouri.
The South Carolina coach obliged, calling on Shaw in the third quarter with the Gamecocks trailing by 17 points and starter Dylan Thompson struggling.
Shaw threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns in relief, engineering three fourth-quarter drives and helping the No. 21 Gamecocks score on their final five possessions to stun No. 5 Missouri 27-24 in two overtimes.
“Dylan played awfully well most of the time he’s played,” Spurrier said. “It was do or die. We had no chance in the division if we didn’t win this one.”
Elliott Fry’s 40-yard field goal proved to be the game-winner after Missouri’s Andrew Baggett clanked a 24-yard attempt off the left goal post.
“He’s a competitor,” Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said of his kicker. “You know, that’s his job and it’s his responsibility. Last week, he made five. It’s not one guy here. We all could have done something different to help win that football game.”
Shaw extended the game in the first overtime with a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth down in the Gamecocks’ first overtime to match the 1-yard run by Missouri’s Marcus Murphy.
Missouri (7-1, 3-1) could have all but locked up the SEC East with a victory, but instead South Carolina (6-2, 4-2) moves to within one game of the Tigers for the division lead with home games against Mississippi State and Florida remaining.
Shaw engineered fourth-quarter scoring drives of 65, 69 and 63 yards, and the Gamecocks tied the score at 17-17 on a 2-yard reception by Nick Jones with 42 seconds remaining. Ellington scored his first touchdown on a 6-yard catch with 12:13 remaining, and Fry added a 20-yard field goal with 5:03 left.
Thompson started his third career game for the Gamecocks, throwing for 222 yards. The Gamecocks outgained Missouri 498-404 but couldn’t convert until Shaw entered.
Mike Davis caught three screen passes on South Carolina’s final scoring drive in regulation, partly making upfor two fumbles in the first half. The Gamecocks turned over the ball three consecutive times in the second quarter, helping Missouri take a 14-0 lead into halftime.
Davis, who led the conference with 125.6 rushing yards per game entering the night, committed his first miscue at the Missouri 29 with 12:30 remaining in the half, and his second halted a 71-yard drive at the Tigers’ 2 with 5:46 left. He finished the night with 51 rushing yards and 99 receiving yards, while backup Shon Carson added 27 on the ground and 14 through the air.
Sports, Pages 32 on 10/27/2013