Phillip: Adam, do you know why chickens live on farms? Because they wouldn’t survive in the zoo. Sure, the joke is corny, but the point is prescient — No. 5 Missouri will continue its improbable season and take care of business against No. 21 South Carolina on Saturday at home.
Although the Tigers’ sudden rise is unexpected, it does not feel like a fluke.
In the past two weeks, Missouri has clobbered Florida and Georgia — two teams that expected to compete for a Southeastern Conference crown this season — by an average of 17 points.
Neither team had its full assortment of players, but I’m not sure it would have mattered against Mizzou, which joins Oregon as one of the only two teams to have won every game by at least 15 points this season.
No James Franklin at quarterback? No problem.
Replacement Maty Mauk torched Florida’s secondary for 295 yards last week.
That type of performance is impressive regardless of the opponent, but Mauk’s ability to slice-and-dice the nation’s best secondary was eye-opening.
A year after being mocked for winning just two games in its SEC debut, Missouri knows what the stakes of this game are and has additional motivation.
Another win and the Tigers will have a stranglehold on the SEC Eastern Division and can start making reservations to Atlanta.
They won’t miss out on this opportunity to win a critical game in front of a raucous home crowd.
Adam: If that was the best joke you can think of, then maybe you should stick to reporting.
How about this: What do you get when you cross a tiger with a snowman? Frostbite! Ha! Get it?
Well the Gamecocks are going to freeze the Tigers’ offense on Saturday.
Remember, that was the nation’s best secondary with an ailing starting cornerback, Marcus Roberson, and with starting safety Cody Riggs ejected from the word ‘go.’
But if there’s another secondary that can keep up with Mauk and the Tiger crew, it’s South Carolina’s.
The Gamecocks have the No. 3 pass defense in the SEC, giving up fewer than 200 yards per game.
And if anyone could intimidate a redshirt freshman quarterback making his second career start, it’s Jadeveon Clowney.
Although Clowney has not lived up to the Heisman Trophy hype from before the season, he still has a major presence on the defensive line.
An average day for him is a tackle or two for a loss with maybe a sack thrown in.
Clowney is going to make a Mauk-ery of the Mizzou O-line.
Phillip: Clowney is a great player, but I have always believed the hoopla surrounding him was a little overblown.
If anyone deserves that type of attention, it is Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam, who is doing everything we thought Clowney would do this season.
Through seven games, Sam has nine sacks — that leads the conference by three — and 13 tackles for a loss.
I’m pretty sure Tyler Murphy is going to have nightmares about this guy for weeks after Sam pillaged Florida’s offensive line for three sacks Saturday.
With Sam wreaking havoc against opposing offenses, Missouri is fourth in the SEC in scoring defense, allowing an average of 22.1 points per game, and first in sacks.
If there is one thing we know about South Carolina — other than Clowney being overrated — it is Connor Shaw is likely to get injured.
Wait, what? Shaw is already hurt! He isn’t even playing.
Good luck with Dylan Thompson, who has as many interceptions as touchdowns this season, leading a Gamecocks offense that was already only a middle-of-the-pack unit.
But South Carolina will lean on running back Mike Davis you say. Well, Missouri is 19th in the nation in rushing defense. It could be a long day for the Gamecocks.
Adam: Missouri may be 19th in the nation in rush defense, but exactly who have they faced?
A punchless Georgia team stumbling along, missing Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall? A Florida run attack that even Will Muschamp said didn’t give its best running back enough carries?
With Shaw out, South Carolina is going to lean on Mike Davis, and he will deliver.
Davis is just a sophomore and he is already one of the best running backs in the nation.
He is 10th in the nation in rushing yards per game and has already scored 10 touchdowns on the ground.
He’s the type of game-changing halfbacks Mizzou just has not seen.
No, Thompson has not been spectacular, but the junior is talented.
You said he has thrown as many touchdowns (2) as he has interceptions (also 2), but last year he tossed 10 touchdown passes while only throwing two picks.
It’s not like USC is going to play some walk-on scrub. The kid is a player.
It may be homecoming for the Tigers, but the Gamecocks are going to make Faurot Field nice and cozy.
South Carolina is already used to playing in Columbia (S.C.) and will get back into the SEC East race with a win.
Follow Phillip Heilman on Twitter @phillip_heilman. Follow Adam Lichtenstein on Twitter @alichtenstein24.
South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (7) walks off the field after his team's 52-7 win against Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark., on Oct. 12.
