The Missouri Tigers take their first SEC road trip and will face the South Carolina Gamecocks at Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday at 2:30 CT. Mizzou will be facing another strong SEC defense, but Kevin McCrary, of the South Carolina Radio Network,  tells us that the Tigers could have success against USC’s aggressive approach.

Keys to watch from the Gamecocks:

–Quarterback Conner Shaw will start the game. He took a vicious hit in week one against Vandy. He’s been limited by a sore shoulder, but will need to play through the pain. Head coach Steve Spurrier says Shaw will play.

–All signs point to James Franklin playing for Mizzou. USC defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward said following Thursday’s practice Missouri will post the strongest challenge yet to his defense primarily because of the pace and speed the Tigers play the game.

–Gamecocks running Marcus Lattimore recovered from knee surgery and is running great. Lattimore is averaging 4.9 yards per carry this season and ranks second in the nation, averaging 98.4 yards per game.

–The USC defense is aggressive. They’ll pressure the quarterback, but at times the secondary has been suspect to giving up big plays, but they are still are very good unit. The Gamecocks have allowed their three opponents inside the redzone just six times this season and held team to nine subsequent points.