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Gamer: Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss bounce back with 27-3 win on the road over South Carolina

Posted by | Oct 5, 2024 |

Gamer: Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss bounce back with 27-3 win on the road over South Carolina

OXFORD, Miss. – Saturday evening, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin earned his 100th career win as the Landshark defense shut down the South Carolina Gamecocks in a 27-3 Rebel victory, bouncing back from the home loss a week ago.

First Half

As expected, the Rebels received the opening kick. However, the rowdy Columbia crowd played a factor as the Ole Miss offense looked flustered going three-and-out in a hurry.

The Landshark defense then came up big once again for the Rebels, getting the Gamecocks to a 4th-and-1 and stopping a fake punt attempt to set up the Ole Miss offense at the South Carolina 36-yard-line. It was Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul Jr. getting into the backfield for the stop, stuffing the trick play.

Jaxson Dart then went straight to work, hitting Cayden Lee multiple times to get the Rebels in the red zone quickly. Henry Parrish Jr. would then punch it in, capping off the five-play drive with a three-yard rushing touchdown.

The South Carolina offense trotted back out, looking to answer the Rebels’ score. Gamecock quarterback Robby Ashford would then check in for LaNorris Sellers, fumbling on a read-option play to make it back-to-back turnovers. Walter Nolen came up with the recovery, setting the Ole Miss offense up near midfield.

Dart came out firing off the turnover, throwing it over the middle of the field to Juice Wells for 29 yards to push the Rebels into Gamecock territory. A couple of Jordan Watkins receptions placed Ole Miss on the goal line, and in came defensive end JJ Pegues to power in a one-yard rush to extend the Rebel lead to 14-0.

After both teams traded punts, the first quarter then came to a close with South Carolina driving into Ole Miss territory. However, the Gamecocks would again gamble on fourth down, but in came Nolen sacking Sellers to give the Rebel offense great field position once more.

In a game full of fourth-down attempts, Rebel head coach Lane Kiffin decided to roll the dice again. Dart did the unexpected and went under center with Pegues behind him; however, it was Parrish Jr on the sweep getting stopped in the backfield for a turnover on downs.

The Gamecock offense came back firing, getting Sellers going on the ground with a 30-yard designed run into Ole Miss territory. Back-to-back tackles-for-loss by Pegues and TJ Dottery then forced a 40-yard field goal attempt from South Carolina to cut the Rebel lead to 11 points.

On the third play of the next Ole Miss possession, Dart would hit a wide-open Tre Harris down the sideline for 57 yards. However, the Gamecock defense stepped up again to stuff the Rebels and force a 24-yard field goal from Caden Davis to make it 17-3 Ole Miss with seven minutes left in the half.

The Rebels and the Gamecocks would then trade punts again, draining most of the second-quarter clock. Dart and the Rebel offense then went to work at their own 41-yard-line, getting to the goal line once again on another big play. This time it was Watkins finding a zone for a 41-yard reception to place Ole Miss at the 2-yard-line.

After a Matt Jones touchdown was overturned, Pegues came back out again to punch it in, making a nifty move to score his second touchdown of the day and extend the Rebel lead to 24-3 with seconds to go in the first half.

Pegues led the way at the half for the Rebel offense, scoring twice in his three offensive snaps. Despite not scoring, Dart went into the locker room 12-for-18 with 206 passing yards and a pair of carries for 14 yards.

Dottery led the pack for the Ole Miss defense with 9 total tackles, a sack and a tackle-for-loss at the halftime break. Nolen added to the great Landshark defense performance, as well, with a sack and a tackle-for-loss of his own.

Second Half

On the opening drive of the second half, the Gamecock offense drained nearly six minutes off the clock as they drove into Ole Miss territory. However, it was the Rebel defense standing tall on third down as Dottery met Sellers in the backfield yet again for another tackle-for-loss. South Carolina would attempt to settle for three, but the 38-yard field goal try was pushed right and no good.

The Rebel offense went right back to work, picking up a big third down through the air from Dart to Caden Prieskorn to keep the drive alive. Dart then hit Wells over the middle and off to the races he went for 66 yards. However, a South Carolina defender would chase him down from behind and force a fumble at about the one-yard-line that bounced into the end zone and resulted in a touchback.

After the Landshark defense forced another punt after a big third down sack by Suntarine Perkins, the Rebel offense put together their longest drive of the game. Dart orchestrated the Ole Miss offense into Gamecock territory, just missing a wide-open Wells in the endzone that forced the Rebels to settle for three with two minutes left in the third quarter.

South Carolina began the fourth quarter with the ball near midfield, threatening to score via the legs of their quarterback. With the ball in the red zone, Sellers attempted to force a throw into double coverage but in came Trey Amos for a diving interception, setting up the Ole Miss offense at the South Carolina one-yard-line.

The Ole Miss offense was forced to punt again, however. Down 27-3, desperation mode was turned on for the Gamecocks, bur another fourth-down stop allowed Jared Ivey to pick up his second sack of the day and force the third turnover-on-downs of the game.

With eight minutes left in the game, the Ole Miss offense did something out of character and drained the clock. An 11-play drive that lasted seven minutes ended with a turnover-on-downs for the Rebels, but with one minute on the clock, South Carolina could do little but allow the clock to hit triple zeros.

The story of the day was the Ole Miss defense forcing two turnovers, as well as adding six sacks and 10 tackles-for-loss. Many Rebel defenders stood out, but Dottery led the way with 13 tackles, a sack and two tackles-for-loss.

Pegues led the Rebels in scoring with the two first-half touchdowns, and despite a quiet second half, Dart led the Rebels in the second half, ending with 285 yards through the air and 44 yards rushing.

Up Next

Next Saturday, the Rebels will continue on the road as they travel to Baton Rouge to take on the No.13-ranked LSU Tigers. Kickoff is set for 6:30 pm CT and will be televised on the ABC network.
Kameron Wicker

Kam is an undergraduate at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.

About The Author

Kameron Wicker

Kam is an undergraduate at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.

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