Week 10 Staff Predictions: Ole Miss vs. South Carolina

OXFORD, Miss. — Lane Kiffin and the No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels find themselves in familiar territory — controlling their own destiny but knowing one misstep could end their College Football Playoff hopes.

Sitting at 7-1, the Rebels enter November needing to treat every matchup like an elimination game, starting Saturday night when they welcome South Carolina to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Kiffin has never lost to the Gamecocks, holding a 2-0 record against Shane Beamer’s squad, while Ole Miss leads the all-time series 10-8.

On paper, the Rebels are favored in every remaining game, but history has shown how easily one of those can slip away. Meanwhile, South Carolina (3-5, 1-5 SEC) arrives in Oxford with little to lose and everything to gain. The Gamecocks are battling to keep their bowl hopes alive and would love nothing more than to play spoiler against one of the nation’s top offenses.

With that being said here is The Rebel Walk staff giving their best shots at predicting Ole Miss vs. South Carolina:

Adam Brown

Score prediction: Ole Miss 35, South Carolina 14

X-factor player: Trinidad Chambliss and Kewan Lacy

Ole Miss continues to roll on offense this weekend as Trinidad Chambliss throws for over 280 yards. Kewan Lacy will look to get a lot of touches against South Carolina and a couple of scores.

Bold prediction: Ole Miss limits Sellers and Harbor

This season South Carolina’s quarterback LaNorris Sellers has passed for 1,356 yards with six touchdowns in eight games. One of Sellers’ favorite receiver in Nyck Harbor with three touchdowns and 332 yards on 18 receptions is going to be key for the Ole Miss defense to stop.

Billy Kuhl

Score Prediction: Ole Miss 45, South Carolina 28

X factor player: Suntarine Perkins 

With LaNorris Sellers coming into Oxford this weekend, Lane Kiffin and Pete Golding know they have to contain one of the most explosive players in the country, and possibly the best duel threat quarterback in the NCAA. Leaving their hybrid rusher and linebacker Suntarine Perkins in a crucial QB spy role with his amazing close out speed which will be vital in keeping Sellers under wraps.

Bold Prediction: Ole Miss will be losing or tied at halftime

This South Carolina team may not be having the success that was expected of them, but they are still a very good football team, meaning they should not be far out of this game especially early. I think Ole Miss will score but I can very well see them being down a score or tied at the break before breaking through in the third and fourth quarter

Daylan Flowers

Ole Miss 38, South Carolina:17

X factor: Cayden Lee

The wide receiver is bound for a breakout game, and this weekend has the potential to be it. Lee came into the season with much expectation, and has continued finding his rhythm throughout the season. I expect Lee to total over 120 yard against the Gamecocks. His speed and slot abilities make him a target for Carolina’s aggressive defense.

Bold prediction: The Ole Miss defense forces two turnovers.

Ole Miss came along against Oklahoma, and the momentum will be key if they want to stop the Gamecocks. They have the players to do so. Kapena Gushiken and Wydett Williams Jr have been fantastic the last two weeks, and I expect the safeties to be aggressive and ball hungry against LaNorris Sellers

David Walker

Score Prediction: Ole Miss 33, South Carolina 17

X-Factor Player: Kewan Lacy

With apologies to the unbelievable quarterbacking we’ve seen from Trinidad 🇹🇹, the running game will be the featured factor for an Ole Miss win over South Carolina.

I look for Kewan Lacy to pick his spots finding daylight and explode for several big runs — as Chambliss spreads the ball around to his bevy of ultra-talented receivers.

Bold Prediction: Playing at night at the Vaught, I look for the Rebels to have their most efficient game of the season, following up on the outstanding effort of last Saturday in Norman.

Two-touchdown underdogs were not kind to the Rebels last season, and this 2025 edition should be fully aware that wins don’t just happen because you take the field.

South Carolina is dangerous, and the approach should warrant excellence both in game planning and execution in all three phases.

Donna Sprabery

Score Prediction: Ole Miss 35, South Carolina 20

X-Factor Players: The Ole Miss offense

Ole Miss heads into this matchup with confidence and a rhythm that’s hard to ignore. Their offense has been steady all season, led by a quarterback who’s passing efficiently and using his legs when needed. He’s been spreading the ball around well, with multiple receivers stepping up to make key plays. The running backs have done their part too — picking up tough yards and keeping defenses honest.

Bold Prediction: The Landshark defense 

Defensively, the Rebels have tightened up in recent weeks, giving up fewer big plays and forcing turnovers at crucial moments. Playing at home gives them another boost, and they’ve been tough to beat in Oxford.

South Carolina, meanwhile, has shown flashes of potential but hasn’t been able to put together a complete four quarters. Their quarterback can extend plays and make something happen on the move, but the Gamecocks’ offense has struggled to find consistency. The defense has talent, especially in the secondary, but it’s been worn down by time-of-possession battles in several games.

For South Carolina to have a chance, they’ll need to start strong and keep Ole Miss from settling into their tempo. If they can force a couple of early mistakes, they can hang around. But if the Rebels find their rhythm early, it could get out of hand quickly.

Evie Van Pelt

Score Prediction: Ole Miss 38, South Carolina 14

Ole Miss is coming off a huge win in Norman over the Sooners, one where offense, defense and special teams all played well. This Saturday, they’ll be facing a Gamecocks team that is struggling and currently sitting at 3-5 overall and 1-5 in the SEC.

In spite of having such a dynamic, dual-threat quarterback in LaNorris Sellers, Shane Beamer’s team is last in the SEC in scoring average, sitting at just 16.83 points per game in conference play. If the Rebels just need to score 17 points to win the game, I like their chances as they’re averaging 32.8 points per game in the league.

Additionally, South Carolina is just not good on third down, on either side of the ball. Defensively, the Gamecocks allow their opponents to convert third down 46.91 percent of the time. Meanwhile, when on offense, South Carolina only converts on third down 34.88 percent of the time, good enough for 13th place in the conference.

With the Gamecocks struggling to get off the field defensively, look for Trinidad Chambliss and the Ole Miss offense to make matters even worse for South Carolina.

X-Factor Player: Princewill Umanmielen

The Ole Miss pass rush was strong against Oklahoma, and a large part of that is due to the performance of defensive end Princewill Umanmielen who had 1.5 sacks of his own. 

I expect the Ole Miss pass rush to get home on Sellers. The Gamecocks have allowed 22 sacks in league play, which is the second-most in the SEC at an average of 3.67 sacks per game. (Conversely, the Ole Miss offensive line leads the league as they only give up .4 sacks per game on average.)

I think Princewill will outdo his OU game performance and finish with at least 2.5 sacks Saturday.

Bold prediction: The Ole Miss offense notches over 600 yards of total offense

After his performance in the Oklahoma game, Trinidad Chambliss became the only QB in Ole Miss program history to have 250+ passing yards through six starts since Eli Manning in 2001. I think Chambliss makes it seven after this Saturday as he throws for 300 yards against the Gamecocks — and runs for 50 more.

Jacob Quaglino

Score prediction: Ole Miss 34, South Carolina 7

X-Factor Player: Trinidad Chambliss

This might (yet again) seem like the easy or lazy choice here, but the Rebels will be welcoming a not-too-shabby Gamecock defense to Oxford this Saturday night. With all the outside noise about Lane Kiffin’s future rambling on, it will be crucial for Chambliss and co. to stay focused on the task at hand.

While all signs point to what should be a relatively comfortable Rebel victory, the Washington State game taught us that no team is ever to be taken for granted, and the Rebels will be tasked with drowning out the distractions about their coach similar to how they had to focus on the Cougars while simultaneously thinking about a trip to Athens the following week. The good news, of course, is that the Rebels are a better team by any metric, and South Carolina is 0-2 in road games so far this year, and even though the Gamecock defense is nothing to sneeze at, they’ve not faced an offense as talented as Kiffin’s.

Bold Prediction: Ole Miss defense has its best game yet, holds South Carolina to fewer than 10 points

This is a South Carolina offense that’s put together some fairly unremarkable stats so far: QB LaNorris Sellers is averaging a mere 170 yards per game, the team as a whole averages only 107 rushing yards per game, along with only 20 points per game (that number drops to 15 in the two road games they’ve played).

If there’s ever been a chance for a struggling Ole Miss defense to finally have a statement game and build on its progress from a respectable showing in Norman last week, this is it, especially with the advantage of playing at home and at night. If there will be a chance for Pete Golding’s defense to show this country what they’re capable of, this is time to do so.

Kam Wicker

Score Prediction: Ole Miss 37, South Carolina 21

X-Factor Player: Winston Watkins Jr.

Coming off a career-high performance against Oklahoma, Winston Watkins Jr. may be more involved in the offense for the remainder of the season. Kiffin has joked multiple times about bragging on the true freshman too much for lurking coaches to see — but is it a joke? In the portal era, the odds of Watkins being tampered with are high.

With four grabs for 111 yards last week as the Rebels leading receiver, I expect Watkins to have another big game — maybe even reach the end zone this time.

Bold Prediction: The Ole Miss defense records 5+ sacks

Sellers has been sacked 27 times this season; that is tied for the most in the SEC. Ole Miss has only 13 sacks this season, third worst in the conference.

Last season, the Rebels sacked Sellers six times. Yes, this is a completely new unit than a year ago but two of those sacks were recorded by Suntarine Perkins and TJ Dottery. While getting to the quarterback hasn’t been the bread and butter for the 2025 Ole Miss defense, I have a feeling Pete Golding will dial up some pressure against the conference’s most sacked quarterback.

Zach Moreth

Score Prediction: Ole Miss 31, South Carolina 27

X-Factor Players: Trinidad Chambliss and Suntarine Perkins

Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin blocked out the noise last weekend against Oklahoma, and I expect a similar approach against South Carolina. The Vaught will be rocking, giving the Rebels the perfect spark plug to win this game. Trinidad Chambliss will throw for over 300 yards and rush for over 60 in a 38-24 win over South Carolina. 

My X-factor aligns perfectly with my bold prediction. Suntarine Perkins will have the ability to change this game, and I predict that he will record at least one sack.

Bold Prediction: Suntarine Perkins will record at least one sack

Up next:

The week 10 matchup between Ole Miss and South Carolina kicks off Saturday, Nov. 1 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN. Stay tuned in with The Rebel Walk for all your game coverage.