Ole Miss returned to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to face South Carolina on Saturday night and improved to 8-1 with a 30-14 win.
The crowd showed up for the game in a big way.
“I like our students. They (have) great energy, and they were there whenever we got there two hours before the game,” head coach Lane Kiffin said in his postgame press conference.
First half
After a quick three-and-out from the Rebel offense, head coach Lane Kiffin sent out punter Oscar Bird, but instead of punting, Bird ran for 18 yards to keep the drive alive. A few plays later, the Rebels went for it on fourth-and-two at the South Carolina 35-yard line. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss’ pass was incomplete, and the Rebels turned the ball over on downs.
Chambliss was off-target on a couple of throws. On the first drive, he completed just one pass for zero yards on five attempts. Lacy had two carries for 20 yards to begin his day.
“Trinidad was a little off today, and so when that happens, you need to run the ball really well and play good defense,” Kiffin said.
The Rebel defense forced a three-and-out, but Harrison Wallace III muffed the punt, and the Gamecocks offense over at the Rebel 16-yard line. A few players later, the Gamecocks capitalized on the Rebel error with a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback LaNorris Sellers.
To begin the Ole Miss’ second drive, running back Logan Diggs returned the kickoff 42 yards. Once again, the Rebels faced a fourth-and-two. This time, wide receiver Deuce Alexander picked up 21 yards on an end around.
Two good passes from Chambliss put Ole Miss at the goal line. However, an illegal formation penalty pushed the Rebels back five yards, and they settled for a field goal to make the score 7-3.
The Rebel defense stood firm on South Carolina’s next drive. Linebacker Andrew Jones stopped the Gamecock ball carrier three yards behind the line of scrimmage on a fourth-and-one attempt; then, on the very next play, Chambliss threw his best pass of the night, a 43-yard strike to Alexander. He then found tight end Dae’Qaun Wright for an eight-yard touchdown pass.
Ole Miss held a 10-7 lead with a minute and 28 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Gamecocks picked up a pair of first downs on the next drive, but, on third-and-nine, edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen sacked Sellers for a nine yard loss and forced a punt.
To this point, Ole Miss’ defense had held South Carolina to 65 yards. Ole Miss punter Bird had more rush yards (18) than South Carolina’s entire team (15).
The Rebels heavily utilized running back Kewan Lacy to begin their next drive. He rushed three times for 41 yards, including a 29-yard breakaway where he broke several tackles.
Ole Miss continued to run the ball and went for it on fourth-and-three. Chambliss connected with Wallace for a 20-yard pickup into the red zone. Chambliss then put Ole Miss up by double digits, 17-7, with a 15-yard touchdown run.
A pass interference call against Rebel safety Wydett Williams Jr. gave South Carolina 15 yards, then a first down got the Gamecocks across the 50. Sellers then overthrew his receiver and, on the next play, was tackled for a one yard loss to set up third-and-11.
The Gamecocks checked it down for a six yard gain and they stayed on the field on fourth-and-five. Sellers made a few hard counts in an attempt to draw the Rebels offsides, but Pete Golding’s unit remained patient, and South Carolina was penalized for delay of game. The Gamecocks punted on the next play.
Chambliss lobbed a deep ball for wide receiver Winston Watkins, but South Carolina picked it off and took over at its own 18-yard line. The Rebel defense then forced a three-and-out.
The Rebels ended the half with a 17-7 lead. They gained 277 total yards to South Carolina’s 93. Lacy ran for 101 yards on 14 carries, while Chambliss went 7/14 for 102 yards. Alexander led Ole Miss receivers with 52 yards on two catches.
Chambliss did not look like the Chambliss fans saw in the Oklahoma game. He was still effective, but he made a few poor decisions. The quarterback addressed his struggles in a postgame press conference.
“There’s gonna be bumps in the road,” Chambliss said. “There’s gonna be ups and downs the whole season. So I just gotta stay levelheaded and make sure that… my goal is to just win and do whatever it takes to win for this team.”
Two weeks removed from the implosion in Athens, Ga., the Rebel defense led the way against the Gamecocks. South Carolina was just 1/6 on third down thanks to stout play from Ole Miss. The Rebels had three tackles for loss and a sack and held the visitors to six first downs.
The Rebel offense was 0/5 on third down in the first half, but were 3/4 on fourth down.
Second half
The third quarter passed quietly for both teams. Ole Miss recorded only 30 total yards; South Carolina had 88 total yards, about half of which came on an explosive play.
The Gamecocks gained seven yards on their first two plays of the second half, but two penalties pushed them back to third-and-12. Sellers aired it out and drew a pass interference call for a fresh set of downs. A few players later, South Carolina receiver Nyck Harbor blew past the Rebel defense and caught a 47-yard touchdown pass to cut the Ole Miss lead to three, 17-14.
Diggs returned the kickoff 27 yards, but the Rebels were unable to make anything of it. On the punt, however, the Gamecock returner muffed the ball and Ole Miss recovered on its 13 yard line. The offense only gained three yards and had to settle for a field goal to go up 20-14.
After both teams traded punts, defensive tackles Will Echoles and Jamarious Brown came up with a sack to make it second-and-19. On third-and-8, linebacker Suntarine Perkins sacked Sellers for an eight yard loss and forced a punt to begin the fourth quarter.
South Carolina kicked a poor punt and gave the Rebels the ball at the 46 yard line. To open the drive, Chambliss tossed a 24-yard pass to Wright. The Rebels stalled in the red zone after three straight runs. They settled for a field goal on the drive to make it 23-14.
After a few Gamecock first downs, the Rebel defense picked up their fourth sack of the night and pushed the Gamecocks to second-and-14; however, Sellers, over two plays, gained 18 yards on a completion and a designed quarterback run.
Once again, Ole Miss sacked Sellers, this time to force third-and-17. The Gamecocks failed to convert on third down, but, with six minutes left, they desperately kept their offense on the field for fourth down. Da’Shawn Womack sacked Sellers, and the Ole Miss offense took over.
On the first play of the drive, Lacy ran for a 54-yard touchdown to put Ole Miss up 30-14. The running back finished the game with 167 rushing yards.
“I thought (Lacy) was electric,” Kiffin said. “He was dynamic, even on shorter runs. He only had four negative yards the whole day. Four. A lot of that is just making people miss. (He is) really special.”
In a postgame press conference, Lacy touched on how his hard work this season has contributed to this performance.
“(I am) really just taking every game one day at a time, being intentional with my preparation,” Lacy said. “So I feel like throughout the season, I’m just getting better and better through each game.”
On the next drive, the Rebel pass rushers continued to pressure Sellers. This time, they forced a bad throw which Perkins picked off.
With 49 seconds to go, Williams intercepted Sellers’ pass to seal the win.
Ole Miss had six sacks for 51 yards, eight tackles for loss and two interceptions.
What’s next?
Ole Miss will welcome The Citadel to the Vaught on Saturday, Nov. 8 at noon. SEC Network+ will broadcast the game.
