Offensive Lineman Julius Buelow waits for the ball to be snapped at the line of scrimmage during a game against Georgia Southern on Sept. 21, 2024. Photo by Lucy Sprinkle.

The Ole Miss Football team will face the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia, S.C., on Saturday, Oct 5. This will be the Rebels’ first away SEC game of the season.

The Daily Mississippian spoke with Brendan Dougherty, The Daily Gamecock’s assistant sports editor, on the emotion in Columbia, S.C. before the matchup on Saturday.

“It’s a cool preparation, because we have Alabama next week. So if you want to gauge how you’re going to do against the best team in the country, go play No. 12,” Dougherty said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian.

The last time Ole Miss played South Carolina, the Rebels won 59-42 at home on Nov. 14, 2020.

The Gamecocks will be coming off a bye week, meaning they will be well-rested.

While this will be the Rebels’ second conference game, the Gamecocks have already played the LSU Tigers and the Kentucky Wildcats. South Carolina’s only loss this season has been to LSU, which was a close battle at 36-33.

The Gamecocks were dominant against Kentucky, beating the Wildcats 31-6. Because of this, they hold an overall record of 3-1 and 1-1 in the conference.

Ole Miss dropped its first conference game to Kentucky last week and stands 4-1 overall this season and 0-1 in conference play.

While the Rebels finished the 2023 season 11-2, including a victory in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the Gamecocks failed to make a bowl game last season, finishing with a record of 5-7. Ole Miss finished second in the SEC West, while South Carolina finished fourth in the SEC East.

Saturday’s matchup will bring a talented Ole Miss offense with a strong pass and run game. The Rebels defense, however, will need to stop South Carolina’s rushing and passing units. Running back Raheim Sanders and wide receiver Mazeo Bennett Jr. are two players the Rebels defense should watch closely.

Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart has a pass completion rate of 77.4% and 1,815 total passing yards in five games. The Ole Miss offense could be the key to break down the Gamecocks and pull out a win.

“If they’re going to beat a passing offense that has Tre Harris and Juice Wells in it … they have to force Jaxson Dart to make tough decisions,” Dougherty said.

Dart will go up against Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers, who has a pass completion rate of 54.7% and 393 total passing yards in his first four games.

This game will be played on Saturday, Oct. 5, at 2:30 p.m. in Williams-Brice Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.