The South Carolina football team lost 30-14 to the No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi, for their fourth-straight loss of the season.
On the opening drive of the game, South Carolina held the Ole Miss offense to zero yards and forced the Rebels to bring out their punt team. However, the Rebels continued the drive after they faked the punt and ran it for a first down.
The Gamecock defense was eventually able to get off the field after the Rebels failed to convert a fourth-down attempt from just beyond midfield.
On South Carolina’s opening drive, they went three-and-out. But after a muffed punt by Ole Miss that junior tight end Maurice Brown II was able to recover, the Gamecocks took over at the Ole Miss 16-yard line.
Just four plays later, redshirt sophomore quarterback LaNorris Sellers ran it in from 1 yard out for his third rushing touchdown of the year, putting the Gamecocks up 7-0 after the extra point.
Ole Miss answered back with a 21-yard field goal after an 11-play drive, which included sophomore wide receiver Deuce Alexander gaining 21 yards on a fourth-and-1 play to keep the drive alive.
The Rebels capitalized on good field position after the Gamecocks failed to convert on fourth down. They went on to score, with Alexander gaining 43 yards on a reception and senior tight end Dae’Quan Wright scoring on an 8-yard touchdown pass to make the score 10-7.
Ole Miss went up 17-7 in the second quarter after senior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss rushed in for a 15-yard touchdown. On the 89-yard drive, the Rebels picked up 69 yards on the ground.
On the opening drive of the second half, Sellers found junior wide receiver Nyck Harbor for a 47-yard touchdown pass to cut into the Ole Miss lead and make the score 17-14.
Ole Miss would score two more field goals in four offensive drives to push the lead to 23-14. In the two drives following the Harbor touchdown, the Gamecocks ran a combined seven plays for 2 yards.
After South Carolina failed their second fourth-down conversion of the game, the Rebels found the endzone in just one play as sophomore running back Kewan Lacy scored on a 54-yard touchdown run, increasing the lead to 30-14.
Sellers finished the game with 180 passing yards on 16 completions in 30 attempts. Sellers also threw two interceptions in the Gamecocks' final two offensive drives of the game while trying to cut into the Ole Miss lead.
Overall, the Ole Miss offense was able to score 23 points in the red zone compared to just 7 from the Gamecocks.
While South Carolina and Ole Miss went just 3-13 and 1-11 on third downs respectively, the Rebels managed to make three fourth-down conversions.
What’s next?
The Gamecocks will have their second bye week of the season before they travel to College Station, Texas, to take on No. 3 Texas A&M. Kickoff time and broadcast network are yet to be announced.