The South Carolina football trailed by just six points entering the fourth quarter on Saturday night against Ole Miss in Vaught Hemingway Stadium, but ended up losing the game 30-14 after failed third down conversions and explosive plays given up.
“We got this thing to the fourth quarter just like we said we needed to do,” head coach Shane Beamer said. “We didn’t finish, we've got to perform a whole lot better.”
The fourth quarter began with Ole Miss in possession of the ball, beginning their drive at their own 46-yard line. After two first downs the Gamecocks were able to force the Rebels to settle for a field goal and extend the lead to 23-14.
The ensuing drive for South Carolina began at their own 27-yard line but was quickly backed up to the 22 after a false start penalty.
The Gamecocks were able to take the ball all the way down to the Ole Miss 30-yard line, a drive that included two of the only three third down conversions for South Carolina.
Graduate student running back Rahsul Faison gained three yards, but on the following play redshirt sophomore quarterback LaNorris Sellers was sacked for a 10-yard loss.
After an incomplete pass intended for freshman wide receiver Brian Rowe Jr. brought up fourth down, Sellers was sacked again for a six-yard loss, with the Rebels just sending two defenders to rush the quarterback.
In the fourth quarter, the Rebels would occasionally rush three, and sometimes just two defenders to put pressure on Sellers make it difficult for the Gamecocks to throw downfield. Ole Miss got three of their six total sacks in the fourth quarter.
Even with the failed conversion, South Carolina still trailed by 9 points, with just under six minutes left on the clock. The following play, Ole Miss’ sophomore running back Kewan Lacy scored a 54-yard touchdown, putting the Gamecocks in a 16-point hole. The Gamecocks started the following drive with the ball on their own 25-yard line and 5:44 left in the game.
The following two drives for South Carolina both ended in interceptions as Sellers tried to push the ball down field and keep the Gamecocks in the game.
The first interception took place after Sellers was forced to scramble out of the pocket as the Ole Miss defense broke through the offensive line. Sellers then tried to find graduate running back Oscar Adaway III down the left sideline but under threw him causing the interception.
On the following drive, Sellers tried to throw a deep pass to freshman wide receiver Malik Clark in the endzone, but overthrew him allowing the defensive back to intercept the ball. This was the first game in Sellers South Carolina career with multiple interceptions.
Sellers was only able to complete four of his 11 pass attempts for just 44 yards.
When asked about the demeanor of Sellers following the game, Beamer said Sellers continues to be a leader.
“He’s a competitor, he’s frustrated,” Beamer said. “No one likes where we are right now, but he’s the leader that he needs to be by staying poised. He’s a competitor, he hates to lose.”
To go along with Lacy’s 54-yard touchdown run, the South Carolina defense gave up two other big plays of more than 15 yards after only giving up one explosive play in the entire third quarter.
On Ole Miss’s first offensive play of the fourth quarter senior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss found senior tight end Dae’Quan Wright for a 24-yard gain that would later help set up a field goal.
With 3:45 left to go in fourth quarter and the Rebels facing a second and 13, Chambliss scrambled for 15 yards and the first down. While the drive ended up resulting in a punt, the play did allow Ole Miss to continue to burn valuable time on the clock.
Against Missouri, LSU, Alabama and Ole Miss, the Gamecocks either led or trailed by just one score entering the fourth quarter and were unable to win any of the four.
“It sucks where we are right now record-wise, and he (Sellers) along with everyone else in that locker room feels that way,” Beamer said.