University of Mississippi – Ole Miss Athletics

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 11 Ole Miss football team passed its first SEC road test with flying colors on Saturday, turning in a dominant 27-3 victory at South Carolina for its first conference win of the 2024 season.

The Rebels (5-1, 1-1) were outstanding defensively, notching a pair of turnovers, six sacks and 10 tackles for loss, holding South Carolina to just 313 total yards and turning the Gamecocks (3-2, 1-2) away twice in the red zone. Offensively, Ole Miss left some points on the field, including a fumble through the end zone, but racked up 425 total yards and mounted a 24-3 lead at halftime to take control early in a victory that was never in doubt.

It was win No. 100 for head coach Lane Kiffin‘s career, including 39 during his Ole Miss tenure.

  

Offensive Leaders

Jaxson Dart finished 14-for-27 with 329 total yards (285 passing, 44 rushing) on a solid day against one of the nation’s top pass-rushing defenses. Henry Parrish Jr. led the way rushing with 81 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Antwane Wells Jr. had a team-high 97 receiving yards, while Jordan Watkins led Ole Miss with five catches for 72 yards. Tre Harris had three catches for 81 yards but departed the game early due to injury.

 

Defensive Leaders

TJ Dottery had a team-high 13 tackles, including two for a loss, a sack and a pass breakup. Suntarine Perkins was second with 12 tackles, matching Dottery’s sack and two TFLs. Trey Amos had an INT and led all DBs with eight tackles. Walter Nolen had a spectacular day with a fumble recovery and a team-high three tackles for loss and tied Jared Ivey with a team-best two sacks.

 

First Quarter

A holding penalty doomed Ole Miss’ opening drive as it was forced to punt on its first series for the first time all year, but the Rebel special teams unit seized the momentum shortly after. After a defensive stop, South Carolina tried a fake punt, but Chris Paul Jr. shot in and stuffed the run attempt, giving the Rebels possession at the South Carolina 36-yard line.

 

Ole Miss capitalized as Jaxson Dart hit Cayden Lee for a pair of big gains down to the 14, then Henry Parrish Jr. did the rest, driving the Rebels to a 7-0 lead on three straight runs.

 

The Rebel defense came up with another massive play on the following drive when Walter Nolen jumped on a Robby Ashford fumble to give it back to the Ole Miss offense just shy of midfield.

 

Dart found Antwane Wells Jr. for a 29-yard gain to spark the next drive, then hit Jordan Watkins for gains of 13 and 10 yards to set the stage for defensive tackle JJ Pegues, who punched in his third rushing touchdown of the season to make it 14-0, where it stood at the end of one.

 

Second Quarter

Nolen made another big play early in the second, sacking LaNorris Sellers on fourth down to give it back to the Rebel offense, but Ole Miss was stopped short on fourth down in turn.

 

Sellers broke a 30-yard run to start the next series to set up South Carolina’s lone score. Pegues and TJ Dottery responded with back-to-back sacks, and Yam Banks broke up a would-be touchdown pass to force a 40-yard Alex Herrera field goal, which put the Gamecocks on the board at 14-3.

 

Ole Miss responded with a field goal drive of its own. Dart hit his favorite target Tre Harris for a 57-yard gain, but the Gamecocks held deep in their own territory to force a 24-yard Caden Davis field goal to make it 17-3.

 

The teams traded punts, but Fraser Masin gave Ole Miss the upper hand when he pinned South Carolina at its own 6-yard line. That, and a quick defensive stop, set up a Rebel drive starting on their own 41-yard line, and a 41-yard reception by Watkins set up another Pegues touchdown to make it 24-3 before the break.

 

South Carolina drove near midfield in the waning seconds looking to steal some points late, but Jared Ivey came up with a sack to end the half.

 

Ole Miss outgained South Carolina 280-125 in the first half, including just 51 yards passing for the Gamecocks. Dart was 12-for-18 with 220 total yards at the break. Dottery and Suntarine Perkins had already racked up nine and eight tackles, respectively. The Rebels had three sacks and four TFLs in the first half.

 

The Rebels capitalized on good field position early. All three of their touchdown drives went less than 60 yards.

 

Third Quarter

Sellers and Raheim Sanders teamed up to push South Carolina downfield on a balanced drive to start the second half, but Dottery came through with a key tackle-for-loss on third down, and Herrera missed on a 38-yard field goal attempt to keep the score 24-3.

 

The following drive was promise turned to disaster for Ole Miss. Dart converted a 3rd-and-10 with a bullet over the middle to Caden Prieskorn. Then, on 2nd-and-9, he hit a wide-open Wells, who found a seam and raced all the way down to the 1-yard line, but as he extended for the pylon, South Carolina’s DQ Smith knocked the ball loose and through the end zone for a touchback.

 

South Carolina was building some offensive momentum on the next drive after converting 3rd-and-10 and 3rd-and-12 to enter Ole Miss territory, but a pass interference call against the Gamecocks, followed by a Perkins sack, forced a punt.

 

The Gamecocks came up with a quick stop on a sack by Dylan Stewart, but the South Carolina defender taunted Dart on the ground after the sack to extend the drive, ultimately leading to a 44-yard Caden Davis field goal to make it 27-3 with 1:56 left in the frame.

 

Fourth Quarter

South Carolina looked bound for the end zone to open the fourth quarter when it converted a 4th-and-4 and a 3rd-and-10 to enter the red zone, but Trey Amos snatched a spectacular diving interception at the goal line to keep the Gamecocks off the board.

 

After a Rebel punt, South Carolina had another promising drive rolling down to the Ole Miss 24, but Jared Ivey sacked Sellers on fourth down to again turn the Gamecocks away.

 

Ole Miss mounted a 7:07 drive that ended in a turnover on downs but nonetheless put the game away.

 

Next Up

Ole Miss will have another tough SEC road test next week against No. 13 LSU. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT from Baton Rouge on ABC.

 

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