A nearly perfect fall evening was blessed upon Coach Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels as they welcomed the South Carolina Gamecocks to Vaught Hemingway Stadium for a sold-out Saturday night in the Sip. 

As Ole Miss opened November with a scrappy South Carolina team, the excitement around the program reached an all-time high, as the realization has since set in that the path to the College Football Playoff is within reach for the Rebels; all they have to do is win. They don’t leave the state of Mississippi the entire month, and they have the potential to earn the chance to not leave the state until late in the month of December due to the high chance of hosting a College Football Playoff game here inside of Vaught Hemingway Stadium. 

South Carolina jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on the Rebels with a quick touchdown drive, setting the pressure early for the Rebels to respond. And the response Ole Miss would do, scoring seventeen unanswered before taking a 17-7 lead at halftime. 

At the break, Trinidad Chambliss had a touchdown, a single interception with 102 yards. Meanwhile, Kewan Lacy finished his first half with zero touchdowns and 101 rushing yards. 

On the South Carolina side in the first half, LaNorris Sellers finished his first half with no touchdowns and only 67 yards through the air. 

The story of the first half came from the Ole Miss defense after they settled down and kept the Gamecocks off the scoreboard, while holding South Carolina to 93 yards with a single turnover. 

South Carolina opened the second half with a long drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock, capped off by a touchdown pass from LaNorris Sellers to Nyck Harbor for a 47-yard touchdown pass to cut the Ole Miss lead to 14-17. On the ensuing possession, Ole Miss would be held to a punt, but a muffed punt return would give the Rebels the ball back within the red zone, setting up a massive scoring chance for the Rebels. Ole Miss would settle for a field goal to extend the lead 20-14 with 5:28 remaining in the third. At the end of the third, Ole Miss held on to a 20-14 lead,

facing another incoming South Carolina punt to open the fourth. 

Ole Miss would see another drive stall out to start the fourth, but not before a 37-yard field goal from Lucas Carneiro to extend the Rebels’ lead to 23-14 with 11:43 remaining in the game. Kewan Lacy would put the nail in the South Carolina coffin with a 57-yard rushing touchdown with 5:44 remaining to give the Rebels a 30-14 victory over the Gamecocks. 

With the win, Ole Miss improves to 8-1 on the season, also boasting a 5-1 Southeastern Conference record. 

Ole Miss will return to action at Vaught Hemingway Stadium as it puts an end to the non-conference slate with The Citadel. 

Photo Credits- Ole Miss Football on X