South Carolina outlasts Ole Miss

For those of you who watched the game, it was a blast wasn’t it? Jake Bentley ran in a score with five minutes left to give the South Carolina Gamecocks a 48-44 lead over the Ole Miss Rebels that they wouldn’t relinquish.

A back-and-forth game saw the Gamecocks escape Oxford with a win, moving them to 5-3 on the season and 4-3 in conference play. The loss, meanwhile, moves Ole Miss to 5-4 on the season and 1-4 within the SEC.

South Carolina got off to a fast start when Deebo Samuel took the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. Ole Miss responded with a long drive that led to a field goal. South Carolina got a touchdown from Ty’son Williams from two yards out on the ensuing drive and the Ole Miss defense was faltering. Things got worse when Scottie Phillips fumbled to give the Gamecocks the ball back.

The Rebel defense held South Carolina on 3rd and Goal from the five-yard line, and forced a field goal. Then, the Ole Miss offense got into gear. They got back into the game after a Scottie Phillips nine-yard touchdown run. The game slowed down a bit, as Ole Miss forced a punt and then got a field goal to bring the score to 17-13.

South Carolina was able to make big plays all day though, as Jake Bentley found Bryan Edwards for a 75-yard touchdown putting them back up two scores 24-13. Ole Miss got the ball back, and after a 46-yard catch by A.J. Brown, Jordan Ta’amu ran it in from 17 yards out and brought it back to a four-point game at 24-20.

Again the Ole Miss defense was able to hold their own on third and goal again and force another field goal pushing it to 27-20. The Rebels quickly made their way down the field and with 10 seconds left in the half Scottie Phillips found paydirt tying the game at 27. Folks, this is was at half! This wasn’t your granddad’s SEC.

The second half started with what amounts to a stop in this game when the Gamecocks forced a field goal and the Rebels took there first lead of the game. The punches were continuing to be traded when Josh Vann found the end zone from five yards out on a pass from Bentley and a 34-30 lead for South Carolina. In a Shyamalan-style twist, both teams forced a punt to keep the game that way midway through the third.

Ole Miss pulled back in front when Phillips found the end zone for third time and the back and forth game went on. The Rebel defense got a turnover on downs and Isaiah Woullard ran it in from a yard out and the Ole Miss lead was pushed to 10. The South Carolina ground game kicked into gear, and A.J. Turner scored bringing to a three-point game.

The Gamecocks defense forced a three-and-out and got the ball back. Mon Denson rumbled for 69 yards, all the way down to the Ole Miss four yard line. Jake Bentley ran it in and it was 48-44. The defense clamped down and got a punt then forced a turnover on downs, and the Gamecocks picked up a big road W.

Bentley has been through at all this season but he came out and played well going 22-for-32 for 363 yards and two touchdowns. On the other side, Ta’amu finished 31-for-46 for 379 yards. The South Carolina running game ran for 147 yards with Denson leading the way on 12 carries for 102 yards. Scottie Phillips led the way in the running game for the Rebs going for 141 yards on 21 carries.

Each team had two receivers go over 100. For South Carolina, Bryan Edwards had four receptions for 109 yards, and Ty’son Williams hauled in three for 105 yards. On the Rebel side, Elijah Moore went off, bringing in 11 receptions for 129 yards, while A.J. Brown got six passes for 115 yards. Next week, the Gamecocks take on the Florida Gators in The Swamp, and the Rebels head to College Station to play the Texas A&M Aggies.