Gamecocks and Ole Miss Set for 3:30 pm Kick Saturday, Oct. 5

QUICKLY: After enjoying the first of their two bye weeks this past weekend, the South Carolina Gamecocks (3-1, 1-1 SEC) return to conference action this week when they host the No. 12/11 Ole Miss Rebels (4-1, 0-1 SEC) on Saturday, Oct. 5. The game is scheduled for a 3:30 pm kick from a sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium (77,559). This marks the Rebels first trip to Columbia since Sept. 24, 2009, a South Carolina 16-10 win over No. 4 Ole Miss, a game that is affectionately referred to as the birth of Sandstorm.

OVER THE AIRWAVES: This week’s contest will be televised nationally on ESPN. Dave Pasch will handle the play-by-play with Dusty Dvoracek providing the color commentary. Taylor McGregor will patrol the sidelines for the mothership. The Gamecock Sports Radio Network features a pair of Gamecock Great quarterbacks in play-by-play voice Todd Ellis (33rd season) and analyst Tommy Suggs (52nd season). Chet Tucker returns for his second year as the sideline reporter.

LET ME REINTRODUCE MYSELF: The South Carolina Gamecocks are off to a 3-1 start overall and 1-1 in SEC play. They opened the campaign with a hard-fought 23-19 win over Old Dominion, then dominated Kentucky in the SEC opener, winning by a 31-6 count in Lexington, the largest road win in the Shane Beamer Era at South Carolina. The Gamecocks were unable to hold onto a 17-0 first half lead in a heartbreaking 36-33 setback to No. 16/17 LSU despite rushing for 243 yards, forcing two turnovers and blocking a punt. They bounced back with a convincing 50-7 rout of Akron before enjoying an off week last weekend. This marks their first 3-1 start since 2017 when they also opened 3-1 with wins over NC State in Charlotte and at Missouri before a home loss to Kentucky and home win over Louisiana Tech. That squad went on to a 9-4 campaign and an Outback Bowl win over Michigan.

A LITTLE HISTORY: 2024 marks year four of the Shane Beamer Era and the 131st season of intercollegiate football at the University of South Carolina, dating back to 1892. It is the 118th-consecutive year in which South Carolina has competed on the gridiron. The University did not field a team in either 1893 or 1906. Carolina owns an all-time record of 637-614-44, a .509 winning percentage. Since the start of the 21st century, the Gamecocks are 171-132, a .564 winning clip. In four seasons under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 23-19, a .548 winning percentage, including wins in six of their last eight games.

IT JUST MEANS MORE: The 2024 season is South Carolina’s 33rd year in the Southeastern Conference. South Carolina and Arkansas joined the SEC prior to the 1992 campaign. The Gamecocks earned the SEC Eastern Division title in the 2010 season. The Gamecocks are 110-149-1 (.425) all-time in SEC regular season play but posted a 42-38 (.525) record in conference action from 2010-19. Under Coach Beamer, the Gamecocks are 11-15 in SEC play, a .423 winning clip.

TOUGH SLATE: South Carolina again has one of the nation’s toughest schedules in 2024, as seven of its 12 regular-season opponents were ranked in the nation’s preseason top-20. The Gamecocks’ 2024 slate includes contests against preseason top-20 teams Alabama (5/5), Ole Miss (6/6), Missouri (11/11), LSU (13/12), Clemson (14/14), Oklahoma (16/16) and Texas A&M (20/20). All seven of those teams remain the top-25 through the first five weeks. Carolina’s next four opponents have a combined 16-3 record.

CAROLINA VS. OLE MISS: This is the 18th meeting between the Gamecocks and Rebels and the first in Columbia since 2009. Ole Miss snapped a three-game losing streak to the Gamecocks in the COVID year of 2020 to take a 9-8 lead in the all-time series. The teams have split eight games in Columbia evenly, but Ole Miss holds a slim 5-4 advantage when it is the home team, taking four of seven in Oxford and splitting games in Memphis in 1947 and in Jackson in 1975.  After Ole Miss posted shutout wins in each of the first two meetings (1947 and 1972), the Gamecocks won five of the next six games from 1974-79. The Rebels countered with five-straight wins from 1981-2004, before Carolina turned the tables again with three-straight victories from 2008-2018.

IT FIGURES TO BE CLOSE: Thirteen of the last 15 meetings between the two teams have been decided by seven points or less, including six decided by a field goal or less. The Gamecocks have won eight of the 17 games in the series, but never by more than seven points.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET: The Gamecocks traveled to Oxford, Miss. on Nov. 14, 2020, and came out on the short end of a 59-42 shootout. The Gamecocks logged a season-high 548 yards of offense, including 318 on the ground, but could not stop the Ole Miss attack that recorded 708 total yards, including 513 through the air. The following day, Carolina AD Ray Tanner informed Will Muschamp that he was being relieved of his head coaching duties. Mike Bobo was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. 

LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD: The Gamecocks and Rebels combined for 101 points and 1,256 yards of offense in that 2020 contest. The 101 points scored is the second-most combined points in a Carolina game in school history, topped only by the 65-39 win at Mississippi State in 1995.

HUGE DAY FOR HARRIS: Kevin Harris had the best day of his career as a Gamecock at Ole Miss in 2020. The sophomore running back matched his career-high with 25 carries for a career-high 243 yards and a school record five touchdowns. He averaged 9.7 yards per carry. The 243 yards rushing remains the fifth-highest single-game total in school history and the most against an SEC opponent. 

THE LAST GAMECOCK WIN: Jake Bentley passed for two scores and tallied the game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard run with 5:50 left to lift South Carolina to a 48-44 comeback win over Ole Miss on Nov. 3, 2018, in Oxford. The Gamecocks covered 47 and 73 yards in fourth-quarter scoring drives to erase a 44-34 deficit. Bentley finished 22-of-32 passing for 363 yards as the Gamecocks had 510 total yards. The South Carolina defense, after giving up eight scores in 10 possessions, closed with four consecutive scoreless series to preserve the win. The Rebels had 616 yards of total offense. Deebo Samuel opened the game with a 90-yard kickoff return for the Gamecocks.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET IN COLUMBIA: Jevan Snead was hounded all night, and the fourth-ranked Rebels never got in gear, losing to South Carolina 16-10 on Sept. 24, 2009, in Columbia. Spencer Lanning kicked three field goals and fullback Patrick DiMarco had a key 2-yard TD catch for the Gamecocks. Ole Miss had one last chance at a go-ahead TD but Snead was sacked by Cliff Matthews, then had a fourth-down pass knocked away by Darian Stewart. The game is best remembered as the birth of “Sandstorm.”

OLD FRIEND ALERT: Ole Miss wide receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. played for the Gamecocks in 2022 and ‘23. A 2022 All-SEC performer, Wells played in 16 games and started nine with the Gamecocks, catching 71 passes for 965 yards and seven TDs. Running back Rashad Amos played in 13 games for Carolina from 2020-22. Rebel assistant coach Joe Cox served on Will Muschamp’s staff at South Carolina in 2020.