Ole Miss defense shines with 6 sacks, 2 interceptions in 30-14 win over South Carolina

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi sacked LaNorris Sellers six times and the No. 7 Rebels held off upset-minded South Carolina 30-14 on Saturday night.

Ole Miss, third in the SEC and ninth nationally in total offense, looked rather pedestrian as Trinidad Chambliss completed just 12 of 21 passes with a touchdown and an interception.

He threw an 8-yard TD pass to Dae’Quan Wright and scored on a 15-yard run, but the Rebels (8-1, 5-1 SEC) were forced to settle for short field goals on other possessions when they could’ve taken control.

Suntarine Perkins and Da’Shawn Womack sacked Sellers twice in three plays after the Gamecocks (3-6, 1-6), trailing by nine, reached the Ole Miss 33 with a little more than seven minutes left.

On the first play after the turnover on downs, Kewan Lacy scored on a 54-yard run to put the game out of reach for Ole Miss.

“To go to 8-1, the only loss at Georgia, and we were ahead by two scores and should have finished,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. “I didn’t feel great about our passing performance, but I’ve got to remind myself that we’re in the SEC and 16-point wins are good. They’ve got some really elite (SEC) players, especially on defense.”

The Rebels also intercepted Sellers twice in the last 5:27. Perkins had 1 1/2 sacks and an interception with 5:21 remaining.

While Chambliss was erratic, the long touchdown run was an exclamation point for Lacy, who finished with 167 yards including 101 yards in the first half.

“We talked all week about being the most poised, the most disciplined team, and we were the most undisciplined to say the least,” South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said. “Multiple offsides, taunting, two offensive pass interference penalties.”

Sellers was playing at less than full health.

“He was obviously beat up coming into the game, but he competed and battled,” Beamer said.

The Gamecocks cut Ole Miss’ lead to three on their first possession of the second half.

The drive was kept alive by a pass interference call against Ole Miss, but ended with Sellers throwing a 47-yard pass to Nyck Harbor to make it 17-14.

“I thought our D-line showed up today,” Kiffin said. “We challenged them to be consistent and they sure did that. We’ve got to keep getting better. We’ve got some really good teams coming up.”

The takeaway

Ole Miss gained a split in a critical stretch with back-to-back games at Georgia and Oklahoma to remain in good playoff position. The win over unranked South Carolina has the Rebels anticipating a strong showing when the first College Football Playoff rankings are released Tuesday.

Ole Miss might not move much in the AP Top 25 poll as the higher-ranked teams either won or were idle.

South Carolina’s loss was its fourth straight with three by 10 points or less.

Up next

South Carolina: Off next week and plays at Texas A&M on Nov. 15.

Ole Miss: At home against The Citadel next Saturday.

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