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.
The Rebels also intercepted Sellers twice in the last 5:27. Perkins had 1½ 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.
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: Has 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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