South Carolina unable to overcome early mistakes in loss to No. 12 Ole Miss

Three weeks before Saturday, South Carolina waged a close battle against then-No. 16 LSU. The Gamecocks stayed in the game until the very end, when the Tigers pulled ahead with a late score to win 36-33.

That day, self-inflicted mistakes, among other things, held South Carolina back. The Gamecocks committed 13 penalties for 123 yards, which remain season highs in both categories.

Those self-inflicted wounds flared up again when South Carolina faced No. 12 Ole Miss, its second top-25 opponent of the 2024 campaign. Despite multiple big stops made by its defense, the Gamecocks were unable to recover from these early mistakes in what would be a 27-3 win in favor of the Rebels.

“I really appreciate the effort. Having said that, (this performance) probably is disappointing. (But) not probably the most disappointed I’ve ever been as a head coach,” Shane Beamer said. “We were undisciplined to say the least today. And that starts with me as the head coach.”

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Both teams exchanged three-and-outs on their initial possessions of the game – at least, that’s how it seemed when South Carolina lined up to punt after a five-yard run by Oscar Adaway. The Gamecocks ultimately did not punt on that play, though – the team’s fake punt attempt was thwarted by Ole Miss’ special teams unit. Maurice Brown II was tackled at the line of scrimmage, resulting in a turnover on downs.

“(I) certainly wish I could have that one back,” Beamer said. “I thought we could get a yard on that. They played it really well – a little bit differently than we expected.”

The Rebels took advantage of the miscue after re-possessing the ball at South Carolina’s 36-yard line. Henry Parrish Jr. capped off Ole Miss’ first scoring drive of the contest with a four-yard rushing score.

The Gamecocks’ ensuing drive was shorter than their first. Facing a second-and-10 situation, South Carolina brought on Robby Ashford for a designed quarterback run. But after gaining four yards, Ashford lost control of the football, which Ole Miss’ defense recovered.

The Rebels subsequently marched down the field and orchestrated its second scoring drive of the afternoon. One play after Ashford’s fumble, Juice Wells caught his first pass of the game – a 29-yard reception from Jaxson Dart. JJ Pegues would find paydirt on a one-yard run at the end of the possession to double the visitors’ advantage.

“The first quarter, to be frank – excuse my language – sucked” Beamer said. “The fake punt that didn’t work. We’re driving on offense, we fumble, we turn the ball over. They go down the field and score. I think we had two offside penalties on defense in the first quarter alone. We just got to be better, for sure.”

Ole Miss’ early lead would balloon even more at the start of the second quarter. The Rebels’ defense sacked LaNorris Sellers for a 10-yard loss on the period’s third play. As a result, the Gamecocks suffered their second turnover on downs of the contest.

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But South Carolina’s defense came up big on the ensuing drive. Not only did it prevent the Rebels from capitalizing on the turnover, but it forced them into turning the ball over on downs, too. Jalon Kilgore tackled Parrish Jr. for a one-yard loss as Ole Miss looked to convert on fourth-and-two.

The Gamecocks’ next offensive possession would result in points, as a 40-yard field goal from Alex Herrera made the score 14-3 in favor of the Rebels.

Ole Miss matched Herrera’s field goal with a 24-yard effort from Caden Davis one drive later. But as South Carolina attempted to make the game a one-possession contest midway through the second quarter, penalties would cost the Gamecocks once again. An eight-yard gain from Joshua Simon, resulting in a first down, was erased by a pass interference call on Nyck Harbor. The penalty pushed South Carolina back 15 yards. The team elected to punt two plays later.

A far-from-ideal first half for the Gamecocks concluded with another short rushing touchdown from Pegues. The score put Ole Miss up 24-3 right before the stroke of halftime.

Another big play from South Carolina’s defense seemed to put some wind behind the team’s sales after the halftime break, though. Wells, who caught just two passes in the first half, erupted for a 66-yard catch-and-run play.

But DQ Smith caught up to Wells and knocked the ball out before it crossed the plane into the end zone. The ball rolled through the end zone, resulting in a touchback for South Carolina.

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The Gamecocks would not take advantage of the turnover. The offense came up scoreless on that drive, and their fate remained the same for the rest of the game.

During that time frame, penalties would bite South Carolina again on another Ole Miss scoring drive.

Late in the third quarter, Dylan Stewart took down Dart for a third-quarter sack, which would have forced the Rebels to punt from deep in their own territory. Stewart would be called for an unsportsmanlike penalty after the play, which pushed Ole Miss 15 yards forward and awarded them a first down.

The Gamecocks committed eight total penalties for 80 yards in the loss.

“You can learn from losses. And what did we learn from the LSU game? We cost ourselves with penalties in that game,” Beamer said. “Clearly, I haven’t done a good enough job of helping those guys learn from that one because it cost us a game today, as well.”

A possession that could have ended in a punt ultimately resulted in another Davis field goal. The make brought the Ole Miss lead to 24 points, where it would stay for the remainder of the contest.

What’s next?

South Carolina will head on the road for the first of two matchups against ranked opponents before another bye week. The Gamecocks will take on No. 1 Alabama at noon in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 12.

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