No. 12 Ole Miss (4-1, 0-1 SEC) plays at South Carolina (3-1, 1-1) Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Here are four keys to a Rebels victory.
Ignore the (literal) noise
Williams-Brice Stadium is one of the loudest home-field advantages in college football. Odds are that it is going to get loud on more than a few occasions. Ole Miss is going to have to block out that noise and not get rattled. The Rebels have only played one road game so far, and it was at Wake Forest — not exactly the loudest environment in the FBS. South Carolina’s home is going to test the Rebels in ways they haven’t yet been.
Be strong on the edges
South Carolina has an elite pass-rush duo in Kyle Kennard and Dylan Stewart. Ole Miss’ offensive line struggled up front and up the middle against Kentucky’s stout defensive line, but the Gamecocks offer a different challenge off the edges. The Rebels were without tackle Jayden Williams last weekend at left tackle, and Diego Pounds struggled at times in his place. Whoever winds up playing left tackle and right tackle Micah Pettus are going to need to be at their best this weekend.
Spread the wealth on offense
Tre Harris caught 11 passes last weekend and has 49 catches for a nation-leading 804 yards. The next closest receiver on the team has 16 and 275, respectively. Receiver Antwane Wells Jr. did not catch a pass against Kentucky, and tight end Caden Prieskorn has four catches over the last three games combined. No receiver outside of Harris caught more than three passes against the Wildcats. With so many talented options on the perimeter, getting the ball to a number of receivers might open things up for the offense as a whole.
Shore up the penalties
Kentucky was just 4 of 16 on third down against Ole Miss but picked up an additional three first downs via Rebels defensive penalties — a pair of pass interferences and a holding, each coming on third down. Ole Miss currently leads the SEC with 41 total penalties through five games, and Rebels opponents have picked up 16 first downs via penalty — just under 19% of the total number they have surrendered (85).
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