Gamecocks receive No. 12 Rebels in return for the bye week | USC Gamecocks Sports

Going into the game against the Rebels at Williams-Brice Stadium, with Ole Miss seven days removed from a surprising loss to Kentucky while USC had a bye week, it certainly seemed like Saturday would be the best chance to get the To avoid what could be a second consecutive winless defeat beginning October.

Instead, the Gamecocks were limited to three points by the foot of kicker Alex Herrera. The offense regressed so much that frustrated fans again brought up the fact that Beamer had hired an offensive coordinator, Dowell Loggains, who had never coordinated a college offense.

USC managed 313 yards with Sellers as the leading passer and rusher. And USC had another eight penalties.

“We just weren’t that good,” Beamer summed up and at the same time took responsibility for a decisive move.

USC stuck with a fake punt on Ole Miss’ end of the field in the first quarter that everyone in the stadium saw coming after stopping the Rebels (5-1, 1-1) on their first drive. Upback Maurice Brown was blocked when he took a direct snap into the line and USC turned it over on downs.

“It’s a shame I put our defense in that position,” Beamer said. “That was the key to this first quarter for me.”

The fast-hitting Rebels found themselves in the end zone five plays later. On USC’s second drive, the Gamecocks subbed backup quarterback Robby Ashford for Sellers and looked for a quick snap to shut down the Ole Miss defense.

Ashford took the ball up the middle and fumbled. The rebels recovered. This time it took eight plays for Ole Miss to find the end zone, and Ashford, believed to have been a key part of the game plan, did not play again.

Those 14 points were far more than enough.

Neither Sellers nor USC’s playmaking ever got into a rhythm, undoing a defense that started well but faltered. The biggest highlight was that receiver Juice Wells, who had drawn the ire of Gamecock fans by transferring to Ole Miss after two seasons at USC, failed to score a receiving touchdown at Williams-Brice Stadium, which he did at USC never succeeded. And DQ Smith knocked the ball out of his hand as he stretched toward the pylon for a 64-yard gain, resulting in a touchback and turnover.