‘It’s probably gonna be a shootout’: USC preps for plenty of offense vs. Ole Miss
The last time South Carolina football traveled to Oxford, Mississippi, to play Ole Miss, a full-on shootout erupted as the Gamecocks edged the Rebels, 48-44, for the third-highest scoring SEC game of 2018.
When USC returns to The Grove this Saturday for a rematch, many of the stars from that last meeting will be gone, and a new Ole Miss coach in Lane Kiffin will be on the sidelines.
But another shootout might be in the cards — Ole Miss still plays with an up-tempo style under Kiffin, South Carolina coach Will Muschamp noted Tuesday, and statistically, the Rebels can put up points with the best of the SEC while giving up plenty in return.
“(In 2018), Phil Longo was the offensive coordinator, he did a great job and has done a really good job now at North Carolina,” Muschamp said. “So I do think that with the tempo they play with, there’s a little bit more in the run game that Lane presents each week, as far as what they do. And there’s a lot of concepts that carry over, especially the tempo that they play with and a very similar skill set from a receiver standpoint and the running back.”
On offense, Ole Miss ranks third in the SEC in points per game, second in total yards per contest and first in rushing yards. On defense, Kiffin’s team ranks dead last in scoring, giving up more than 40 points per game, and in total yards, surrendering more than 530 each contest.
For a Gamecock defense that has struggled mightily as of late — giving up 100 points and 1,071 yards in its past two games — that could mean a long four quarters.
“Ole Miss has always been a fast tempo team, and they’re calling snaps with like 30 seconds on the play clock,” defensive lineman Kingsley Enegbare said. “So with us, our focus is on getting lined up, getting in the play, and get our feet in the ground, ready for the snap.”
Ole Miss has rotated quarterbacks at times this season, with junior Matt Corral passing frequently while sophomore John Rhys Plumlee primarily runs the ball. Corral actually took a few snaps in that 2018 contest, not completing either of his two pass attempts. That will almost certainly change this season — he currently ranks second in the SEC in yards, touchdowns and completion percentage.
“Matt Corral played that day as a true freshman, and we got tremendous respect for him,” Muschamp said. “He’s got arm talent, he can make all the throws, he’s got athleticism, he can hurt you with his legs.”
But while the South Carolina defense will face a stiff test, the offense will likely have an opportunity to put an underwhelming 150-yard, three-point performance against Texas A&M behind them.
“They miss a lot of tackles in the secondary, and their guys, they get moved around a lot, so hopefully we can expose them in the run game,” redshirt sophomore running back Deshaun Fenwick said.
The Rebels are giving up 231 rushing yards per game this year, more than 50 more than the next worst team in the SEC. Between that and their potent offense, Fenwick said, the Gamecock offense has discussed the possibility of another high-scoring affair.
“We came to the conclusion that that may or may not be the case but, like we said this week, we might have to score every possession we get the ball, so that’s what’s expected this week,” Fenwick said.
And while every offense wants to score all the time, graduate transfer quarterback Collin Hill acknowledged that the likelihood of a high score means they can’t afford to let chances slip away.
“Your goal is to score every time you get the ball right. So for us, that’s the goal, that’s not changing, but, you know, I think it does cross your mind,” Hill said. “It’s an explosive offense, it’s probably gonna be a shootout and so, whatever happens, we’re just gonna have to be ready whenever we get opportunities and take advantage of them.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 5:05 AM with the headline "‘It’s probably gonna be a shootout’: USC preps for plenty of offense vs. Ole Miss."
