What to know: Ole Miss vs. South Carolina
OXFORD — Now that the 2018 Ole Miss football team officially has nothing to play for, the last four weeks of the season should be an accurate gauge of what the team is capable of.
On Thursday, Ole Miss football's 2018 bowl ban was upheld in an NCAA decision that also lifted the Rebels' unofficial visitor restrictions. With the appeal of the bowl ban unsuccessful, Ole Miss' looming sixth win won't be as valuable as it otherwise could've been. But when the Rebels (5-3, 1-3 SEC West) host South Carolina at 11 a.m. on Saturday, that sixth win is what the team will be chasing.
In South Carolina, Ole Miss faces a team with a similar offensive blueprint. Both squads run pass-first offenses that rely on run-pass options and downfield shots to move the football, though both teams also boast gradually-improving run games. The Gamecocks (4-3, 3-3 SEC East) are middle-of-the-pack among SEC schools in nearly every offensive category, averaging 28.6 points per game (8th), gaining 400 yards per game (7th) and earning 22.1 first downs per game (6th).
Turnovers have sunk South Carolina in most of their losses this season. The Gamecocks' 13 turnovers lost and eight interceptions thrown both rank second-worst in the conference, with eight of those 13 turnovers coming in South Carolina's losses versus Georgia, Kentucky and Texas A&M.
Defensively, South Carolina hasn't been beat often by passing attacks. Though the Gamecocks
are allowing more than 200 passing yards per game, they've only given up six passing touchdowns this season, fewer than both Alabama and LSU.
The trick to the Gamecocks' competent pass defense seems to lie in its ability to prevent big plays. South Carolina has allowed just five pass plays of 30 yards or longer this season, which ranks best among SEC schools and second among Power 5 schools.
Of course, that'll be a matchup of strength vs. strength. Ole Miss leads the nation in 30-yard pass plays with 33; the next closest team is Alabama with 27 and only two other teams are within 10 plays of Ole Miss.
At this point in the season, neither Ole Miss nor South Carolina can qualify for the SEC Championship game — Ole Miss by way of postseason ban, South Carolina by strength of record. But both teams have something to prove. After an offseason characterized by high expectations and an early-season journey into the realm of the ranked, South Carolina needs two more wins to achieve bowl eligibility, and a loss versus Ole Miss would make that goal much more difficult with road games against No. 11 Florida and No. 2 Clemson still looming.
As for Ole Miss, this contest will be the first step toward normalcy. The NCAA investigation is over. That chapter of Ole Oxford Ole Miss leads the series 8-7. South Carolina won the last meeting 16-10 in 2009.
Game-time temperature is expected to be 56 degrees and sunny with a 0 percent chance of rain and 69 percent humidity. Winds will be blowing south-southeast at 6 mph.
In a battle between pass-oriented offenses, both Ole Miss and South Carolina will try to overcome their in-conference struggles to earn a pivotal late-season win. For Ole Miss, a win can clinch a six-win season, while South Carolina needs a win to cushion its chances of bowl eligibility with high-profile road games against Florida and Clemson still remaining.
WHAT TO WATCH:
Miss football is the past, no matter how long the specter of the investigation and restrictions hang over the program. A win on Saturday is a chance for reinvention, an opportunity to show fans and recruits and onlookers alike that Ole Miss is moving forward.