Ole Miss football’s win at South Carolina started with Jaxson Dart, frustrated Rebels around a firepit

COLUMBIA, S.C − The ground was laid for Ole Miss football’s decisive win against South Carolina early last Sunday morning.

Specifically, at 2 a.m. around a firepit.

The No. 12 Rebels beat South Carolina 27-3 on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium. The convincing victory came on the heels of a loss to Kentucky that had Ole Miss players tossing and turning. So it was, late after the loss to Kentucky, that some Rebels met up to talk about how they wouldn’t let it happen against the Gamecocks. The players found a firepit with plenty of room.

“We couldn’t sleep,” quarterback Jaxson Dart said. “We just had tough conversations. Us being able to bounce back and have a win like this, and obviously our defense showing out in a big way was huge.”

The Ole Miss defense excelled. The Rebels (4-1, 1-1 SEC) forced two turnovers and stopped the Gamecocks (3-2, 1-2 SEC) three times on fourth down. South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers was held to 162 passing yards. Combined with Ole Miss’ excellent red zone offense (four touchdowns on four trips), it translated into Ole Miss’ most important win of the season.

Unlike some Ole Miss wins this season, there wasn’t one star. No Rebel had 100 yards rushing or receiving. It was a team effort to come up with big plays. Defensive tackle Walter Nolen stood out, especially because defensive end Princely Umanmielen’s didn’t play. Nolen notched two sacks and recovered a Robby Ashford fumble. Rebels’ defensive tackle JJ Pegues scored a touchdown on both his rushing attempts from the goal line.

“I thought this was a really hard week,” coach Lane Kiffin said. “I felt probably the worst feeling after a loss in the most amount of days since we’ve been here … it was like we just handed (the Kentucky game) away in so many ways. So not what we thought we were going to play like. Our guys battled this week.”

Dart said this win was important, and he felt an urgency in practices leading up to it. He knows Ole Miss is talented, but another loss like last week would’ve sent the Rebels’ lofty aspirations up in flames. That’s why Dart and other players met around the fire, and team leaders has one-on-one meetings.

“This was a really good win for our team,” Dart said. “I can’t even explain how much it hurt last week. Being able to go through that, and then stack this win, we get some good momentum.”

Last week, Ole Miss took a punch. On Saturday, Ole Miss’ leaders showed the team can get off the mat.

“I think it showed what our true identity is,” Dart said. “We had every opportunity to divide and turn away inside the locker room and point fingers at this, that and the other. The truth is that we didn’t.”

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_