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| Mississippi defensive back Derrick Herman reacts after his team’s 31-24 loss Saturday to South Carolina. (Associated Press) |
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Gamecocks defeat Rebels
Posted: 10/04/08 - 11:02:29 pm CDT
OXFORD (AP) — If there was any question who South Carolina’s starting quarterback is, Chris Smelley gave an emphatic answer on Saturday.
Smelley passed for a career-high 327 yards and three touchdowns, led a 95-yard game-clinching drive and helped South Carolina to its first Southeastern Conference win in a 31-24 win over Mississippi.
“Chris is our starter, it’s as simple as that,” coach Steve Spurrier said.
That seemed in doubt after Spurrier waited until Thursday evening to announce who would start a game that was critical for both teams.
The coach, notorious for his lack of patience with his quarterbacks, yanked Smelley early in the game against UAB a week ago after the redshirt sophomore started 3-for-9 with an interception. Redshirt freshman Stephen Garcia had a strong game in the 26-13 win, but a mostly mistake-free Smelley showed why Spurrier is sticking with him.
“Chris threw a lot of good ones today,” Spurrier said. “I really like the way he played in the fourth quarter. That (95)-yard drive was the longest we’ve had around here in a long time. I think Chris can play, and I think Chris can play better.”
He showed that with big plays at critical times that helped the Gamecocks (4-2, 1-2 SEC) rally from a quick 14-3 deficit against the Rebels (3-3, 1-2), who stumbled after stunning then-No. 4 Florida 31-30 a week ago.
Smelley made two key passes on the Gamecocks’ second drive, first hitting Jared Cook on a 63-yard pass along the sideline, their longest pass play of the season. After a penalty and a sack pushed South Carolina back to the 20 on third down, Smelley hit Jason Barnes with a touchdown pass in the back of the end zone to cut the lead to 14-10.
Gamecocks defensive lineman Nathan Peppers scooped up Jevan Snead’s fumble on the ensuing drive and returned it 29 yards for a 14-point swing in exactly a minute that gave South Carolina a 17-14 lead.
Ole Miss answered to take a 21-14 halftime lead on a 24-yard pass from Snead to Brandon Bolden, but another fumble in the second half turned the game for the Gamecocks.
Chris Culliver forced Dexter McCluster to fumble at South Carolina’s 6 midway through the third quarter. Emmanuel Cook returned the fumble to the Rebels’ 42. It was McCluster’s second critical fumble near the opponent’s goal line in the past three games. A similar play at the 1 helped Vanderbilt beat Ole Miss two weeks ago.
Smelley was especially sharp on the ensuing drive, converting a pair of first downs with sneaks, including fourth-and-inches at the Ole Miss 10. That set up the second of his two touchdown passes to Barnes, a 6-yarder that put the Gamecocks up 24-21.
After Ole Miss downed the ball at the 5 following a punt on its next drive, Smelley and tailback Mike Davis marched South Carolina down the field in 11 plays. Davis rushed for 28 yards on the drive and Smelley hit 5 of 6 passes for 54 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown pass to Joe Hills.
“It’s a great win for us, not me,” Smelley said. “I’m just trying to be a great quarterback, and I keep working toward that. I think the biggest difference today was we were able to execute, especially in the red zone.”
Smelley and the offense got a big assist from the Gamecocks’ defense, too.South Carolina entered the game as the nation’s top defense, allowing 105 yards passing and 221 total yards per game. But the Rebels surpassed both marks by halftime. Snead completed 12 of 15 passes for 154 yards by the break and the team added another 78 yards rushing, including 29 yards and a 5-yard touchdown by McCluster out of the Wild Rebel formation.
In the second half, however, a Gamecocks defense, led by Cook’s 14 tackles, held the Rebels to 129 yards and a field goal.
Fittingly, South Carolina finished off the Rebels with Carlos Thomas’ drive-ending interception in the final minute.
Turnovers and costly penalties contributed to Ole Miss losses against Vanderbilt and Wake Forest earlier this season, and coach Houston Nutt was disappointed the Rebels weren’t able to adhere to the lessons they learned in the win over Florida.
“We have an open date and will spend all week working on that,” he said. “It’s about turnover margin. When you don’t have turnovers, you win. When you go back and look at it in the turnover margins, the only team that beat us is ourselves by turning the ball over. You can’t do that in this league.”
#AP-CS-10-04-08 1850EDT
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