Ole Miss Returns To AP Poll Top 10 Following Win Over South Carolina

The Ole Miss Rebels will have a chance to keep pace in the College Football Playoff hunt following a win over the Gamecocks.

Oct 5, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Mississippi Rebels linebacker TJ Dottery (6) celebrates an interception against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second half at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Ole Miss looked like a top 10 team following a 27-3 victory over South Carolina Saturday afternoon at Williams-Brice Stadium.

The AP Poll would tend to agree.

The Rebels appeared at No. 9 in the AP Poll entering Week 7 amid a chaotic weekend in the SEC. Ole Miss also appeared at 8 in the coaches poll after No. 1 Alabama lost 40-35 at Vanderbilt, No. 4 Tennessee lost 19-14 at Arkansas and No. 9 Missouri lost 41-10 at No. 25 Texas A&M.

🚫🐀☠️@AP_Top25 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/N4xANVPKIv

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) October 6, 2024

Road games get the best of contenders, something the Rebels must avoid next weekend heading into Baton Rouge to take No. 13 LSU.

While the offense missed a couple of scoring opportunities, the defense excelled. The Rebels (5-1, 1-1 SEC) forced two turnovers and stopped the Gamecocks (3-2, 1-2 SEC) three times on fourth down.

Ole Miss also stuffed South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers and the ground game, forcing 10 tackles for loss and five sacks. Defensive tackle Walter Nolen notched two sacks and recovered a Robby Ashford fumble to set up a scoring drive in the first quarter.

Sep 28, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels defensive linemen Walter Nolen (2) and linebacker Suntarine Perkins (4) react after a sack during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Sellers, who recently returned from injury, was held to 162 passing yards. Offensively, red zone opportunities translated to four scoring drives, including a pair of runs from 327-pound defensive tackle JJ Peagues.

"I thought this was a really hard week," Rebels coach Lane Kiffin said postgame. "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."

There's work to be done, but the Rebels remain in the hunt for a College Football Playoff berth. Quarterback Jaxson Dart said postgame that it was important to set the tone early after struggling to find any offensive identity last week in a 20-17 loss against Kentucky at home.

"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."

Ole Miss must keep its momentum when it travels for its second consecutive game against the Tigers (4-1, 1-0 SEC) in Death Valley.