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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Midweek Report: South Carolina Week
10/31/2018 | Football
Rebels to Host Gamecocks Saturday at 11 a.m. at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium
The bye week came at just the right time for Ole Miss, and now the Rebels are ready to get back to action Saturday as they host South Carolina for the first of four games in 19 days to close out the season.
Head coach Matt Luke and his staff curtailed practices during the bye week, electing for shorter sessions to allow players to regenerate and prepare for the closing stretch. In preparation for the Gamecocks, Luke has enjoyed the enthusiasm the Rebels have brought to the practice field.
"Really good week," Luke said. "A lot of energy. Guys flying around. Looked really fresh yesterday. Because of the weather, we went inside today, but overall, it has been a good week."
Saturday's matchup will pit a pair of three-loss teams. The Gamecocks come in already at 3-3 in SEC play with just two conference contests remaining on their schedule, as well as non-conference meetings with Chattanooga and No. 2 Clemson.
USC has alternated wins and losses from week to week and has gone down to the wire in each of its last three games. Three weeks ago, the Gamecocks topped Missouri on a field goal with two seconds left on the clock. The following week, they scored with 48 seconds left against Texas A&M but fell short in a 26-23 defeat. Just last week, they stormed back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit and edged Tennessee, 27-24.
When the Gamecocks come to Oxford this weekend, Coach Luke and Co. are expecting an offense that will look to establish a tough ground game behind running back Rico Dowdle.
"They've had success running the football. That's what they hung their hat on," Luke said. "They've done a nice job. A little bit more 12 personnel. Not as many RPOs. It's still in their gameplan, but just a little bit more commitment to running the football."
Against the South Carolina attack, it'll be up to the Rebel front seven to fill the gaps and prevent big plays.
"That's probably one of our weakest things, we've been working on not giving up explosive plays," said defensive lineman Benito Jones. "Everything starts up front, not putting too much pressure on the linebackers. If you've got A gap, get A gap, if you've got B, get B. We just have to do what we've got to do and let the linebackers get the easy part."
On the other side of the ball, Ole Miss spent its off week focusing on its red zone offense—and specifically, punching the ball into the end zone when they get within striking distance.
"We think a lot of these two-tight-end packages will help with that," said tight end Dawson Knox. "Having some bigger bodies in the box will help us block in the running game. Also we can pop a tight end out in some space that they're not expecting. That's going to be an answer. Also just establishing the run early will help us."
As coach Luke explained to the media Wednesday, having a strong game plan is only the first step. The Rebels have worked on some tweaks to their scheme for when they drive deep into enemy territory, but when it comes down to it, they just have to make plays.
"There are some tweaks, and you just basically have to find the one-on-one matchups that you like, then you have to win those one-on-one matchups," Luke said. "It's no secret. At some point, everyone struggles in the red zone if you play good defenses. Everything gets condensed. They play man-to-man coverage. You have to go win. We'll have a plan to get the ball to our best players, and they'll go make plays."
Head coach Matt Luke and his staff curtailed practices during the bye week, electing for shorter sessions to allow players to regenerate and prepare for the closing stretch. In preparation for the Gamecocks, Luke has enjoyed the enthusiasm the Rebels have brought to the practice field.
"Really good week," Luke said. "A lot of energy. Guys flying around. Looked really fresh yesterday. Because of the weather, we went inside today, but overall, it has been a good week."
Saturday's matchup will pit a pair of three-loss teams. The Gamecocks come in already at 3-3 in SEC play with just two conference contests remaining on their schedule, as well as non-conference meetings with Chattanooga and No. 2 Clemson.
USC has alternated wins and losses from week to week and has gone down to the wire in each of its last three games. Three weeks ago, the Gamecocks topped Missouri on a field goal with two seconds left on the clock. The following week, they scored with 48 seconds left against Texas A&M but fell short in a 26-23 defeat. Just last week, they stormed back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit and edged Tennessee, 27-24.
When the Gamecocks come to Oxford this weekend, Coach Luke and Co. are expecting an offense that will look to establish a tough ground game behind running back Rico Dowdle.
"They've had success running the football. That's what they hung their hat on," Luke said. "They've done a nice job. A little bit more 12 personnel. Not as many RPOs. It's still in their gameplan, but just a little bit more commitment to running the football."
Against the South Carolina attack, it'll be up to the Rebel front seven to fill the gaps and prevent big plays.
"That's probably one of our weakest things, we've been working on not giving up explosive plays," said defensive lineman Benito Jones. "Everything starts up front, not putting too much pressure on the linebackers. If you've got A gap, get A gap, if you've got B, get B. We just have to do what we've got to do and let the linebackers get the easy part."
On the other side of the ball, Ole Miss spent its off week focusing on its red zone offense—and specifically, punching the ball into the end zone when they get within striking distance.
"We think a lot of these two-tight-end packages will help with that," said tight end Dawson Knox. "Having some bigger bodies in the box will help us block in the running game. Also we can pop a tight end out in some space that they're not expecting. That's going to be an answer. Also just establishing the run early will help us."
As coach Luke explained to the media Wednesday, having a strong game plan is only the first step. The Rebels have worked on some tweaks to their scheme for when they drive deep into enemy territory, but when it comes down to it, they just have to make plays.
"There are some tweaks, and you just basically have to find the one-on-one matchups that you like, then you have to win those one-on-one matchups," Luke said. "It's no secret. At some point, everyone struggles in the red zone if you play good defenses. Everything gets condensed. They play man-to-man coverage. You have to go win. We'll have a plan to get the ball to our best players, and they'll go make plays."
Players Mentioned
DT
/ Football
TE
/ FootballPRESSER | Caleb Odom (04-16-26)
Thursday, April 16
PRESSER | Izaiah Hartrup (04-16-26)
Thursday, April 16
PRESSER | Antonio Kite (04-16-26)
Thursday, April 16
PRESSER | Pete Golding (04-14-26)
Tuesday, April 14