Yahoo Sports Ole Miss has the No. 2 passing offense in America. Can South Carolina slow it down?
They say speed kills, and No. 12 Ole Miss’ offense has been lethal this season.
For the Gamecocks, slowing down the Rebels’ high-octane offense is crucial if they hope to get their biggest win of the year.
Ole Miss ranks No. 2 in the nation in passing offense, averaging 390.4 yards per game. Their fast-paced, air-heavy style sets the tone makes it hard for defenses to settle in from snap to snap.
So how do the Gamecocks stop it? It starts with simulating that style of offense through the week.
“That system has been very productive over the years, and we do our best to try and mimic it during practice,” defensive coordinator Clayton White said. “It starts with our show team, our offense that is going to simulate it.”
And the Gamecocks’ first-team offense and defense go at it with tempo every week.
“Our offense itself can have fast plays itself when they do a good job of it,” he said. “We work at it every week for like four or five plays against each other.”
Even so, White has been doing this long enough to know it’ll take more than just a few reps in practice to tackle a tempo offense like the Rebels have on Saturday.
“(We have to) make sure our guys understand communication and get lined up and lined up fast and eyes to the sideline and getting calls in,” White said. “It’s very, very important every single week. But with the obstacle of a tempo team, it’s a little bit more important to make sure we’re on the same page as fast as we possibly can.”
As do most things in football, stopping this offense will start with the quarterback.
Rebels veteran Jaxson Dart’s mobility in the pocket keeps defenses on their heels, opening the door for Ole Miss’ passing attack. His top target is senior receiver Tre Harris, who leads the nation with 804 yards to go along with five touchdowns through five games.
Adding to the challenge, Ole Miss boasts multiple threats at receiver, including former Gamecock Antwane “Juice” Wells.
“Ole Miss has maybe four or five really good players that can beat you with short passes,” White said. “They break tackles well, and they can also catch the long ball and they do a great job of making you miss.”
White said they’ll need to put pressure on Dart throughout the night to dampen the impact of the pass game.
“The quicker we get to the quarterback, the less (the secondary) has to cover,” he said. “And vice versa, the slower we get there, the longer they have to cover.”
Ole Miss runs the second-fastest offense USC will face this season, averaging 71.8 plays per game. Only Missouri, who visits Williams-Brice Stadium Nov. 16, moves faster (77.8).
LSU, the fastest team USC has faced so far, beat USC earlier this season 33-30 and is the only team to score more than 20 points against the Gamecocks.
After this week, the Gamecocks will get a breather from high tempo. Their next few opponents operate at a slower pace: Vanderbilt (60.8), Oklahoma (63.2) and Alabama (63.5) are three of USC’s next four matchups after Ole Miss.
Kentucky held Ole Miss to just 17 points in the upset win last week. White noted that the Wildcats did well to keep Ole Miss’ offense off the field.
“Playing against any team, you want to get off the field on third down,” linebacker Debo Williams said. “That’s what they were really good at doing.”
USC likely took notes and hopes to do the same.
Speed can’t kill you if it’s not on the field.
SOUTH CAROLINA VS. OLE MISS
Who: South Carolina (3-1, 1-1 SEC) vs. Ole Miss (4-1, 0-1 SEC)
Where: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, S.C.
When: 3:30 p.m. Saturday
TV: ESPN
Line: Ole Miss by 9
