By the time Deebo Samuel returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, Saturday’s game in Oxford already had the makings of a shootout, mostly because no one expected either defense to stand up and stop much.

The defenses surprisingly made some plays in the second half. However, instead of making stops, they mustered temporary slowdowns as the offenses combined to eclipse 1,000 yards.

Just when Ole Miss needed one more stop, South Carolina’s Mon Denson, a third-string running back, went 70 yards to the Rebels’ 5-yard line with seven minutes left. That setup a touchdown run from QB Jake Bentley with 5:50 to go to give the Gamecocks 14 unanswered points as South Carolina came back to defeat Ole Miss 48-44 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

That came after Ole Miss’ offense sputtered midway through the fourth quarter.

On a three-and-out drive in the fourth quarter, Ole Miss QB Jordan Ta’amu absorbed a big hit on third down near the sideline, and moved gingerly off the field after the play with an apparent right ankle injury. Matt Corral replaced him for the second time in the game with about eight minutes remaining, but couldn’t convert a first down.

After one quarter, there was a combined 333 yards, and the team losing by two touchdowns (Ole Miss) had 12 first downs. The Gamecocks averaged nearly a first down (9.2 yards) per play.
By halftime, the shootout was confirmed. Combined, at halftime, they had 749 yards. So it was fitting that the game was tied at halftime, 27-27.

Ole Miss alone topped 500 yards of offense by 12:55 left in the third quarter. And that was even after the Rebels had several problems inside the South Carolina 20-yard line, and they had to settle for a third field goal from the red zone.

It was common for receivers and running backs on both teams to make catches with at least 5 yards of cushion away from the nearest defender.

Even with a turnover, South Carolina’s defense didn’t force a punt until 7:40 left in the third quarter.

But as porous as the Ole Miss defense appeared to be, the Rebels took their first lead with 11:56 left in the third quarter. The Rebels even made a stop on fourth down with less than two minutes left in the third quarter.

Ole Miss took advantage of that rare stop and engineered a five-play scoring drive capped by an Isaiah Woullard touchdown near the goal line. The play gave Ole Miss 600 total offensive yards in the game.

It was a departure from how South Carolina has started most games this season. The 17 points in the first quarter were the most points South Carolina has scored in the first quarter of a road game since it scored 17 against Georgia in 2009 in an eventual loss.

Ole Miss WR Elijah Moore had nine catches for 123 yards by halftime; he entered Saturday with just 12 catches for 166 yards. South Carolina RB Ty’Son Williams was equally impressive with a 50 yard-catch and run, which helped him have three catches for 105 yards by halftime.

For both teams, it was vintage offense, and embarrassing defense, which was not much of a surprise.

South Carolina got big plays from Samuel, and an unbelievable catch by WR Bryan Edwards, a one-handed variety near the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown.

Ta’amu was very efficient, and showed off his rushing ability to score, but also escape pressure and complete key passes. Ta’amu answered Edwards’ impressive TD with a 17-yard scoring run of his own less than two minutes later.

The Gamecocks’ defense dealt with a host of injuries, especially in secondary, but also on the offensive line as they appeared to have trouble with footing on the turf. Among the injured for South Carolina were DB Jamyest Williams, OL Malik Young, DB Javon Charleston, RB Rico Dowdle and DL Aaron Sterling.

Ole Miss also saw RB Scottie Phillips walk off the field in the third quarter with an apparent head injury after he collected 130 all-purpose yards. He returned a few minutes later and eclipsed 100 yards rushing for the first time since the Kent State game. His third rushing TD gave the Rebels the lead again, 37-34.