Ole Miss Rebels Schedule Preview: South Carolina Gamecocks

The 2024 college football season is still about a month away, but with SEC Media Days now behind us, it’s time to get a sneak peek at the Ole Miss Rebels’ schedule.

Ole Miss is coming off an 11-2 season that included a Peach Bowl victory over the Penn State Nittany Lions in December. The Rebels have a plethora of talent returning from last year’s team (including quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receiver Tre Harris, tight end Caden Prieskron and others), but they also made a huge haul in the transfer portal to help plug some holes on their roster.

It’s this combination of talent and a seemingly manageable SEC schedule that has many convinced the Rebels can qualify for the new 12-team College Football Playoff.

The next few days, Ole Miss OnSI will preview each of the Rebels’ 2024 regular season opponents. We previously looked at the Kentucky Wildcats and today we analyze the South Carolina Gamecocks.

South Carolina Fighting Cocks

Is Shane Beamer in trouble?

Early in last season, the Gamecocks were getting votes in national polls, but they finished the year 5-7 and failed to reach a bowl game. According to the SEC Media Days preseason poll, Carolina is projected to finish 13th in the conference this season, just behind Billy Napier’s Florida Gators.

Then there’s Vegas. According to FanDuel, the Gamecocks are projected to hover around bowl qualification again with a projected win total of 5.5. On paper, this is a game Ole Miss should win, but games aren’t played on paper. After this game in Columbia, the Rebels travel to Baton Rouge for an all-important Magnolia Bowl matchup against LSU.

Trap in the Carolinas? Maybe.

There’s also the added twist that Gamecock fans are likely to be pretty energized for this game. The official kickoff time for the game has not yet been announced, but whether it’s noon or night, Juice Wells is scheduled to return to Columbia for the first time since transferring to Ole Miss.

If you are aware of the developments in social media, you know that this is not something you should overlook.

From a talent perspective, South Carolina will likely go with redshirt freshman LaNorris Sellers at quarterback, and they also acquired transfer Raheim “Rocket” Sanders at running back after he spent time with the Arkansas Razorbacks. They also return linebacker Debo Williams, who led the team in tackles last season, but this game could be as much about atmosphere as it is about talent on the field.

Can Ole Miss win in Columbia on October 5 and realize its playoff dream?