South Carolina 31, Mississipi 24

On-again, off-again starter Chris Smelley threw three touchdown passes, South Carolina’s No. 1 defense held Mississippi to a field goal in the second half and the Gamecocks beat the Rebels 31-24 on Saturday for their first Southeastern Conference win.

AP
Published: October 5, 2008

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OXFORD, Miss. (AP) - On-again, off-again starter Chris Smelley threw three touchdown passes, South Carolina’s No. 1 defense held Mississippi to a field goal in the second half and the Gamecocks beat the Rebels 31-24 on Saturday for their first Southeastern Conference win.

Named the starter Thursday, Smelley completed 22 of 31 passes for a career-high 327 yards and led an 11-play, 95-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter to put away Ole Miss, which stumbled a week after knocking off then-No. 4 Florida.

The Rebels (3-3, 1-2 SEC) appeared to take control early, but a pair of fumbles helped the Gamecocks (4-2, 1-2) earn a critical win that kept them from exiting the SEC East race in early October.