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Mississippi upsets South Carolina
By JEFFREY COLLINS, Associated Press Writer
Oct 9, 2004 - 4:44:00 PM |
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- Ethan Flatt found Bill Flowers in the corner of the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown pass with 1:05 left to give Mississippi a 31-28 victory over No. 25 South Carolina on Saturday.
Flowers sneaked behind the Gamecocks' defense on fourth-and-10 and made a tough catch on an underthrown ball, just staying inbounds. Two plays earlier, Platt overthrew another wide-open Rebels receiver in the end zone.
South Carolina (4-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) managed to get the ball down to the Ole Miss 31 with 30 seconds to go. But after Syvelle Newton spiked the ball, Corey Mills sacked him on second down, then the Rebels broke up two passes in the end zone.
Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe rotated three quarterbacks, but it was the passing of Flatt on the final drive that saved the game for the Rebels (3-3, 2-1).
The sophomore, taking over this year for Eli Manning, drove Ole Miss 73 yards in less than 90 seconds.
Flatt was 18-of-27 for 214 yards. Cutcliffe used his other two quarterbacks mostly to run. Micheal Spurlock gained 34 yards on eight carries, and Robert Lane ran for 16 yards on four carries.
The quarterback platoon stumped the Gamecocks' defense early as the Rebels quickly took a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.
And it could have been worse. On two other drives, Mississippi quarterbacks overthrew receivers with a step or two on the secondary and a clear path to the end zone.
The Gamecocks' defense -- first in the SEC in rushing defense and third against the pass -- couldn't stop the Rebels, who gained 319 yards in the first half. South Carolina came in allowing 256 yards a game.
The Gamecocks finally stiffened in the second half, holding Ole Miss to 95 yards. But most of those came on the winning drive.
The loss ruined an excellent performance by Newton, who was starting his first SEC game. Newton was 12-of-27 for 291 yards and a touchdown. He also led the Gamecocks in rushing, gaining 65 yards on 19 carries.
But a bad decision on a risky call by coach Lou Holtz might have cost South Carolina some precious points.
The Gamecocks drove to the Ole Miss 12 with 7 seconds left in the first half. Holtz decided to run one more offensive play instead of going for the field goal. Newton scrambled a bit too long and Noah Whiteside dropped the pass in the end zone as the clock expired.
Newton looked shaky when the game started and didn't get on track until Holtz jolted him with a quarterback switch of his own.
Freshman Blake Mitchell came in after the team failed to get a first down in the first quarter and immediately led the Gamecocks to the end zone, completing all three of his passes on the drive, including a 17-yard touchdown strike to tight end Andy Boyd.
Newton, who is used to swapping out with injured starter Dondrial Pinkins, came back in on the next drive, and led Gamecocks to another touchdown, running 38 yards up the middle untouched to cut the Rebels' lead to 21-14.
Both teams had costly miscues. Mississippi's second touchdown came after a South Carolina fumble deep in its own territory. But the Rebels lost their own fumble deep in South Carolina territory as they drove at the end of the first half.
Copyright 2007 - MOP Squad Sports
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