What Ole Miss said about win over South Carolina, Juice Wells’ return to Columbia

Ole Miss bounced back from a tough loss to Kentucky last week with a 27-3 win over South Carolina on Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Here are some of the top things Rebels coach Lane Kiffin, quarterback Jaxson Dart and linebacker TJ Dottery discussed after the win in their postgame press conferences:

Dart happy for Juice Wells

Former Gamecock receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells returned to Williams-Brice Stadium in an Ole Miss uniform on Saturday. Wells played for USC the last two years before transferring.

Wells was met with boos from time he arrived off of the bus and every time he touched the ball or was targeted with a pass.

Wells finished with three catches for 97 yards and nearly had a touchdown in Ole Miss’ 27-3 win over the Gamecocks.. He caught a 66-yard pass but fumbled at the 1-yard line. The ball went out of the end zone.

“I was happy on how he was able to handle himself,” Dart said after the game. “I know it is definitely not easy coming into the place where you were the guy and then everyone turns on you. I was proud of him on how he handled this week.”

Ole Miss bouncing back

Kiffin and the players talked about how heartbreaking it was to lose to Kentucky last week. They didn’t want it to carry over to a second straight conference loss.

“Our guys battled this week and battled through that and we didn’t let it affect a second game,” Kiffin said. “Any time the game is at a 24-point game, we’re doing a lot of things right. I’m really pleased with our players that they came back.

“When you come in on the road in a really hard place to play against a team that was going up two scores from being undefeated and a fluke penalty against LSU, that’s probably the No. 10 team in the country and undefeated. Really proud of our coaches and players and how they showed up today.”

Rebels ready for the fake punt

USC coach Shane Beamer is known for his special teams trickery and tried it on the Gamecocks’ first possession Saturday.

South Carolina faced fourth-and-1 on their own 36. USC lined up to punt but faked it. The ball was snapped to up-man Maurice Brown and he was stopped for no gain. Ole Miss capitalized and scored six plays later to make it 7-0.

“That is a testament to our special teams coordinator. We harped on that all week about their special teams game,” Dottery said. “So, we were prepared for it”

South Carolina offsides calls

Dart was able to draw the Gamecocks’ defense offside four times during the game.

Kiffin was asked about that. He said it wasn’t anything with his cadence but just the clap he did on line of scrimmage.

“It was that (clap noise),” Kiffin demonstrated in the post-game press conference. “It is not that hard. It was a big part of the plan because they do a good job and uniquely rush at the stance.”