PLAYERS TO WATCH
–RB Rico Dowdle is coming off a season-high 140 rushing yards in the win over Tennessee. He did the work on only 10 carries, rushing for one touchdown. It was his third 100-yard rushing game of the season and sixth of the junior’s career.
–WR Bryan Edwards gives the Gamecocks big-play capability in the passing game. He hooked up with QB Jake Bentley for a 73-yard touchdown against Tennessee, the longest pass play since Perry Orth and Pharaoh Cooper combined for a 78-yard completion against Vanderbilt in 2015.
–LB D.J. Wonnum, who hadn’t played since injuring is foot in the opener, came back with an impressive performance last week. He had a pair of sacks, the last sealing the 27-24 victory over the Volunteers.
–LB T.J. Brunson logged a season-best 14 tackles against Tennessee, giving him a team-high 49 stops for the season. They were two short of his career-high 16 for the junior, who was second on the team in tackles with 88 last year.
SERIES HISTORY: Ole Miss leads the series with South Carolina 8-7. South Carolina won the last meeting 16-10 in 2009.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “They are really talented players. Getting D.J. back in his leadership role and I think the intangibles as much as anything help our football team. Obviously he is a good, productive player. He gives a lot to our team as far as that. Dylan’s got a huge upside. He’s a really talented guy.” — Coach Will Muschamp, on brothers D.J. and Dylan Wonnum, who earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors, respectively, for their play last week against Tennessee.
