THE BIG 3 Jason "Gator" Pigott

(10/28 - 11/01)

Ole Miss

For the fourth consecutive week, the defense was the story as the Rebels dominated a shorthanded Arkansas team 19-7 on Saturday. The Rebel offense was anything but spectacular against a solid Arkansas defense, but it didn't matter. Arkansas was held without a first down in the second half until about four minutes left in the game. In fairness, the Hogs were without the services of their leading rusher Cedric Cobbs who missed the game due to injury but I'm not so sure it would have made a difference.

This week, Lou Holtz will bring his Gamecocks from South Carolina into Oxford to take on the Rebels. South Carolina is primarily a running team offensively and led by junior QB, Dondrial Pinkins. Last week against Vanderbilt, Pinkins rushed for three scores and passed for another. However, the numbers don't lie. The Gamecocks are a one-dimensional team. Pinkins has completed less than 50% of his passes this year and has only 5 TD passes coupled with 5 interceptions.

The Rebels themselves will be their biggest adversaries on Saturday. This is their fourth consecutive home game and with a road trip to Auburn scheduled next week there will be a natural tendency to look past the Gamecocks. If they can get ahead early by a couple of scores early, the Rebels should improve to 5-0 in the SEC West.

Gator's Pick: Ole Miss 26 South Carolina 20

USM

Southern Miss turned in an impressive performance on Saturday with a 27-6 win over South Florida. The Golden Eagle defense dominated the Bulls by causing two fumbles and by returning a blocked FG attempt for a touchdown. The offense also fared well against the Bulls who came into the game with the 4 th best defense in the nation. Eagle QB Dustin Almond, who was named the starter at game time, passed for 2 TD and RB Anthony Harris rushed for over 100 yards in the victory.

This week the Ragin' Cajuns of La. Lafayette will invade "The Rock" in Hattiesburg. This season the Cajuns have been considered a "cupcake" and have been outscored by opponents by an average of 16 points a game.

The old cliché, "the cure for a struggling offense is playing a bad defense" will ring true on Saturday, as the Eagles will roll. However, the USM offense will need to use this game to work out the kinks in order to be ready for an important C-USA road trip to Houston next week.

Gator's Pick: USM 49 La. Lafayette 10

Mississippi State

Open  Next Week at home vs Alabama