OXFORD, Mississippi (Ticker) -- Its closing schedule is difficult, but Mississippi put itself in position to end a 40-year drought.
Eli Manning passed for 391 yards and three touchdowns as the Rebels remained unbeaten in the Southeastern Conference with a 43-40 victory over South Carolina.
The Rebels (7-2, 5-0 SEC West), the only unbeaten team in the SEC, are 5-0 in the league for the first time since 1963, when they won their last conference championship.
Mississippi opened a one-game lead over Auburn and Louisiana State, but still has to play the two teams behind it in the standings. Auburn and LSU are facing non-conference opponents later Saturday.
Manning, who completed 30-of-42 passes, tossed a 29-yard TD strike to Kerry Johnson with 28 seconds left in the first half to give the Rebels a 30-14 halftime lead.
Mississippi continued to pour it on, extending its advantage to 43-14 on TD runs of 10 yards by Tremaine Turner and seven yards by Brandon Jacobs in the third quarter. Turner rushed for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries for Ole Miss.
Chris Collins finished with 10 receptions for 125 yards and two TDs for the Rebels, who amassed 538 yards of total offense.
Dondrial Pinkins completed 14-of-32 passes for 298 yards and four TDs for the Gamecocks (5-4, 2-4), who made it close with three unanswered scores in the fourth quarter, including a 98-yarder to Matthew Thomas.
Manning and Pinkins each threw two TDs passes in the first quarter, but Mississippi grabbed the lead for good, 21-14, on Turner's four-yard TD run with 12:45 left in the first half.
Ole Miss posted its fourth straight win over South Carolina and leads the all-time series, 7-5.
