It’s usually about week three or four of the season that things start to get interesting. And so it is in 2009 for the Ole Miss program. The Rebels, currently sitting at No. 4 in the Associated Press poll, have won eight straight, the second-longest current streak in the country and the program’s longest streak in almost 37 years.

However, while we all know how Ole Miss finished the 2008 season – and they certainly looked strong in outgunning the Red Raiders of Texas Tech 47-34 in the Cotton Bowl – the team hasn’t had to face a quality opponent in 2009, with easy wins over Memphis and Southeastern Louisiana. That will change this Thursday night when coach Houston Nutt takes the Rebels and their highest ranking in nearly four decades to Columbia, SC to face the Gamecocks of South Carolina.

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As I’m sure you remember, coach Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks kicked off the Thursday night season this year in a snooze fest against N.C. State. South Carolina won that game 7-3 before heading to Georgia for their SEC opener; a game Spurrier’s team would drop 41-37 in a wild one. A win over Florida Atlantic last weekend put South Carolina at 2-1 entering this game and knowing that a win over Ole Miss would set them up nicely as they enter the meat of their schedule.

The big question with South Carolina entering the season seems to have been answered. Sophomore quarterback Stephen Garcia hasn’t been spectacular but has certainly done a much better job taking care of the ball to start this season and is making strides towards becoming a solid SEC signal caller. His 313 yard, two-touchdown performance against Georgia was certainly a sign of the potential Garcia has and the QB looks miles ahead of where he was when he ended 2008 with four interceptions in a 31-10 beating against Iowa in the Outback bowl.

Of course, there were no such worries about the QB position for coach Nutt and the Mississippi faithful. Quite the opposite actually as QB Jevan Snead was probably the single biggest reason the Rebels received a Top 10 preseason ranking.

Snead, who transferred from Texas, is clearly the most popular Ole Miss player since Eli Manning was taking snaps in Oxford and any success the team has this season will likely flow from his right arm. Snead has had a nice start to the 2009 season but as I said at the top, the Rebels definitely haven’t been tested.

LB Eric Norwood, the senior leader of the South Carolina defense and one of the top defensive players in the nation will change all that on Thursday. Norwood has to be happy to know that the Cocks' defensive line will get DT Ladi Ajiboye (suspension) and Nathan Pepper (knee) back for this game. It will be the closest to full strength that this unit has been all season.

That could be bad news for Mississippi, especially when you consider this program hasn't won a SEC opener in five years, with the last two losses coming at the hands of Vanderbilt. Snead will definitely have to be on top of his game in hostile territory for the Rebels to break that streak and a win would give Ole Miss a 3-0 start for the first time in 20 years.

The Mississippi defense should also be better off this week as star defensive end Greg Hardy (sprained left ankle) is expected to play. Hardy will likely be on the lookout for the mobility of Garcia as well as the 5-11, 186-pound true freshman RB Jarvis Giles who bagged SEC Freshman of the Week honors last week after rushing for 113 yards against FAU.

Last season South Carolina got the better of Ole Miss as the Gamecocks escaped Oxford with a 31-24 win. That was just one week after the Rebels had shocked the nation by beating Florida in the Swamp.

This line opened with Ole Miss being favored by three points and has since jumped to four. Both teams are currently undefeated against the spread although South Carolina looks much more impressive at 3-0 ATS than does Ole Miss who has only played in one lined game.