JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Tyrone Nix spent three years as the defensive coordinator at South Carolina, recruiting and picking Steve Spurrier’s brilliant offensive mind.

Does it give him an advantage when the Gamecocks play Mississippi Saturday in Oxford?

Spurrier doesn’t think so.

Neither does he believe that replacing Nix with Ellis Johnson, the former defensive coordinator for Mississippi State, the Rebels’ rival, give the Gamecocks the edge.

“I still believe the players on the field are going to determine the winner of the game,” Spurrier said. “We coaches try to put them in position to make plays, but they determine who wins or loses.”

The assistant coaching carousel is just one of the subplots in a game featuring two 3-2 teams that appear headed in very different directions. Ole Miss (1-1 SEC) is coming off an improbable upset of then-No. 4 Florida and could easily be undefeated after near misses against Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.

As Ole Miss has improved rapidly under new coach Houston Nutt, South Carolina (0-2) has struggled the last two weeks against lesser opponents Wofford and UAB.

“The way we’ve played offensively we’ve struggled against almost everyone we’ve played,” Spurrier said. “We just haven’t done a whole bunch offensively yet this year.”

The Gamecocks managed just 26 points against UAB and 23 against Wofford. Georgia held them to seven, and Spurrier has been switching starting quarterbacks week to week.

Add a little inside knowledge and it seems like the perfect situation for a defensive coordinator looking to show he’s moved on to better things.

Nix isn’t buying into that scenario.

“Me coaching there has nothing to do with how we’re going to perform and how they’re going to perform,” Nix said. “It’s just a matter of guys going out, carrying out the game plan and whoever plays the best and the smartest has a chance to win.”

Spurrier said this week Nix was not fired after South Carolina’s late-season swoon last year that included an 0-5 finish after a 6-1 start that pushed the Gamecocks to No. 6. He acknowledged, however, that Nutt called with a request to interview Nix at about the same time he was starting to discuss making changes.

He said it worked out “super” for Nix, who returned to the state where he played college ball at Southern Miss and became one of the nation’s highest paid assistants at $350,000 per year.

It also worked out well for the Gamecocks — eventually.

Spurrier first turned to Brian VanGorder to replace Nix, but he soon left to join the Atlanta Falcons. He then lured Johnson from Mississippi State where he helped build one of the SEC’s more talented defenses.

“We all feel very fortunate Ellis is here,” Spurrier said. “Our defensive guys are playing very well, of course. They’re well coached. They’re doing a super job.”

The Gamecocks are No. 1 in the nation in total defense, allowing 221.4 yards per game, and No. 2 in pass defense (105 yards). The defense is led by a pair of the college football’s most freakish athletes, linebackers Jasper Brinkley and Eric Norwood. Brinkley is 270 pounds and Norwood weighs in at 253, yet both have the speed of much smaller men.

They present a unique challenge for Ole Miss.

“I have never really played against linebackers that weigh 270 and 260,” Nutt said. “So like every week, you have to bring both chin straps buttoned and you have to be very physical.”

Like Johnson, Nix has been drawing compliments from his new boss. Nix has taken the SEC’s last-place defense and put it in position to not only beat, but batter the Gators. Ole Miss has been in every game this season and its much-maligned defense is getting better weekly.

Nix credited some of his success to Spurrier.

“I learned a lot about pass coverage,” Nix said of his three years under Spurrier. “I learned some of the things that quarterbacks look for and some of the things that are important in playing pass defense. He’s a tremendous coach, he’s a great leader and he’s a winner.”

The team that wins Saturday’s game will have an advantage going into the second half of the season as both vie for bowl eligibility, yet another subplot in a game that’s sure to be rife with emotions.

“I think it’s going to be a tough, hard-nosed game,” said Brinkley, who still talks regularly with Nix. “I think their defense is going to try and bust our offense in the mouth just like our defense is going to try and bust their offense in the mouth.”

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AP Sports Writer Pete Iacobelli in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.

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