OXFORD — Ole Miss and South Carolina announced Thursday it has switched the Rebels’ visit to Columbia this season from Sept. 26 to Sept. 24 in order to accommodate a request from ESPN to make the contest a part of its Thursday Night national television package.  Kickoff from Williams-Brice Stadium is set for 6:30 p.m.

The switch of dates with South Carolina resulted in two additional schedule adjustments for Ole Miss in 2009.  Ole Miss was to have played at Vanderbilt on Sept. 19, but that game is now scheduled for Oct. 3.  Another change that became necessary was to move a scheduled home game with Southeastern Louisiana from Sept. 12 to Sept. 19.

The last time Ole Miss was included in ESPN’s Thursday Night package was Nov. 27, 2003, when the Rebels defeated Mississippi State in Starkville.  ESPN had telecast the annual Ole Miss-Mississippi State game on Thursday night for a number of years until that point.