Jaxson Dart threw four touchdown passes, two in the opening nine minutes, as No. 5 Mississippi defeated Georgia Southern 52-13 to improve to 4-0. Tre Harris had a game-high 11 receptions for 225 yards, including touchdown receptions of 70 and 36 yards.
OXFORD – Jaxson Dart threw four touchdown passes, including two in the opening nine minutes, as No. 5 Ole Miss routed Georgia Southern, 52-13, Saturday night.
The Rebels (4-0) raced to a 17-0 first quarter lead highlighted by Dart touchdown passes of 31 yards to Juice Wells and 23 yards to Jordan Watkins. Dart was 22 of 31 passing for 382 yards as Ole Miss built a 24-7 halftime lead and were never seriously threatened..
Tre Harris had 11 receptions for 225 yards, including touchdown receptions of 70 and 36 yards. Henry Parrish, JJ Pegues and Domonique Thomas added touchdown runs of 5, 1 and 19 yards respectively. Ole Miss finished with 607 yards of total offense, but were hampered by 11 penalties for 133 yards.
Georgia Southern (2-2) scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from running back O.J. Anderson to Derwin Burgess and Gavin Stewart field goals of 42 and 33 yards.The Eagles finished with 194 total yards, led by JC French with 20 of 28 passing for 109 yards.
THE TAKEAWAY
Georgia Southern: The road setback to a highly-ranked SEC opponent does not figure to spoil the bid for a third consecutive bowl appearance and a serious challenge for the Sunbelt Conference title.
Ole Miss: If the Rebels had personnel or performance questions in August, those concerns were eliminated by four lopsided non-conference wins by a score of 240-22. As a team, Ole Miss has clearly passed “the eye test”. Individually, the stylish Dart has built the statistical resume for serious Heisman Trophy consideration. Remaining questions will be answered as the SEC portion of the schedule begins next week.
SOUTHERN CAL CONNECTION
Lane Kiffin and Clay Helton share deep coaching ties to Southern California, as each served as the head coach for the Trojans. Kiffin –
head coach from 2010-2013 - hired Helton as the quarterback coach in
2010 and promoted him to offensive coordinator in 2013. Helton assumed
the head coach role in 2015 and served until 2021. Both coaches spent
much of the week praising each other in the pregame press conferences.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Despite blowing through four non-conference opponents, the No. 5 Rebels are not expected to make a major move. Six of the top seven teams in the AP Top 25 are Southeastern Conference members and recorded Saturday wins.
UP NEXT
Georgia Southern: Sunbelt Conference play opens Saturday with a visit to Georgia State.
Ole Miss: Hosts Kentucky on Saturday in the SEC opener for the Rebels.
