OXFORD -- Jordan Watkins didn’t rush back from a preseason hamstring injury.

It helped that he didn’t have to.

The Ole Miss wide receiver was instead patient, letting the injury heal and then focusing on his rehab, knowing his teammates could cover for him while he got back to 100 percent healthy.

On Saturday at Wake Forest, that patience paid off. Watkins beat his man on a deep post and hauled in a 75-yard touchdown pass from Jaxson Dart, giving Ole Miss a 14-3 lead en route to the Rebels’ 40-6 thrashing of the Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

“I was battling some injuries through camp and now just working my way back into the rotation and things like that,” Watkins said Monday following the fifth-ranked Rebels’ practice earlier in the day. “I mean, we have a great receiver corps. We got guys who can score from anywhere. Cayden Lee, who's made a tremendous jump from last year to this year, has been making tremendous plays and he's been in there doing his thing.

“And then we’ve got Juice (Wells) and Tre (Harris) as well, who have been making big-time plays. I think Juice is on a three-game touchdown streak right now, which is huge.

“So there wasn't really any rush to really get back on the field just because we’ve got guys who could go out there and make plays and there was no need for me to really rush it and then injure myself even more.”

Ole Miss (3-0) entertains Georgia Southern (2-1) Saturday night in Oxford. It’s the Rebels’ final non-conference game of the regular season. As Southeastern Conference play approaches, the Rebels’ offense is confident, in part, because of their defensive counterparts.

“Our defense is playing really, really well,” Watkins said, pointing out that an early turnover gave Wake Forest a chance to build some hope before the Rebels’ defense “goes and stops their momentum completely.”

“I think that's been the biggest thing for us is the offense being able to lean on our defense whenever we need because when we turn the ball over and then you see guys like (Ole Miss linebacker) Pooh Paul going up to Dart and (saying) ‘I’ve got your back.’"

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Defense taking pride in TD-less streak: Ole Miss hasn’t allowed a touchdown in the first three games of the season. It’s the first time the Rebels have accomplished that feat since 1961, the first year of John F. Kennedy’s administration.

“We really just take it personally,” Ole Miss defensive lineman JJ Pegues said. “We feel like we're the best defense in the country, and we try to practice that way and, just not letting them score, really trying to just set the tone for the coming up SEC play and just have that mindset. We finished the day like, ‘We’re the best, and you’ve just got to get through it.’”

Pegues played defensive tackle and defensive end on Saturday at Wake Forest, joking that playing end is like being “out in the suburbs out there.”

“It's free,” Pegues said, laughing. “Ain’t no double-team. It’s one on one. But I loved it. I still practice it every now and then and it challenges me with my steps and my eyes, just because it's different keys and you have to do different things out there. But it was a great challenge, and I lived up to it.”

Pegues, who has eight tackles, three quarterback hurries and half of a sack so far this season, attributed a lot of the Rebels’ success to young players filling in and providing depth without a fall-off.

“Half the time you can have these freshmen come in and really, the older people just leave them out, and then they get in the game, and maybe it's a crucial situation where you need them and they mess up and now older guys yelling at them, but it's them who didn't prepare them,” Pegues said. “So I feel like me and (Ole Miss defensive end) Jared (Ivey) did a great job for the room."

Dart, Ivey earn SEC honors: Ole Miss football seniors Jaxson Dart (Co-Offensive Player of the Week) and Jared Ivey (Co-Defensive Lineman of the Week) have both earned weekly awards from the SEC office, as announced on Monday morning.

Dart is coming off another excellent passing performance in Ole Miss' 40-6 victory at Wake Forest last week, where he ended the night 26-of-34 for 377 yards and two touchdowns passing. He also added 35 yards and a score on the ground on six attempts, adding to his status as the FBS leader in total offense at 408.7 yards per game. Dart is also the national leader in passing yards at 390.7 yards per contest, and he stands among just five active FBS quarterbacks nationally with 8,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards.

Dart's two passing touchdowns pushed him past Chad Kelly for fifth all-time at Ole Miss with 51, and his streak of consecutive passes without an interception was snapped at 177, surpassing Eli Manning for fourth-longest in program history.

Ivey charted his best performance of the season against the Demon Deacons, ranking second on the team with six tackles, recording one QB hurry and leading the team with two of Ole Miss' four sacks on the night.

Ivey, who currently ranks as PFF's top-rated edge rusher nationally, is Ole Miss' active career leader in sacks with 11.0.Ivey's presence on Ole Miss' dominant defensive line has helped keep all Rebel opponents out of the endzone through the first three games this season, the first such stretch without allowing a touchdown to begin a season since 1961. The Rebels lead the FBS in rushing defense at 33.3 yards allowed per game, and have held three consecutive opponents to fewer than 50 yards rushing for the first time since 1993.