OXFORD — Ole Miss found itself trailing for the first time all season Saturday afternoon. But for all Tulsa did well in the early and latter portions in the type of game that has been unfamiliar in 2022, the Rebels remained unfazed, on point and, most importantly, on schedule.
The Golden Hurricane — who entered the game averaging 413 passing yards per game behind the powerful right arm of quarterback Davis Brin — got off to a scorching start, with Brin throwing touchdowns on the first two drives of the afternoon to put Ole Miss behind 14-7.
But behind sophomore quarterback Jaxson Dart, the Rebels weathered the early Tulsa storm and then held off a late surge, as the USC transfer threw two second-quarter touchdown passes in a 35-27 win at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
It is the 12th straight home win for the Rebels, which is tied for seventh-longest among Power Five teams. The streak is the program’s longest in Oxford since winning 12 in a row from 1960-64.
After trailing 14-7, Ole Miss outscored Tulsa 28-3 in the second quarter to close out the half. Tulsa surged back to within one score in the fourth quarter behind backup freshman quarterback Braylon Braxton, who entered the game for an injured Brin in the second. But Ole Miss did what it had to do defensively despite giving up a season-high in points and yards.
Ole Miss ends its nonconference a perfect 4-0 heading into a huge home matchup next weekend against No. 8 Kentucky.
True freshman running back Quinshon Judkins scored two first-half touchdowns and finished the game with a career-high 140 rushing yards and two touchdowns. The Rebels had 201 first-half rushing yards and 308 overall.
Dart got the start — for the first time this season, he was announced as the sole starter at the position without sophomore Luke Altmyer — and hurt the Golden Hurricane through the air and on the ground, finishing with 154 yards passing and two touchdowns to go with 116 rushing yards.
Dart put his stamp on the game early, carrying the ball on the first two plays of the game for 37 yards. It set up a 20-yard touchdown run from junior running back Zach Evans to give the Rebels a lead 1:39 into the game, just five seconds off the scoring pace from last weekend at Georgia Tech.
Brin hit four of his first five for 65 yards, capping off Tulsa’s (2-2) opening drive with a short touchdown run to tie the game at seven. He threw a touchdown on the next drive as well, putting Ole Miss in a position it hadn’t been in since the Sugar Bowl — behind.
Dart rallied the troops, flipping through the air to convert a crucial fourth down on the next drive. Freshman Quinshon Judkins tied the game at 14 with a 4-yard touchdown.
Dart put the Rebels ahead once and for all on the following drive with a perfectly arced sideline throw to senior Malik Heath from 31 yards out. He threw another touchdown to senior Jonathan Mingo — a 31-yard catch-and-run that saw him juke a Tulsa defender completely out of the play — following a fourth-down interception from senior A.J. Finley.
After a rough start defensively, Ole Miss’ defense dominated the passing game in the second quarter, holding Tulsa to just 19 passing yards after racking up 103 in the first quarter. Brin left the game in the second quarter and gave way to Braxton, who completed just two passes for 10 yards in the quarter.
Tulsa outscored Ole Miss 10-0 to start the second half and trailed by just eight after being down 21 earlier. But the Rebels defense came up big late, and Judkins and Dart put the final nail in Tulsa’s coffin with late, clutch running.
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