OXFORD — Ole Miss sophomore quarterback Jaxson Dart got his first taste of life in the SEC on Saturday in a massive homecoming matchup against No. 7 Kentucky. The USC transfer helped lead the No. 14 Rebels to a wild 22-19 victory over the Wildcats at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in front of 64,828 fans that didn’t leave their seats once the action got going.
Dart played in some good-sized stadiums in the Pac-12. But it was nothing compared to what he experienced against Kentucky this weekend.
“Personally, I’ve never played in a game like this big or in front of a crowd or an atmosphere like this,” said Dart, who threw for 213 yards. “So it was definitely an experience I’ll forever remember. This stuff’s addicting. I look forward to what else is in store.”
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin — who has been openly critical of Ole Miss’ crowd sizes this season — had nothing but good things to say today.
“Crowd was awesome today,” Kiffin said. “Who knows? Did they false start at the end because of the crowd and help us win the game? Very well could have. So that was awesome to see.”
Offensive line shuffle
The Rebels switched up their offensive line this week, starting sophomore Eli Acker at center, junior Jeremy James and senior Nick Broeker at guard and redshirt freshman Jayden Williams and redshirt freshman Micah Pettus at the tackle spots. Acker was replaced by junior Caleb Warren, who had played the majority of the first four games at center, later in the game. Warren did not start due to injury.
“With the center down, obviously that causes issues. We had to double-move some guys and play guys in different spots,” Kiffin said. “You’re in the SEC, and you’re playing with two freshmen offensive tackles. So, those guys did a good job. Micah, basically his first significant play, starting against a very hard defense to play against. And I think they did a good job.”
Key number: 13
Ole Miss has won 13 straight home games and nine straight regular-season games overall. The Rebels’ last regular season loss came at Auburn on Oct. 30, 2021.
Next game
The Rebels face Vanderbilt in Nashville at 3 p.m. Saturday on the SEC Network.
Quotable
“It is what it is. It’s one game. Looking at the games is what a coach does. That can go either way. They’re a really good team that plays really hard with really talented players and good coaching. We also don’t all of the sudden have everything figured out. We made a play in the game there at the end. We’ve got a lot of work to do. Excited to get back to it and excited to stay undefeated.” — Lane Kiffin, on beating a top-10 team
Rebel ramblings
Ole Miss improved to 72-16-2 all time in homecoming games and has won 23 of its last 26 … Freshman running back Quinshon Judkins now has 535 yards rushing and six touchdowns … Ole Miss had nine tackles for loss against the Wildcats … Senior kicker Jonathan Cruz’s 53-yard field goal in the second quarter was the sixth longest in Rebels history and farthest since 2012 … The Rebels have forced at least one turnover in four of five games this season.
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