JACKSONVILLE — If the goal was to prove they deserved a bit more consideration for the College Football Playoff, then Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin and his team made a compelling case Thursday night.
Playing in the final collegiate game in his decorated career, Rebels senior quarterback Jaxson Dart — who entered the Gator Bowl against Duke as the Rebels’ all-time leader in passing yards, total offense and wins by a starting quarterback — threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns and set the program’s single-season passing yardage and total offense records in the No. 14 Rebels’ 52-20 blowout of the Blue Devils at EverBank Stadium. It’s the most points Ole Miss has ever scored in a bowl game.
With the win, the Rebels (10-3) have secured their third 10-win season in four years, the first such occurrence for the program since the 1959, 1960 and 1962 seasons. It is Ole Miss’ 10th 10-win season overall.
The Rebels entered the season ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll and were in the hunt for a berth in the expanded 12-team playoff for much of the season. But three losses by a combined 13 points — two as double-digit favorites to unranked teams — undid the Rebels’ national title dreams, as they were the third team out of the playoff field when it was announced.
Rather than sulk, Dart and nearly all of his teammates opted into the game and went all-in one last time.
“Our guys talked a lot over the course of the month, especially the last week, of making this statement, feeling that they were left out of the playoffs,” Kiffin said. “So, they really wanted to make a statement against an ACC team that had two teams in the playoffs and a team that they looked at as taking SMU to overtime. Proud of the way they played.”
Dart, who was named the game’s MVP, surpassed Chad Kelly’s 2015 totals in both passing yardage and total offense (4,042 and 4,542, respectively). Dart also became one of four quarterbacks in SEC history with at least 12,000 total yards, joining Aaron Murray (Georgia), Drew Lock (Missouri) and Tim Tebow (Florida). Dart also broke his own bowl records for passing yards and total offense.
“It’s like a dream playing football at Ole Miss,” Dart, who transferred in from USC prior to the 2022 season, said. “You can go anywhere and everybody is going to know your name. Everybody is going to support you. Everybody is going to have your back, and that’s just special. You don’t get that everywhere, especially where I’m from. I didn’t experience that at all at my old school, and then coming here, it’s just a family. The state of Mississippi is special.”
After an interception by senior kicker Caden Davis in the end zone on a fake field goal ended their first possession, the Rebels got a fourth-down stop on the Blue Devils’ (9-4) opening drive. They proceeded to march right down the field and capped off the drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Dart to senior receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. It was the first of four-straight scoring drives for Ole Miss, who took a 24-7 lead into halftime behind 250 passing yards and two touchdowns from Dart. The Rebels outgained the Blue Devils 340-130 in the first half.
Senior cornerback Isaiah Hamilton intercepted Duke quarterback Henry Belin IV and ran it back 50 yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter. It was the first pick-six for Ole Miss since AJ Finley’s against Texas A&M in 2021. On the ensuing Rebels drive, Dart faded to his left and lofted a 51-yard beauty to senior Jordan Watkins, setting up an 8-yard touchdown run from senior Ulysses Bentley IV. The last pass of Dart’s storied career was a 69-yard touchdown to Watkins with 1:27 left in the fourth — a play Kiffin said was supposed to be a handoff and apologized for postgame.
Dart completed 27 of 35 passes and finished with 447 total yards in the game.
“We’ll take the blame for that one,” Watkins said with a laugh.
The Rebels held Duke to 280 total yards in the game and just 44 yards rushing. Watkins led all receivers with 180 yards and two touchdowns in his final college game. Bentley led all rushers with 70 yards, and senior safety Trey Washington led Ole Miss with 10 total tackles.
“I told my teammates, told my coaches, told my mom before the game that I’m going to leave everything I have on that field,” Dart said. “I played the game the way that I play it, and I don’t really look into the future of whatever. I’m just there for the moment and I’m going to compete.”
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