OXFORD – The faces at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will largely be new Saturday. But the expectation for No. 21 Ole Miss remains the same: win, win win.
The Rebels begin life without three-year starting quarterback Jaxson Dart – among a handful of others – in their season opener this weekend against Georgia State. Kickoff is set for 6:45 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on SEC Network.
Coming off its third 10-win season in four years, Ole Miss loses 18 starters from its 2024 squad, including its entire starting defensive line, four starters on the offensive line, most of its secondary, nearly 2,500 yards in wide receiver production and, of course, Dart.
Time waits for no one, though, and head coach Lane Kiffin is excited to see his new roster in action. That roster, Kiffin said, is excited to finally line up against someone else following weeks of fall practices.
“It’ll be exciting to come out and play in front of a home crowd,” said Kiffin, who is starting his sixth year as the Rebels’ head coach. “ … Some of these early games have been early kickoffs, so it was good to get a later kickoff for our fans. And so, we’re excited with that. Really urge them to show up early and stay and create a great home environment like we’ve had it a lot of times here.”
Redshirt sophomore Austin Simmons takes over for Dart, who left Ole Miss as the program’s all-time leader in passing yards, total offense and wins by a starting quarterback. Simmons has attempted just 32 career passes but thrived behind Dart, particularly when thrust into action against No. 3 Georgia in November. Simmons had a rough first fall scrimmage, Kiffin told reporters, but rebounded well over the next few weeks.
“I definitely see a lot of progression (in myself) over time. Definitely managing the offense, driving down the field, dealing with certain plays that really hold up the tempo,” Simmons said. “But, it’s been good overall.”
Georgia State is coming off a 3-9 campaign under Dell McGee. McGee was hired in February of 2024 following the departure of Shawn Elliott. The Panthers have added 67 new players this offseason – including a pair of former Ole Miss running backs in Rashad Amos and Jordon Simmons – and are not to be taken lightly, according to Kiffin. Among the highly touted additions to the roster is former Georgia running back Branson Robinson, a consensus four-star recruit in the 2022 class.
Georgia State has two wins against Power 4 programs all-time – a 2019 win over Tennessee and last year’s win over Vanderbilt.
“This is a really well-coached team that has really good players, a number returning and a number of transfers from really big places that have come in. Coach (McGee) has done a really good job building this team … With only a few months to prepare (they) went and beat Vanderbilt last year. Says a lot about their staff.
“ … We’re going to need to perform really well.”
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