Standing on the field at Jacksonville’s EverBank Stadium holding the Gator Bowl trophy, shoulder-to-shoulder with the leading passer in Ole Miss history, head coach Lane Kiffin did not mince his words.
This was not the end of an era. It instead was the beginning of the next great thing.
With its resounding 52-20 win over Duke last week, Ole Miss finished off its second straight 10-win season and third in four years. It’s the first such instance of both since the late 1950s/early 1960s and just the 10th double-digit win season in the program’s history.
Quarterback Jaxson Dart won MVP of the Gator Bowl after throwing for 404 yards and four touchdowns and finished his career as the Rebels’ single-season and career leader in passing yards and total offense. His 28 wins as Ole Miss’ starting quarterback are also the most in school history. Dart is headed to the NFL, however, as are stalwarts like Jordan Watkins, Tre Harris, Princely Umanmielen, J.J. Pegues, Jared Ivey and Trey Washington, among others. The group that came back for “The Last Dance” in 2024 is off to start their respective professional careers, and the 2025 Rebels are bound to look significantly different than the version that’s taken the field the last three seasons.
Still, Kiffin was firm.
“They’ve set a standard and an expectation of how we expect to play. So, that’s 21 wins in the last two years,” Kiffin said. “And we’re just getting started. We’re going to get better next year.”
In addition to returning talent like quarterback Austin Simmons, receiver Cayden Lee, tight end Dae’Quan Wright and defensive end Suntarine Perkins, Ole Miss is adding a top-15 recruiting class – headlined by five-star wide receiver Caleb Cunningham – and has built a top-five transfer portal class thus far. While losing key members of a star-studded roster is never easy, Kiffin was in a similar position following the 2021 season.
“I probably wouldn’t have been so confident if we hadn’t done some of this before. I feel like when Matt Corral left, I feel like a lot of people thought we’re going to have this downswing and that was just kind of a Matt Corral thing,” Kiffin said. “ … I know we won 10 games, we won 11 the year before – that’s 21 in two years – but our team this year was a better team. … My point is we can keep getting better just continuing to add players and add pieces and keeping our staff together, too, which has been very critical. I think we said at the beginning of the year – I should remember this – I feel like this was the first year where all three coordinators, we were able to keep them, maybe the whole time that we’ve been here. We’ve always lost one or two of them every year.”
Dart, who came to Ole Miss following that 2021 Sugar Bowl campaign, believes what the Rebels have built is not a flash in the pan.
“This program is on the rise,” Dart said. “They’re going to continue to get better, and I think it’s just a place where people really want to play and be a part of. There’s a lot of excitement and momentum going for it, and like I said, I think it’s going to continue to improve and continue to be one of the best programs in the country.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
