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Gamer: Ole Miss football pounds Furman, 76-0, in Rebels’ season opener

Posted by | Aug 31, 2024 |

Gamer: Ole Miss football pounds Furman, 76-0, in Rebels’ season opener

OXFORD, Miss. – A cloudy Saturday evening played host to the season opener in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium as the Ole Miss Rebel football team pitched a shutout in an offensive onslaught that became a 76-0 win over the Furman Paladins.

Offense

The Rebels received the opening kickoff of the 2024 season and immediately went straight to work through the air. Jaxson Dart completed his first pass to Cayden Lee, an 11-yard completion that got things going for the Ole Miss.

Pushing down the field with purpose, Dart found a wide-open Caden Prieskorn for a 25-yard completion to put the Rebels deep into enemy territory. The Heisman-hopeful quarterback did the rest from there, finding some green grass as he raced 15 yards into the endzone for the first Ole Miss touchdown of the season.

Leading 7-0, the Rebels did not plan on letting up through the air. Dart found Lee, yet again, for a big gain on the first play of the drive, and Ole Miss raced back on the ball. The Rebel signal-caller then unleashed the long ball for 61 yards to Juice Wells, allowing the South Carolina transfer to run under it for the score.

An interception by the Rebel defense set the Ole Miss offense up nicely inside of Furman territory for the third drive of the game. As the Rebels inched their way into the red zone, big No. 38 JJ Pegues made his way into the backfield. Back-to-back rushing attempts from the Oxford native put another rushing touchdown in the books for Ole Miss, extending the lead to 21-0 late in the first.

Finally, the Furman defense was able to slow the Ole Miss offense a little. After the turnover on downs, a 42-yarder from Caden Davis that would have been good from a lot farther extended the Ole Miss lead to 24-0.

Just as the Rebel run game began to pick up with Henry Parrish, Jr at the helm, Dart went right back to work through the air. Another passing touchdown for the Heisman hopeful extended the Ole Miss lead to 31-0, and this time Dae’Quan Wright was on the receiving end. A 4-yard catch out of the fullback spot gave Wright his first touchdown as a Rebel.

After the game, Jaxson Dart had high praise for both his tight ends, not just Wright. “They are both NFL tight ends”, the Rebel starter claimed.

The fierce Rebel defense continued to give the Paladins fits, setting up the Ole Miss offense nicely once again midway through the second quarter. Two plays into the drive, Dart found a wide-open Prieskorn down the sideline for a 46-yard catch and run for the score.

Still refusing to let off the gas, Dart unleashed another long ball. Another 61-yarder over the top to Harris put the star playmaker over 100 yards on the day as well as marking his first touchdown of the 2024 season.

Scoring on every drive up to this point, the Ole Miss offense was still on fire. Dart continued his first-half onslaught through the air, finding Harris for a 22-yard score over the middle of the field. Dart’s sixth touchdown of the half put the Rebels up 52-0 with time still left in the first half.

With under a minute to go, head coach Lane Kiffin showed no signs of running the first half clock out. A few quick passes to the sideline put the Rebels in Caden Davis’ range, as a 53-yard attempt was on the way. The kick was wide-right to end the half, marking the first scoreless drive of the night for the Rebels.

The Rebels put up 502 total yards of offense in the first half with most of that coming from the big arm of Jaxson Dart. The 52 points scored by Ole Miss in the first half were also the most points in a half since 1962.

Picking up right where they left off, redshirt freshman and two-sport star Austin Simmons made his long-awaited debut in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Sticking to the scoring trend, Simmons unleashed a 35-yard bomb on the first play to Cayden Lee, allowing the sophomore to run under it and put the Rebels up 59-0 early in the second half.

Head coach Lane Kiffin commented on the freshman signal-caller in the postgame.

“I think it was really close. Both guys had a really good camp. It was a hard decision, just felt like Austin (Simmons) played a little bit better right at the end in certain situations.” 

~ Kiffin on Simmons over Howard at QB2

Simmons finished with 111 yards passing and a touchdown in his Rebel debut on the gridiron.

After a few punts from Fraser Masin, the Ole Miss offense began to find their groove again with Simmons at the helm. A couple of completions from Simmons to Ayden Williams set the Rebels up inside the red zone, allowing Matt Jones to do the rest. A 17-yard scamper up the middle put another score on the board for the Rebels, giving Ole Miss a 66-0 lead over Furman with time winding down in the third quarter.

With the third quarter coming to a close, the Rebel offense began to lean on the run game. Matt Jones continued to carry the load alongside Ulysses ‘Doo’ Bentley IV and, again, the senior found paydirt. Another scamper through the heart of the Furman defense for 46 yards gives Jones his second score of the night and put the Rebels up 73-0 to end the quarter.

Other than another 40-plus-yard field goal from the big leg of Caden Davis, the Rebels put the offense on cruise control in the fourth. The run game picked up in the second half for Ole Miss, allowing the Rebels to finish game one with 243 yards on the ground — with 159 of those coming in the second half. Still, no one on the Ole Miss roster eclipsed 100 yards rushing on the night.

The Ole Miss offense finished with 772 total yards, with Dart being responsible for more than half of that. After the game, the Rebel starter explained why he felt so comfortable in tonight’s game.

“I think the biggest thing is experience. I have three years in this offense…a lot of guys in this offense have played at a high level,” Dart explained when asked about his big game.

Defense

The Paladins came out firing on offense as well, picking up a handful of first downs on their opening drive. The Landshark defense stood tall, however, giving the ball back to their offense up a touchdown.

Coach Lane Kiffin commented on the Ole Miss defensive front after the game:

“It was a feeling we never had here…you just look at the four guys that went out there…it’s elite.“

Lane Kiffin

The Ole Miss defense finished with 16 total tackles for loss and added four sacks as well.

Leading 14-0 after a quick score, the Rebel defense went right back out there. With the defensive line causing fits for Furman in the rushing attack, the Paladins were forced to find something through the air. Trey Amos had other ideas, picking off the Paladin quarterback, and setting up the Rebels inside Furman territory.

Down 21-0, the Paladins began to show a little life on offense, putting together the best drive of the game for their offense thus far. However, the Landshark defense stood tall once again, halting the 38-yard drive for a turnover on downs to set the Rebels up nicely on offense.

The Ole Miss defense was lights out for the rest of the first half. The Paladins did not have a drive go over 20 yards for the remainder of the half, only seeming to find green grass on the occasional broken coverage for the Rebels.

Furman was held to just 105 passing yards and only 19 yards on the ground in the first half. The Ole Miss defense racked up seven total tackles for loss in the half with Chucky Mullins winner JJ Pegues leading with way with two of his own.

After not seeing the field much in the first half, Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul, Jr made his presence felt on the opening drive of the second half. The transfer linebacker was all over the field, picking up the first Rebel sack of the night alongside Akelo Stone.

Paul, Jr. took the podium after the game, speaking nothing but praise for his group.

“I’m really proud of those guys. It’s just because of the work they put in. I have seen those guys come to learn each and every day, I have seen them work together as brothers…it was really cool to showcase with those guys what we been working on all fall (camp).”

~ Chris Paul Jr on the Rebel defense

With the benches beginning to clear for the Rebels on both sides, true freshman Kam Franklin saw his chance to introduce himself. The Mississippi native picked up his first career sack mid-way through the third quarter as Ole Miss came up with another stop.

Continuing their dominance, the Landshark defense did not allow much at all for the Paladins in the third. Just 15 yards through the air was erased by -18 yards on the ground for Furman as the new-look defensive front for Ole Miss seems to be what it was hyped up to be.

The Landshark defense continued to show their teeth in the fourth as well, despite the Paladins rushing for the most yards they had all night, it was still just 25 yards of rushing allowed for the Rebel defense in the quarter. The depth on the defense began to show as well with transfer Chris Hardie leading the way with his aggression in the second half.

Ole Miss held the Paladins to just 26 yards rushing on the night and just 146 yards through the air. The fierce Rebel defense was led by Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul, Jr. who tallied 8 tackles, half a sack, two-and-a-half tackles for loss and a pass breakup for the night.

JJ Pegues and the highly touted Walter Nolen held things down in the middle of the defense for most of the game and freshman Kam Franklin shined as well, leading the Rebels with three tackles for loss in his debut.

Up Next

The Ole Miss Rebels will stay at home next week as they take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. Kickoff is set for 3:15 pm CT on the SEC Network+.
Kameron Wicker

Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.

About The Author

Kameron Wicker

Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.

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