Gamer: No. 5 Ole Miss Beats Wake Forest on the Road, 40-6

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – Hitting the road for the first time in 2024, the Ole Miss Rebel football team cruised past the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 40-6, in Winston-Salem Saturday night courtesy of an aggressive defensive showing from the Landshark defense.

Road Rebs get the W ‼️ pic.twitter.com/rgQj9LnhUD

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 15, 2024

First Half

The Rebel offense received the game’s opening kick, and they went right to work. Ole Miss signal-caller Jaxson Dart completed his first three passes in the first minute of play, getting the Rebels in Wake Forest territory quickly.

Continuing his dominance on the ground from a week ago, Henry Parrish Jr. capped off the five-play drive with a 25-yard scamper into the end zone to put the Rebels up by seven in a hurry.

Another week. Another Harlem TD. 🔥@DoubleTay_21 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/BNDIEQJGDK

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 14, 2024

Trailing after a little over two minutes of play, the Demon Deacons’ offense went to work, picking up a first down early in their opening drive. However, Chucky Mullins award winner JJ Pegues came up with a sack on third down to flip the field back to the Ole Miss offense.

Show ’em how it’s done JJ 🏹@JeremiahPegues4 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/pu8iFodlJx

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 14, 2024

The Rebel offense went right back to work, moving down the field quickly courtesy of Dart’s arm and Parrish Jr’s legs to set up inside the red zone at the Wake Forest 17-yard line. A high snap was too much for Dart to handle on the next play, marking the first turnover for Ole Miss in the young season.

A few costly penalties on the following Wake Forest drive kept the Rebel defense on the field, allowing the Demon Deacons to drive into Ole Miss territory. However, the Rebel secondary stood tall on third down at the 24-yard line, forcing a 42-yard field goal by the Demon Deacons to make it 7-3 with just over five minutes to go in the first.

After getting their first taste of adversity of the season, the Ole Miss offense responded in a hurry. On the second play of the following drive, Dart found Jordan Watkins deep down the field with no defenders around for the 75-yard score, making it 14-3 Ole Miss.

You can’t leave @jordantwatkins that open 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/RnrjKi9Gvz

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 14, 2024

With the Landshark defense forcing the Demon Deacons to go backward on the next drive, the Ole Miss offense trotted right back out on the gridiron. A crossing route over the middle of the field to Juice Wells set the Rebels up in striking range again, allowing Parrish Jr to quickly put Ole Miss up by three scores with a 22-yard burst into the endzone.

Getting a little bit of déjà vu. @DoubleTay_21 | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/XrpPFVcYbU

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 14, 2024

Following a few drives of trading punts back-and-forth, the Rebel offense put together a 16-play, 71-yard drive to get deep into Wake Forest territory. However, a costly penalty backed Ole Miss up to the 15-yard line on 4th down, forcing a 33-yard field goal by Caden Davis that increased the Rebel lead to 23-3 with under five minutes left in the half.

To close the half, the Demon Deacons put together their longest drive of the game. A 13-play drive that wiped out the last four minutes of play was put to an end by the Rebel front, standing tall to force a Wake Forest field goal, making it 23-6 at the half.

The Landshark defense only allowed five rushing yards in the first half, and only 155 total yards. Jared Ivey in the Rebel front was leading the way, recording five first-half tackles, three of them for a loss and a pair of sacks as well.

On the other side, the Ole Miss offense had nearly 400 total yards at the half. Jaxson Dart led the way with 287 yards through the air while Parrish Jr added 85 yards on the ground and two scores.

Second Half

Opening the final half of play, the Rebel defense forced a quick punt to get the ball back into the offense’s hands. However, the drive ended quickly with Dart throwing his first interception of the year to set the Demon Deacons up in striking distance.

After a few penalties against the Rebels kept the Wake Forest drive alive, the Ole Miss secondary came up big, forcing an incompletion on a fourth and goal throw into the end zone to give the ball right back to Dart and the Rebel offense.

Mixing it up on the ground and through the air, the offense put an end to the scoring drought with a 96-yard drive. It was a drive full of Jaxson Dart highlights that ended with an angry, 12-yard touchdown run from the signal caller to extend the Ole Miss lead to 30-6 with a little over three minutes to go in the third quarter.

THAT’S MY QB 🗣️🗣️@JaxsonDart | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/XFoNSkAbh0

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 15, 2024

The Demon Deacon offense continued to work their way down the field on the Landshark defense on the ensuing drive, moving into the red zone once again. However, the Rebel front kept bringing the heat, forcing another 4th-down throw into the end zone that was batted away by Brandon Turnage to give the ball back to the Ole Miss offense.

Hometown kid getting the stop 🛑@bturnage1k | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/msxS3M0dH0

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 15, 2024

Again, the Rebel offense got in its own way in the red zone with costly penalties. After setting up at the 3-yard line following a Cayden Lee catch, an offensive pass interference call backed the Rebels up for a long 3rd-and-goal. Failing to reach the end zone, Ole Miss settled for three more as Caden Davis knocked another through the uprights to make it 33-6 halfway through the fourth.

The pass interference call was the eleventh penalty of the night called against Ole Miss. Despite the win, the story on the trip home for the Rebels will likely be the costly penalties that cost 111 total yards.

Immediately, the Rebel defense came up big once again. John Saunders Jr. forced the first turnover of the game for the Ole Miss defense, punching the ball out of the arms of the runner, allowing Louis Moore to come up with the recovery.

The Rebel offense then added insult to injury. On the third play of the drive, Dart found Juice Wells in stride as the Rebel playmaker stuck a handout to make an incredible one-handed catch to put the Rebels up 40-3 late in the final quarter of play.

MY GOODNESS. JUICE WELLS.@juicew3lls | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/8ujiYgxtIp

— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 15, 2024

With a majority of the second-team defense in the game for the Rebels at this point, Suntarine Perkins came up with the final stop to cap off a stellar performance by the Landshark defense. A ball batted into the air by the Rebel front almost hit the ground until Perkins fell down with it, coming up with his first career collegiate interception.

The Rebel offense then ran the remaining minute out with Austin Simmons checking in at quarterback.

Led by Jaxson Dart’s 377 yards and 2 touchdowns, the Ole Miss offense put up 650 total yards. Henry Parrish Jr. added 124 more yards on the ground along with another pair of scores. Tre Harris led the way in the Rebel receiving room with 11 grabs for 127 yards.

Although shaky at times in coverage, the Landshark defense was the star of the show in Winston-Salem. The Ole Miss defense allowed just 46 rushing yards and forced a pair of turnovers as well. The Rebel front was led by Jared Ivey, who was tormenting the Demon Deacon offensive line all night. The Rebel defensive end finished with six total tackles, two for a loss, a pair of sacks and a pass deflection. TJ Dottery led the Rebels in tackles with eight on the night.

Up Next

The Ole Miss Rebels will return home next weekend for the final non-conference matchup of the year. On Saturday, September 21st, the Rebels will play host to the Georgia Southern Eagles at 6:45 pm CT on the SEC Network.