Ole Miss overcomes adversity in road win over Wake Forest
WINSTON-SALEM, NC — Every great team has to learn to overcome the nights when things just don’t go as smoothly as planned, the nights you commit inexplicable penalties, turn the ball over and just don’t quite live up to your standards. But in overcoming such nights and emerging with a win, a team can learn valuable lessons for the future.
That was the case in Ole Miss’ 40-6 victory over Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, NC Saturday night.
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin met with media following the win.
His team’s performance definitely was not pretty; Ole Miss committed 11 penalties that cost the Rebs 114 yards. They turned the ball over twice, once on a Jaxson Dart interception — his first since the Georgia game last year — and once on an errant snap. They also had to settle for two field goals in the red zone.
But regardless of his team’s miscues, Coach Kiffin explained there might be a bright side to some of the sloppiness.
“It’s good. If this would have been another 60-point win or something we probably wouldn’t have their attention,” Kiffin explained after the game.
“It’s good for us to have stuff to clean up. Again, (Wake Forest has) done a great job here of winning a lot of games against ranked teams. This was a big challenge for us.”
Lane Kiffin
Overcoming adversity on the road is important — and doing so could be something Ole Miss needs to remember later in a schedule that includes trips to South Carolina, Arkansas, LSU, and Florida.
“We needed it, to go on the road, have some adversity and still win by 34 points. It says a lot (about this team), that they’re really talented,” Kiffin said.
“That’s what it says. They’re really talented. That we can play sloppy, get penalties, turnovers and still win like that, it’s a really talented roster.”
Lane Kiffin
Kiffin quickly acknowledged some of the issues that plagued the Rebels last night.
“Now, we can’t have the critical penalties on defense, two turnovers and Jaxson’s penalty that cost us four points,” the head coach noted.
Dart was called for unsportsmanlike conduct for taking his helmet off after coming close to the end zone in the second half. It initially appeared as if Wake Forest should have been called for targeting of Dart on the play; however, replay indicated that was not the case. The 15-yard penalty moved the Rebels back and they were ultimately forced to kick a field goal as opposed to a potential touchdown.
After the game, Dart echoed the sentiments of his head coach on the importance of working through a game like this on the road.
“That was the ugliest 600-yard game we could play,” Dart said.
“I talked to coach Kiffin before the game ended and I was like, ‘I felt like this is what we needed as a team,’” Dart said.
“We did a lot of really good things, and then just didn’t finish. You saw how explosive we are, but at the same time, we just hurt ourselves. I think it’s a good wake-up call and it’s definitely something that is going to light a fire underneath us. I know definitely for me.“
Jaxson Dart
Dart finished 26-of-34 for 377 yards and two passing touchdowns. He also scored on a bruising and bashing 13-yard run in the third quarter that gave Ole Miss a 30-6 lead, putting the game out of reach.
THAT’S MY QB 🗣️🗣️@JaxsonDart | #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/XFoNSkAbh0
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) September 15, 2024
While Ole Miss defeated Furman and Middle Tennessee by a combined score of 128-3 to open the season, there really was not that much to be learned from those two contests. Against Wake Forest, however, the Rebels can go back, look at the tape and use what they see to prepare them for SEC play that begins on September 28.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
