Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart Discusses Loss to Kentucky, What’s Next for Rebels
Oxford, Miss. – Ole Miss moved to 4-1, 0-1 SEC following the 20-17 loss to Kentucky Saturday inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Following the game, Rebel quarterback Jaxson Dart talked about what happened on the field, starting with an analysis of the Kentucky defense.
“They were an elite defense going into the game, and we knew that. They did an amazing job on first down, and in the first half, especially besides the first drive, we weren’t able to get first down to get into tempo. We knew that once we were able to get the ball moving a little bit, that’s when we would have our advantage, but when we get stuck on second and long and then have to scheme something up when we don’t do a good job on first down, it really puts you behind.“
– Dart on the Kentucky defense
BIG TIME SACK BY @jjtimeee pic.twitter.com/hcj0avqjNc
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) September 28, 2024
The Wildcats limited Lane Kiffin’s offense to 92 rushing yards and 261 passing yards on the day while forcing the Rebs to go 1-10 on third downs as they collected just 14 first downs. Dart discussed the Rebs’ lack of offensive production.
“I just wish that we could’ve made adjustments sooner than we did. We got caught in too many third-and-longs, and we play in the SEC, that’s just really hard to convert. There’s a lot of things that we have to look at on tape and find ways to not be in that situation again.”
– Dart on the Ole Miss offensive production
Despite the offensive struggle, the Rebs still managed to get the ball in their hands, behind by just three points with more than two minutes left to play. Putting themselves in field goal position that would tie the game, Ole Miss’ hopes were dashed when Caden Davis’ 48-yard attempt went wide left.
Looking at everything that happened in the last drives, Dart explained the team had several chances to win and simply failed to do so.
.@BrockVandagriff ➡️ @BarionBrown making a BIG play in the clutch pic.twitter.com/nXilOA8fs8
— Kentucky Football (@UKFootball) September 29, 2024
“We all had chances to win in all three phases. I could’ve had a better drive at the end of the game to win the game. We had a chance to make a stop on fourth down, and we could’ve made a field goal too, so we have a lot of things from all three phases that we need to improve on. He’s (Caden Davis) a great kicker, and I hope that he continues to have confidence because we’re going to need him.“
– Jaxson Dart
Unfortunately for Ole Miss, the task at hand will not get any easier with a trip to South Carolina on the horizon. Coming off of a bye week, this is a Gamecock team that defeated Kentucky 31-6 in Lexington and has proven to be extremely fast and physical across the field. For Jaxson, this matchup has the potential to determine the entire direction of the 2024 season.
“There’s a lot of things we need to improve on, like I said, we have a lot more opportunities. This is going to be a wake-up call and a season-defining game for us. How we answer that will have to do with how the direction of how our season goes, so we have to buck up.“
– Dart on South Carolina
Throughout the week, be sure to stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for all of your Ole Miss sports coverage and more. Hotty Toddy!
