Postgame Notables from Ole Miss’ 52-3 Win Over Middle Tennessee

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss football defeated Middle Tennessee, 52-3, Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway. The Rebels move to 2-0 on the year and will travel to Winston-Salem next weekend for a matchup with Wake Forest.

Here are some notables, courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics from the win over the Blue Raiders Saturday.

Series history

• This game marked the second all-time meeting between Ole Miss and Middle Tennessee.
• The Rebels defeated the Blue Raiders 45-17 in the first matchup between the two.

Starters

• LB Chris Paul Jr., WR Antwane Wells and OL Julius Buelow made their first career starts for Ole Miss.
• OL Jeremy James‘ team-leading 50 consecutive start streak was snapped due to injury, as he missed his first game since 2019.
• QB Jaxson Dart is the new leader of consecutive starts among active Rebels, after making his 26th-straight against MTSU.
• Other notable starting streaks include S Trey Washington (17th), S John Saunders Jr. (15th) and Caden Prieskorn (12th).

Notes

• Attendance for Saturday’s game was 66,427, the second largest on record.
• Ole Miss is 67-17 (.798) versus non-conference opponents dating back to a 38-0 win over Tulane on Nov. 12, 1994 … Under head coach Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss is 16-2 against non-conference opponents.
• Ole Miss is now 119-41-6 (.717) all-time versus non-conference opponents during September.
• The Rebels are 301-115-8 (.710) all-time at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium before vacated wins (277-112-8 after).
• Ole Miss has now gone 23-2 at home since the beginning of the 2021 season.

Offensive Notes

• The Ole Miss offense scored in its first five possessions of the game, recording four touchdowns in that span … In the first two games of the season, the Rebels have scored in 20 of 27 drives (17 touchdowns).
• Ole Miss’ rapid-fire offense put together one scoring drive in under a minute of possession … On the season, the Rebels have completed five scoring drives in under a minute.
• The Rebels scored six rushing touchdowns, good for the most by the program since scoring six against Georgia Tech on Sept. 17, 2022.
• Ole Miss has secured the most points (128) through the first two games since 2015 (149).
• QB Jaxson Dart opened the competition by completing his first 24 passing attempts of the game, ending the day with 377 yards and one touchdown through the air … It sets the program record for most consecutive completions by an Ole Miss QB, and sets the SEC record for most consecutive in a single game … Matt Corral held the previous program record of 19, which he set in 2020 against Vanderbilt, and Tee Martin of Tennessee held the previous SEC record.
• When counting his final six consecutive completions against Furman, Dart’s 30 straight completions sets the SEC record for longest completion streak between multiple games.
• Dart continued to move up in the Ole Miss record books … He passed Chad Kelly to claim the No. 4 spot in career passing yards, and now sits at 7,133 yards.
• Dart’s consecutive passes without an interception streak continued, as he climbed to No. 5 on the leaderboard with 154 straight completions.
• RB Henry Parrish Jr. had his most impressive showcase as a Rebel, scoring four times and recording a career high 165 yards on the ground … His four touchdowns is a career-best … He also recorded the longest rush of his career, a 42-yarder in the third quarter.
• Parrish’s four touchdown day was the most by a Rebel since Matt Corral had four rushing touchdowns against Tulane on Sept. 18, 2021, and the most by a non-quarterback since Dexter McCluster in 2009 versus Tennessee.
• Parrish became the first Rebel since Snoop Conner against Arkansas on Oct. 9, 2021 to score three rushing touchdowns in a half.
• WR Tre Harris recorded 100+ yards for the seventh time as a Rebel … He ties Evan Engram for the sixth-most by a Rebel in program history.
• WR Antwane ‘Juice’ Wells caught six passes on six targets for 78 yards and a touchdown … He has now scored in his first two outings as a Rebel.
• TE Caden Prieskorn now has 36 catches as a Rebel, which is tied for 10th all-time among Ole Miss tight ends.

Defensive Notes

• Ole Miss has kicked off the 2024 campaign by holding opposing offenses to zero touchdowns through two games.
• The Rebels made it through 89:45 minutes in 2024 without allowing any points. It’s the latest the Rebels have allowed their first points since at least 1974.
• The Rebels have allowed their least amount of points (3) through the first two games since 1991.
• For the second straight game, the Ole Miss defense allowed fewer than 20 yards rushing in the first half.
• The Ole Miss defense held its opponent to under 50 yards rushing (28), the second time doing so this season … It’s the first time MTSU has been held to less than 50 yards on the ground since Dec. 24, 2022, when it faced South Dakota State.
• Ole Miss continued to force pressure in the backfield, forcing nine tackles for loss and subtracting 31 yards.
• The Rebel defense forced two turnovers (an interception by S John Saunders Jr. and fumble recovery by LB TJ Dottery) that led to Ole Miss touchdown drives.
• Saunders Jr.’s interception was his first of the season and fourth as a Rebel and Dottery’s recovered fumble was the first of his career.
• DE Princely Umanmielen recorded his first sack in the red and blue … He finished the game with two tackles and two QB hits.
• LB Chris ‘Pooh’ Paul Jr. tacked on 1.5 TFLs in his second game as a Rebel … He is now at four for the season and averaging two a game.

Special Teams Notes

• K Caden Davis has made his first 16 PATs of the season … He set the program record of made PATs with 10 last week against Furman.
• Ole Miss’ kickoff coverage has only allowed 50 yards on three returns in the first two games of the season.
• Davis tallied 10 points kicking and extends his team-leading scoring mark to 27.
• Ole Miss P Fraser Masin recorded no punts for the game, and has only two attempts to start the season.

Feature image credit: Dan Anderson, The Rebel Walk

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.