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

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.

About The Author

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.

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