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Ole Miss beats Duke, 52-20, on a record-breaking night for Jaxson Dart

Posted by | Jan 3, 2025 | ,

Ole Miss beats Duke, 52-20, on a record-breaking night for Jaxson Dart

Our Gator Bowl coverage is brought to you by BlueSky and Southern Traditions Horse Farm. Hotty Toddy! 

OXFORD, Miss. – Capping off the 2024 season in Jacksonville, the No. 14 Ole Miss Rebels pummeled the Duke Blue Devils, 52-20, in the 80th annual Gator Bowl to reach 10 wins for the third time in the last four seasons under head coach Lane Kiffin.

First half

After receiving the opening kick, the Rebels were brought to a quick fourth down. However, the Blue Devils’ defense was no match for Rebel defensive tackle JJ Pegues who would pick up the easy 4th-and-1 and more just as he had all season.

Jaxson Dart then began to let it loose, finding Dae’Quan Wright for 30 yards over the top of the defense to put the Ole Miss offense in the red zone on the opening drive. A few short gains later and a short third-down throw to Cayden Lee then brought up another fourth and short for the Rebels.

The Rebels’ special teams unit then lined up in an odd formation with kicker Caden Davis lined up at quarterback. Davis would take the snap and roll right, throwing an interception that Duke would return all the way into Ole Miss territory near midfield.

However, the Landshark defense would stand tall for the Rebels, quickly forcing a 4th-and-1 for the Blue Devil offense. Leading the nation in sacks to end the season, the Ole Miss pass rush chased after first-time Duke starter Henry Belin IV to force a turnover of their own.

Ulysses Bentley IV got things going on the opening play of the next drive with an 18-yard rush that set the Rebels up at midfield. Another 18-yard gain, this time a pass over the middle of the field to Caden Prieskorn, pushed the Rebels even deeper into Duke territory allowing Dart to hit Antwane ‘Juice’ Wells on a slant that the wideout took 32 yards to the house for the first score of the game.

On the following Duke drive, Trey Washington was all over the place for the Rebel defense to help force a quick three-and-out and the first punt of the game from the Blue Devils.

The Rebel offense then trotted back out, and it was all Dart and Bentley IV from there. The Rebel signal-caller picked apart the Blue Devil defense with short and intermediate passes, allowing Bentley to cap off the drive with a tough push into the endzone to put the Rebels up 14-0 late in the first quarter.

Ending the first quarter, the Duke offense would move the chains for the first time in the game with an 18-yard pass from Belin IV. However, the Rebel defense would stand tall again to force the second straight Duke punt.

The fierce Blue Devil front got after Dart on the following drive, stuffing Bentley IV as well, to bring up a long third down for Ole Miss. Dart dropped back to pass, scrambling down the sideline before diving for the first down marker and picking up the 19-yard gain.

The Rebel signal-caller then hit his tight end, Wright, on a corner route down the field for a 22-yard pickup, taking a shot in the process while delivering the ball to set the offense up in the red zone once again. The Blue Devil defense would stand tall, though, stuffing the Rebel rushing attack and forcing an incompletion on third down. Davis then came out to put the Rebels up 17-0 with just under 10 minutes left in the half, drilling a 28-yard kick.

The 22-yard pass from Dart to Wright tied Dart with Chad Kelly for the most passing yards in a single season in Ole Miss history (4,042). The next pass from Dart was a five-yard pass to Prieskorn, which broke the record to set the current Rebel signal-caller at the top of the history books in yet another category.

However, Belin IV did not give in despite this being his first start of 2024. The Duke signal-caller found Que’sean Brown and Jordan Moore all the way down the field into the red zone with chunk plays before scrambling around and finding Javon Harvey wide-open in the endzone to cut the Ole Miss lead to 17-7.

Dart went right back to work for the Rebels, orchestrating the tempo offense to perfection as he hit multiple receivers including Jordan Watkins for a 20-yard gain deep into the Duke side of the field. After a couple of short gains and a false start, Dart tossed a jump ball into the endzone for Wright and the big tight end came down with it for a 21-yard score to put the Rebels back up three scores.

With just under two minutes left in the first half, Belin IV and the Duke offense put together a clock-draining drive before punting it away to ultimately end the first half of play with Ole Miss leading 24-7.

Dart went into the locker room with outstanding first-half stats, going 22 for 29 on his passes for 250 yards and a pair of scores, adding 46 yards with his legs as well. Wright led the way for the Rebel pass catchers with 3 grabs for 73 yards and a touchdown at the break.

Washington led the way for the Ole Miss defense with 6 tackles through two quarters, and linebacker Khari Coleman added 3 of his own with a combined tackle for loss with Akelo Stone.

Second half

The Rebels and the Blue Devils traded punts to begin the second quarter after Duke received the opening kickoff of the half. Belin IV and the Blue Devil offense then picked up a short fourth down on the following drive, finding some rhythm.

However, Belin IV was pressured in a hurry on 3rd-and-long by Princely Umanmielen, tossing up a jump ball that Isaiah Hamilton would pick off and take the other way to the house for a 50-yard pick-six.

The interception was the first of the 2024 season for Hamilton, putting the Rebels up 31-7 five minutes into the second half.

After picking up a couple of first downs through the air, the Rebel defense halted the Blue Devil defense once again. Bringing up another fourth-down attempt, the Ole Miss defense forced the incompletion from Belin IV and another turnover-on-downs.

Bentley IV began the next drive for the Rebels with a pair of carries for a combined 20 yards to set up the offense near midfield. Dart once again would show off the arm talent as he was flushed to his right, unleashing a laser towards the front pylon and completing it for 51 yards to Watkins.

The big play from Dart to Watkins added more to the legacy of the Rebel quarterback, making him the 4th player in SEC history with 12,000 yards of offense, joining Tim Tebow (UF), Aaron Murray (UGA), and Drew Lock (Missouri).

After another red zone false start from the Rebels, Bentley IV punched it in for the second time on the night. The Ole Miss back hit the outside on the handoff, scoring from 8 yards out to give the Rebels a 31-point lead with just over a minute left in the third quarter.

Once again, Ole Miss and Duke traded possessions with punt and turnover-on-downs as the Rebel defense began to substitute and rotate players more often. The Rebel offense then trotted back out with intention as Dart was still in the backfield.

Set up in Duke territory after the third Duke turnover-on-downs of the game, Dart found Watkins on the second play of the drive for a 21-yard pick-up to give the Rebel wideout 100-plus yards on the night. Another pass completed to Lee put Ole Miss on the goal line once again, allowing Dart to toss his third touchdown of the night to Watkins from one yard out as the Rebels took a 45-7 lead five minutes into the fourth quarter.

However, Belin IV refused to give in as he led Duke deep into Ole Miss territory with the intermediate pass game. Inching closer to the red zone, Belin IV found Jordan Moore for a 20-yard score to cut the Rebel lead to 45-14 late in the fourth.

Once again though, Dart trotted back out for the Rebels, orchestrating the offense on pace as usual. The debut of Logan Diggs on the ground came on this drive as well and the former LSU transfer had a pair of solid carries to help move the chains. Dart then found Watkins once again on a deep post and the Rebel receiver slipped a tackle for a 69-yard score to put Ole Miss up 45-14.

On the ensuing kickoff, Peyton Jones took it 99 yards the other way for a Duke touchdown, only for the Rebels to add more salt into the wound as Zxavian Harris blocked the extra point attempt.

Austin Simmons would then come out to take over the offense in the final minute of the game. Although Ole Miss intended to run the clock out, Simmons dropped back to pass on the final play of the game, completing a 34-yard pass to Jordan Smart as time expired to cap off the 52-20 Rebel win.

Dart led the way for the Rebel offense with 404 yards and four touchdowns, completing 27 of his 35 passes and adding 43 more yards on the ground. Doo Bentley finished with 14 carries for 70 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Watkins led Ole Miss pass catchers with 7 grabs for 180 yards and two scores as well.

Washington led the Rebel defense with 10 tackles and Jared Ivey led the Ole Miss front with four tackles and five quarterback hurries. The Ole Miss defense pressured Belin IV 15 times with Ivey leading the way. Once again, the Landshark defense refused to give up 100 yards on the ground, allowing Duke to gain just 44 rushing yards on the night.

(Feature image credit: Karis Chambliss, The Rebel Walk)
Kameron Wicker

Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.

About The Author

Kameron Wicker

Kam is a senior at Ole Miss, currently pursuing a degree in Journalism. Even though he's from Delhi, Louisiana, that didn't stop Kam from growing up a diehard Ole Miss fan. He's a sports guru who watches and follows all sports at all times. He lettered four years in football and baseball in high school and is an avid Saints, Pelicans, and Astros fan. In his free time, you can find him watching sports or at the rec participating in them.

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