On Saturday, the Ole Miss football team snapped a 16-year schneid in Fayetteville by stomping the Razorbacks of Arkansas, 63-31, with a stout defensive performance paired with career days for wide receiver Jordan Watkins and quarterback Jaxson Dart.
The No. 19 Rebels (7-2, 3-2 SEC) drove all the way down the field on their first drive of the game before being stopped on fourth-and-goal on the one-yard line. The defense came onto the field and decided they would get the score themselves when they strip-sacked Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green in the end zone with Princely Umanmielen recovering for six. A successful extra point from Caden Davis made it 7-0.
The Razorbacks (5-4, 3-3) responded with a 54-yard field goal from kicker Matthew Shipley, a career-long boot for the Hawai’i transfer. The score at the end of the first quarter was 7-3 in favor of the Rebels.
Ole Miss capped off a scoring drive at the beginning of the second quarter, one that included three consecutive catches by back backup tight end Dae’Quan Wright for a combined 34 yards and the touchdown to make for a 14-3 lead.
As Pete Golding’s defense stayed strong and continued to bottle up Arkansas’ offense, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart began to heat up with a 62-yard touchdown to Watkins. On the first play of the very next drive, the dynamic duo connected for another score, this time from 66 yards out to put the Rebels up 28-3.
Green, after leaving with an injury earlier in the half, returned to the field and Arkansas looked like it was garnering some momentum. The Boise State transfer connected with Andrew Armstrong on a 43-yard pass before running back Rashod Dubinion found the Razorbacks’ first touchdown of the day. A defensive stop gave Green and company a chance to make it a two-possession game, but a long drive was ended just after the two-minute warning when Shipley missed from 43 yards out.
It was enough time for Lane Kiffin’s up-tempo offense to get one more score in before heading into the locker room. Three consecutive catches by Watkins turned into another Ole Miss touchdown to make the game 35-10.
The Rebels got the ball to start the second half, and it was none other than Watkins who found the end zone just a few plays later. His fourth touchdown of the day – tying a single-game school record set by injured teammate Tre Harris – was from 11 yards out and put him near the 200-yard mark, which he would eclipse later in the quarter.
Arkansas subbed in Malachi Singleton in place of a hobbling Green and got its first score of the second half when the redshirt freshman delivered a couple of nicely placed passes before the signal-caller scampered into the end zone, 42-17. Ole Miss stayed hot, though, as defensive lineman J.J. Pegues rushed for his sixth touchdown of the season to extend the lead to 49-17.
With ink on the record books barely dried after Harris broke the Ole Miss record for most touchdowns in a game during the 2023 season opener, Watkins topped his teammate when he caught a 62-yard pass from Dart to not only capture the scoring record but also the school record for most receiving yards in one outing (254).
While Singleton maintained some efficiency for the Arkansas offense, producing two more scoring drives, the game was already out of reach at 56-17 going into the fourth quarter. Ole Miss continued to light up the scoreboard with one more touchdown – an Austin Simmons pass to Wright – to go on to win in Fayetteville for the first time since 2008 by a dominant score of 63-31.
Outside of Watkins, Dart also had a record day. The senior quarterback threw for a career-high 515 yards and tied Eli Manning and Matt Corral for most passing touchdowns in a game (6). Dart became the second SEC player in history to have over 500 passing yards and six touchdowns in a game, joining former Missouri quarterback and now-New York Giant Drew Lock.
If there was one blemish in the Ole Miss offense, it was the rushing attack. Dart led the team with 47 yards after starting running back Henry Parrish, Jr., went down with a leg injury in the second quarter. Contingent on Parrish’s injury status, it could be a crucial loss for a corps that has eroded in depth as the season moves on and Ulysses Bentley IV continues to see a surprisingly small amount of playing time. Parrish was spotted in the second half using crutches along the sideline.
Saturday’s game was also a homecoming of sorts for Ole Miss linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul, Jr., who spent three seasons at Arkansas before transferring during the offseason. He led the unit with six solo tackles, two of which were for loss. In total, the Rebels sacked the quarterback eight times, with TJ Dottery and Umanmielen each picking up a pair of dropdowns.
The first College Football Playoff poll of the season will come out Tuesday, and while Ole Miss is not expected to be included in the initial 12-team field, the win over Arkansas keeps Kiffin and company’s hopes alive. Next Saturday’s matchup against No. 2 Georgia in Oxford is a must-win, though, as surely no three-loss team will be included in the playoff.