Jaxson Dart describes the 'special moment' surrounding Ole Miss win over Georgia

Going into the game against Georgia, Ole Miss knew that its back was against the wall. After dropping two games earlier in the season, if quarterback Jaxson Dart wanted to lead the Rebels to the College Football Playoff, they’d have to upset an excellent Bulldogs team.

In the end, it was an emotional win for Ole Miss, which Dart recounted as a special moment for the team during a recent appearance on Andy & Ari On3.

“I think there was a lot going through my mind,” Dart said. “We had put ourselves in a pretty adverse situation with losing the two games that we did, especially in the fashion that we did. We felt that we had just completely let those games go and we felt like we had control of them until the very end. So, going into the game, our backs were against the wall. That’s how we feel like we’re playing a playoff game each and every week because we understand if we lose, we’re out.”

Dart left the game early after a disastrous opening series where he was harassed by the Georgia defensive line and ended up turning the ball over. That set the Bulldogs up with a short field to take an early lead. However, after getting some medical treatment, he was able to return.

Ole Miss would then settle into the flow of the game and end up walking away with a convincing win, putting the Rebels squarely in the Playoff picture moving forward.

“So, the emotions of going into that game were really high and we knew what was at stake for us and as you said, this was a big game for Ole Miss as a program, and winning it was huge,” Dart said. “So, ultimately, this is why a lot of us came back. This is why a lot of guys from different schools who are some of the best players in the country transferred in here was to compete and win these types of games. So, it was just a special moment to see the team rally around one another through all the adversity that we faced so far this regular season and really just be resilient.”

The next week, Ole Miss had a bye week to settle their emotions. After that, they had to handle those emotions to avoid a letdown game because given those two early season losses, the Rebels still have very little room for errors.

“It was nice that we had a bye after that so guys could have their emotions and thoughts to themselves and have a little bit of time to really just reflect on everything,” Dart added.

This week, Ole Miss will continue to roll with a road trip to the Florida Gators before ending the regular season with the Egg Bowl. If the Rebels can win out, they’ll be in good shape moving forward.