Jaxson Dart reveals his message to Ole Miss in Texas Bowl
The first half of the Texas Bowl didn’t go how Ole Miss planned. The Rebels trailed Texas Tech 26-7 at the break as Jaxson Dart and the offense struggled to get anything going.
In the halftime locker room, Dart had a message for his team.
“I went around the locker room and told everybody the first half’s on me,” Dart said. “Everyone stick together.”
Texas Tech continued to roll in the second half en route to the 42-25 victory. Dart appeared to play hurt late in the game, walking with a slight limp in the fourth quarter and standing on the sidelines during a two-point conversion attempt. He finished the night with 25 for 41 for 361 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Dart acknowledged the defense’s performance and how it put Ole Miss in position to win.
“I really felt like we were going to have a great comeback,” Dart said. “We just didn’t capitalize on our opportunities that we had. The defense made some great plays for us. Offensively, we had opportunities to have fourth-down conversions and continue to drive down the field. We just didn’t capitalize on them. That was kind of my message.”
Jaxson Dart calls end of Ole Miss’ season ‘really frustrating’
Frustration was justified for Ole Miss following its 42-25 loss in the Texas Bowl. The loss to Texas Tech was the Rebel’s fifth in their last six games after they started 7-0. After the game, few players expressed their irritation more than sophomore QB Jaxson Dart.
After another up-and-down performance from the young quarterback, he said it’s as discouraging as it is because of the work he and his teammates put in. Doing all that and then costing his team a game like last night’s is something that ate him up afterward.
“It’s really frustrating,” Dart said. “I think, for me, you put a lot of work in to prepare for games like this each and every week. And then when you make costly mistakes? And you don’t play at the standard you can play at to help your team win a game? That’s really frustrating.”