REBEL RESET: No. 17 Ole Miss fends off Georgia Tech with second half surge, here's how it happened

In what felt like a deja vu from a week ago against Tulane No. 17 Ole Miss had to grind out of a sluggish first half only to regroup in the locker room and come out swinging in the final two quarters.

The Rebels defeated Georgia Tech 48-23 to keep its undefeated season going heading into its conference opener at No. 10 Alabama next week.

Jaxson Dart threw for 251 yards and a touchdown while also serving as the Rebels leading rusher with 136 yards and a pair of touchdown on the ground. He had a run of 68 yards and also a touchdown pass to Jordan Watkins that went for 68 yards.

Quinshon Judkins was reported as doubtful for the game and was not named as the starting running back on the video lineups, but he was out for the first play on offense. He finished with 13 carries for 37 yards and a touchdown.

The Ole Miss defense had a tough time containing Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King at times as he threw for over 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

After Georgia Tech got it to within 10 points midway through the fourth quarter, Ole Miss outscored the Yellow Jackets 24-6 the final 10 minutes of the game.

FINAL: OLE MISS 48, GEORGIA TECH 23

Ole Miss 41, Georgia Tech 23

King isn’t ready to rollover yet as he moves the offense down the field and throws a 14-yard TD pass, his second of the game.

Ole Miss 41, Georgia Tech 17

Another turnover on downs by Georgia Tech led to yet another touchdown for the Rebels. Judkins finally gets his first one of the night on a 1-yard rush.

The Rebels have scored 14 unanswered since the Yellow Jackets made it 27-17.

Ole Miss 34, Georgia Tech 17

Dart finally connects deep with a receiver and the benefactor of it is Jordan Watkins with a 68-yard touchdown reception. Watkins showed good speed after the catch down the sideline.

Now this feels in the win column for the Rebels after a strange game.

Ole Miss 27, Georgia Tech 17

Kiffin’s trust in Caden Davis is strong. The Rebels get back to a two-possession lead after Davis connects on a 45-yard FG try. It really makes the need to rely on the analytics book not as heavy when there is a kicker with a leg and long range on the sideline.

Ole Miss 24, Georgia Tech 17

Suddenly it is a game again after the nice start to the half by the Rebels. Haynes King finds Singleton wide open for a 15-yard TD pass on a 4th & 8. There has been some bad play in secondary tonight and King has usually exposed the missed coverage or wide open receivers.

END OF THE 3RD QUARTER: OLE MISS 24, GEORGIA TECH 10

Ole Miss will punt at the start of the 4th quarter after its possession goes nowhere following a hold and a false start. Those were only the second and third penalties of the game, which the Rebels have all three of.

Ole Miss 24, Georgia Tech 10

Haynes King kept a drive alive with a 51 yard pass to a wide open JR Singleton down to the Ole Miss 6 yard-line. The Yellow Jackets punched it in on a 1-yard keeper by King.

Ole Miss 24, Georgia Tech 3

Ole Miss in full control now and makes the Yellow Jackets pay for the failed fake punt and Dart scores 6-yard keeper. Bentley thought he had scored on the two previous plays but each were negated for stepping out of bounds and then the refs wanting to take another look at that play again.

Georgia Tech opts to try a fake punt on 4th down at their 28 and it goes horribly awry.

Ole Miss 17, Georgia Tech 3

Nice drive put together by Ole Miss, including Jaxson Dart channeling Drew Brees with a flick pass to Judkins for 25 yards on the opening play. Bentley caps things off with a 21-yard touchdown run and the Rebels have some breathing room.

After Juice ran out to get the kicking tee — which was not a one-time thing it appears — the Ole Miss defense had a strong opening possession to the second half, causing Tech to have a few negative plays before punting.

HALFTIME: OLE MISS 10, GEORGIA TECH 3

Caden Davis tries a nearly 55-yard field goal but it was deflected and never got a chance.

1st Half Stats:

Ole Miss 10, Georgia Tech 3

Tech cashes in a 17-play drive with a 22-yard field goal by Aidan Birr. Ole Miss defense once again withstood a long possession and hold the Yellow Jackets to three points.

Being backed up to the shadow of their own goal post didn’t bother Ole Miss after Dart takes off for a 68-yard run to get inside the Yellow Jackets 10.

Ole Miss opts to go for it on 4th down and Michael Trigg is not able to hold on to a pass in the endzone. Rebels with a turnover on downs of their own. Tech now starting at its 5 yard-line.

Tech got to the Ole Miss 5 yard-line and after being stopped on third and goal elected to try on 4th down. King’s pass to Dominick Blaylock is incomplete in the end zone for the turnover on downs. Two big stops by the Rebels defense so far.

END OF THE 1ST QUARTER: OLE MISS 10, GEORGIA TECH 0

Tech is once again moving the ball well downfield under King. They are inside the Ole Miss 20 after a nifty play design as the first quarter expires.

Ole Miss 10, Georgia Tech 0

Dart takes it in for the 1-yard touchdown run to punctuate another 8-play drive. Rebels cash in the blocked field goal and create a 10-point swing.

Ole Miss defense forced a field goal try and Zxavian Harris blocked it and Daijahn Anthony recovered it at the Tech 34 after the ball bounced downfield a bit. Big break for the Rebels.

Haynes King moved the ball well on Tech’s first drive, completing all three passes for 12 yards but they also had success on the ground with 8 carries for 38 yards.

Ole Miss 3, Georgia Tech 0

Caden Davis connected on a 47-yard field goal try.

Establishing the run is a priority for Ole Miss against this Georgia Tech defense and there were four carries on the eight-play scoring drive. Dart had one for 19 yards and Judkins had 3 for 12 yards.

After all that and the pregame video Judkins was the running back out on the first play. So, who knows what all the cloak and dagger was about.

Pregame Observations

Not many observations to note as Ole Miss is doing its usual warm ups in the indoor practice facility. So knowing who is dressed out and who is not will not happen until they come out minutes before kickoff.

Ulysses Bentley IV named the starting running back. So Judkins is at least not beginning the game. we have not been told he is officially OUT, yet.

Captains for tonight’s game are Dayton Wade, Jared Ivey and Trey Washington.

Ole Miss won the toss and elected to receive the ball first. Dart and the offense get first crack at things tonight.

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A return home for No. 17 Ole Miss this week after its victorious trip to New Orleans last Saturday at a ranked Tulane. But the often referenced depth of the the Rebels offense is going to get tested here in week three.

Throughout the week it has been speculated that sophomore running back Quinshon Judkins could be used sparingly, or not at all, against Georgia Tech after suffering a rib injury against the Green Wave. He was seen in a non-contact black jersey at practice on Tuesday and was reported on Saturday that he is now listed as doubtful.

Same goes for wide receiver Tre Harris, who left last week’s game after hauling in his fifth touchdown catch of the season.

“Obviously we lost some firepower with outside receivers last year. (Jonathan Mingo and Malik Heath) are both in the NFL now, and these guys have done a really good job,” Kiffin spoke of his receiving corps earlier this week. “Tre obviously got banged up. We’d scored 80 points in one game and one series with him. That’s pretty good. He had eight catches for five touchdowns. That’s got to be a record.”

Harris is not a major surprise with bigger games on the horizon but the potential to not have Judkins in the backfield will cause a need to see more out of Ulysses Bentley IV and transfer Jam Griffin. Possibly maybe the Ole Miss debut of Kedrick Reescano?

The injury news has caused the line to slowly drop with it currently having Ole Miss as a 16-point favorite at Caesars Sportsbook, moving a couple points since Friday night.

Keep this page open and stick with The Ole Miss Spirit as it will serves as the live updates for today’s game. That includes score updates, stats, highlights and quarter recaps which will be found here throughout the afternoon.

Ole Miss (2-0) and Georgia Tech (1-1) kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.