‘Never played in a game this big’: Nail-biter Jaxson Dart delivered in Ole Miss win over Kentucky
Jaxson Dart might as well have been any Ole Miss fan late-game against Kentucky on Saturday.
The Wildcats, in each of their final two drives, marched deep into Rebel territory with a chance to either tie the score with a field goal or punch in a go-ahead touchdown. Both times, however, the Ole Miss defense forced and recovered Will Levis fumbles — the last coming via strip-sack by defensive end Jared Ivey on the decorated Kentucky quarterback.
Dart was nothing more than a hopeless spectator hoping for the best as the outcome remained very much undecided in the final two minutes or so. There was nothing more for him to do, really. He’d given Ole Miss a three-point lead, even if the offense, collectively, had left plenty of opportunities on the field.
Dart was 15 for 29 for 213 yards, no touchdowns and an interception.
“I was going pretty hard on my nails,” Dart would go on to say afterwards.
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He can finally give his nails a break.
The Rebels, ranked No. 14 in the country, escaped No. 7 Kentucky with a 22-19 win. They’re a perfect 5-0 to start the season, matching a feat they last pulled off in 2014. They’ve also won 13 straight home games, their longest such streak since the 50s, and they snapped Kentucky’s run of eight consecutive wins.
“Personally, I’ve never played in a game this big or been in front of a crowd or atmosphere like this,” Dart said. “It’s definitely an experience I’ll forever remember. This stuff’s addicting. I look forward to what else is in store. It means so much to our team. You see us face adversity in the different phases of the game and you just see us find a way to grit it out and get a win, which is huge.
“We’re just going to continue to get better.”
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Ole Miss was carried by its defense.
The Rebels have held eight of their last nine opponents to 21 points or fewer, and over a span of 10 games dating back to last season, in stats compiled by Nick Suss of the Clarion-Ledger, Ole Miss is allowing just 15.1 points and 360.6 yards per game.
The Rebels have forced 16 turnovers, as well as totaled 62 tackles for loss and 31 sacks.
Dart and the offense did plenty of good things, too.
True freshman running back Quinshon Judkins again went over 100 yards rushing. The last time Ole Miss has had a 100-yard rusher in each of its first five games was 1976 — the same year the Rebels last had a freshman rush for as many yards as Judkins has (535) to start a season.
His 48-yard rushing score was the longest run of the year for Ole Miss.
“For me, honestly, I was pretty calm until (the defense) had the big (game-ending) play,” Dart said. “I go against them every single day. I’ve been in countless two-minute drives against them. They’re so hard to drive down against in two minutes, even in practice. I know if it’s tough for our offense to do that, it’s going to be really tough for another team’s offense to do it.
“I had all the confidence in the world we were just going to find a way. Found a way.”
Here’s everything else Dart had to say to the media in his postgame press conference, in a video provided by Ole Miss Sports Production.
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