(Photo Courtesy: Ole Miss Athletics)
Rebels win! Bulldogs win! Golden Eagles don’t lose! All in all, a pretty good first Saturday in November for the state’s major-college football teams. Here’s how it went down:
Ole Miss 63, Arkansas 31:
This is the kind of game Rebels fans have been longing to see since SEC play began. And that it took place on the road in Fayetteville — where strange things sometimes happen — made it even sweeter.
And it puts those fans in a much better mood with No. 2 Georgia visiting Oxford next weekend.
Jaxson Dart had a record-shattering effort, passing for 515 yards and six touchdowns in a game the 19th-ranked Rebels (7-2, 3-2 SEC) led 35-10 at halftime.
It was a school record for both yards passing and TDs in a single game, He completed 25 of 31 passes and was a happy spectator as the clock wound down.
With leading receiver Tre Harris still out with an leg injury, senior Jordan Watkins stepped up for Ole Miss. He caught eight passes for 254 yards and five TDs, three in the second quarter – both were also school records.
But it was defense that set the tone for the Rebels after an early drive fizzled near the Arkansas goal line. Defensive end Princely Umanmielen recovered a fumble in the end zone for the game’s first TD at the 6:56 mark of the first quarter.
Up 7-3 as the second quarter started, Dart and company went to work against an overmatched defense for Arkansas (5-4, 3-3). First a 4-yard scoring pass to Dae’Quan Wright with 14:28 left in the half, then two big strikes to Watkins – 62 yards at 12:10 and 66 yards at 10:07.
Watkins also caught a 3-yard TD from Dart just before halftime.
Dart and Watkins would hook up for another 62-yard TD late in the third quarter to make it 56-17.
Defensive tackle JJ Pegues, who doubles as a short-yardage running option, got in on the fun with a 1-yard scoring run and Wright added a fourth-quarter TD catch from backup QB Austin Simmons.
Ole Miss finished with 694 yards total offense (562 passing) and scored on seven of nine possessions with starters in the game. The Rebels sacked the Razorbacks eight times.
Arkansas, which put 58 points on Mississippi State the week before, had 492 yards offense (365 passing).
Georgia visits Ole Miss for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC. It’s a must win game if the Rebels hope to keep any chance of making the College Football Playoff alive.
Mississippi State 45, UMass 20:
The Bulldogs ended a painful seven-game losing streak with the homefield victory. Both teams are now 2-7.
Freshman QB Michael Van Buren underscored his growing poise by passing for 222 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers. He scored on two short runs for a revived MSU rushing game that eventually averaged 8 yards per attempt.
But it took some time for the Bulldogs to get warmed up. They trailed 10-0 at the end of the first quarter before responding. On the way to a 21-10 halftime lead, Van Buren ran for his two TDs and hit Seydou Traore with a 19-yard scoring pass.
Mississippi State hit the ground running in the second half, with rushing scores by Johnnie Daniels (36), Davon Booth (30) and Xavier Gayten (72). The trio ultimately combined for 237 of MSU’s 241 rushing yards.
Jordan Mosely made four catches for 107 yards, with a long of 55. Linebacker Stone Blanton anchored the defense with 14 tackles (2 solo).
Three UMass quarterbacks combined for 136 passing yards. The Minutemen finished with 335 total yards.
The Bulldogs visit Tennessee on Saturday with TV coverage to be announced. It will be played in the “night window,” kicking off between 5 and 7 p.m.
Southern Miss was Off:
The Golden Eagles (1-7) will take a six-game losing streak into a 2 p.m. Saturday home game against Marshall on ESPN+.
