Jaxson Dart threw two touchdown passes in the first nine minutes and finished with four as No. 5 Mississippi easily defeated Georgia Southern 52-13 on Saturday night.
The Rebels (4-0) jumped to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, with Dart connecting on touchdown passes of 31 yards to Juice Wells and 23 yards to Jordan Watkins. He ended the game completing 22 of 31 passes for 382 yards, leading Ole Miss to a 24-7 halftime advantage and never facing a real challenge.
Tre Harris had 11 catches for 225 yards, scoring on touchdown receptions of 70 and 36 yards.
“He’s a workhorse and has the right mindset,” Dart said. “Tre makes it easy for me, and we’ve got other weapons to go with him. The offensive line makes it all go.”
Henry Parrish, JJ Pegues, and Domonique Thomas each ran for touchdowns. Ole Miss totaled 607 yards of offense but was hurt by 11 penalties totaling 133 yards.
“Our players had good energy and it was obvious,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. “We may not have played smart all the time with 11 penalties, but with the exception of one throw, Jaxson was solid. Tre was electric. He was elite today.”
Georgia Southern (2-2) scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from running back O.J. Anderson to Derwin Burgess, along with field goals of 42 and 33 yards by Gavin Stewart. JC French was 20 of 28 passing for 109 yards, and the Eagles finished with 194 total yards.
“We played a tremendous football team and we did some good things, just not enough,” Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton said. “We’ve played a challenging nonconference schedule and we’re confident we’re prepared to play when conference starts next week.”
