Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) calls a play during the first quarter of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
The No. 14 Ole Miss Rebels cruised to a 52-20 win over the Duke Blue Devils in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Thursday night, and they were powered by multiple NFL Draft prospects who opted to finish their college careers with one final showing.
Leading that charge was quarterback Jaxson Dart who set more program records in the win and earned Gator Bowl MVP honors. Dart concluded his Ole Miss career the way it began: getting his nose dirty and making a commitment to play until the final whistle.
Although the Rebels coaching staff tried to get Dart to bow out of the game in the second half, he refused until the final series when backup quarterback Austin Simmons came in. Dart even audibled late in the fourth quarter from a run to a pass play that resulted in a 69-yard touchdown connection with Jordan Watkins, much to the chagrin of coach Lane Kiffin.
Still, Kiffin is proud of his quarterback and the way he ended his Rebel career.
“That’s just who he is. Obviously doesn’t listen very well because we subbed him out, if you noticed,” Kiffin said postgame. “Austin comes in and [Dart] just waves him off. I think kids get a certain age they don’t listen to you as well. I feel like that was kind of the case today with his touchdown pass, running people over instead of sliding, and then not coming out of the game.
“He’s awesome. I said at the beginning of the year, regardless of how wins and losses go, I hope our fans appreciate this timeframe of what’s going on with Ole Miss football, but specifically this quarterback.”
Dart wasn’t the only one who had an opportunity to sit out but chose to continue playing. There were other Ole Miss veterans who wanted to finish their careers the right way, including names like JJ Pegues, Jordan Watkins, Jared Ivey and others.
What’s most impressive, however, is that some of the newer additions to the Rebels roster opted to continue playing in the second half despite having bright NFL futures awaiting them.
“I think it was an amazing statement of what they did,” Kiffin said. “You had some guys who had been here a while, but then you had newer guys like Walter Nolen, a potential first-round pick, Princely [Umanmielen], a really high pick, that played. I met with Walter at half and said, ‘You should come out now,’ and he still went and played in the first couple series of the second half.
“I told them last night, ‘You are an old-school football team in that mentality. You actually care about your team and your brothers in the locker room, and you’re playing for them.’ That doesn’t happen very much anymore, unfortunately.”
This seems to speak volumes about the culture of the Ole Miss locker room as the season draws to a close, at least from Kiffin’s perspective. The Rebels had high aspirations of reaching the College Football Playoff this year and fell short, but players still opted to suit up and go in the Gator Bowl.
Once the game’s decision was well-decided, many of them continued playing, wanting to close out their Ole Miss careers on a high note. That decision paid off as the Rebels routed the Blue Devils to earn their second straight 10-plus-win season, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since 1959 and 1960.
