The Rebels scored early and often, while keeping Furman out of the end zone, culminating in an easy season-opening victory.
Jared Redding
For the second consecutive year, the Ole Miss lit up the scoreboard with another 73-point season-opening performance inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Jaxson Dart accounted for six touchdowns in the first half alone, and the Rebels cruised to an easy 76-0 win on Saturday, playing in front of an announced attendance of 66,105.
As a team, Ole Miss accumulated a whopping 772 yards of offense, with a school record 529 yards coming through the air between Dart and Austin Simmons. Dart completed 81 percent of his passes for 418 yards and threw five scores, all of which coming in the first half alone. Simmons, in his Ole Miss debut, threw for 111 yards and a touchdown pass on his first career attempt.
Tre Harris finished with 179 yards and two scores through the air on eight catches, all of which coming within the game's first 30 minutes. Antwane Wells, Caden Prieskorn and Cayden Lee all combined for 225 yards, with all three catching a touchdown apiece, including Dae'Quan Wright.
On the ground, Matt Jones led the Rebels with 68 yards on just three carries, two of which were scores. Dominic Thomas, Henry Parrish, Dart and Ulysses Bentley all combined for 143 yards. Dart and defensive tackle J.J. Pegues also found the end zone with their legs once.
Offensively, Ole Miss finished with 37 first downs.
Defensively, the Rebels held Furman to 172 yards total, with only 26 yards given up on the ground and had 16 TFLs as a team.. The Paladins were 3-for-17 on third down and failed to convert on both fourth down attempts. In his Ole Miss debut, Chris Paul Jr. led the Rebels with eight tackles and 2.5 TFLs, while Jamarious Brown and true freshman Kam Franklin's each had five.
The Rebels will return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 7 to take on Middle Tennessee State. Kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. CT and can be seen on SEC Network or listened to on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
1ST QUARTER — Ole Miss 24, Furman 0
Furman won the coin toss and elected to defer its option to the second half, and Ole Miss received the opening kickoff.
After big completions by Cayden Lee, Caden Prieskorn and Tre Harris, the Rebels quickly found themselves in Furman's red zone less than two minutes in. After eight plays and 3:07 off the clock, Jaxson Dart found the end zone with his legs from 16 yards out. with 11:53 on the clock, Ole Miss led 7-0.
On Ole Miss' first defensive possession of the season, a coverage bust between Trey Amos and John Saunders resulted in a 39-yard reception to get the Paladins near midfield, before crossing it soon after. The Rebels soon left the field after snuffing out a half-back screen and forcing a punt. Ole Miss took over on its own 10-yard line with 8:43 left in the quarter.
Right on cue, Cayden Davis got Ole Miss' next drive going with a 29-yard reception, before Antwane Wells picked up his first touchdown as a Rebel the very next play. Dart connected with him on a 61-yard scoring strike, and the Rebels led 14-0 with 8:07 on the first quarter clock.
Two plays into Furman's next drive, Trey Amos got his first interception as a Rebel playing tight man-to-man and Ole Miss got the ball back on the Furman 46-yard line. The Rebels effortlessly made their way to the red zone, before facing 4th-and-2 on the Furman 13-yard line. J.J. Pegues converted easily with his legs, and scored a play later on the goal line. With 4:39 left in the first, Ole Miss led 21-0.
Furman proceeded to go three-and-out, and right away, Dart hit Tre Harris up for a 21-yard gain to get outside the Furman red zone. A third down drop by Micah Davis, forced Ole Miss to settle for a 42-yard field goal by Caden Davis. With less than a minute left in the quarter, Ole Miss led 24-0. The score remained going into the next quarter.
2ND QUARTER — Ole Miss 52, Furman 0
When play resumed, the Paladins turned the ball over on downs in Ole Miss territory. Ole Miss took over on its own 37-yard line. After seven plays and 63 yards, Dart found Dae'Quan Wright on the goal line for his first score as a Rebel. With 11:27 left on the second quarter clock, Ole Miss led 31-0.
In their own territory, the Paladins faced 4th-and-1 on their own 34-yard line, but decided to punt after calling timeout, initially with the offense left on the field. After the punt, Ole Miss took over on its own 34-yard line with 8:54 left in the first half. Dart found Tre Harris for a 35-yard pitch and catch to get into Furman territory, and then Dart found Caden Prieskorn all alone along the left sideline for an easy 46-yard score. With eight minutes left in the half, Ole Miss led 38-0.
Furman proceeded to go three-and-out right after, and Ole Miss got the ball back on its own 41-yard line. One play later, Ole Miss moved the scoreboard again. Jaxson Dart found Tre Harris on an easy 61-yard go route for another touchdown. With 6:18 left in the first half, Ole Miss led 45-0. The Rebels forced yet another punt, and then quickly found itself outside the Furman red zone. Dart proceeded to add yet another touchdown throw to Tre Harris from 22-yards out. With 1:34 left in the half, Ole Miss led 52-0.
The Rebels actually got the ball back with less than a minute left in the half and managed to get to the Furman 36-yard line, allowing Caden Davis to attempt a 53-yard field goal that he missed.
HALFTIME — Ole Miss 52, Furman 0
Through one half of football, Ole Miss compiled 502 yards of offense, with 418 coming off the arm of Jaxson Dart. He recorded a career high six touchdowns that he was responsible for with five touchdown passes through the air and one on the ground. Dart completed 22 of his 27 passes through the air while having 27 rushing yards on six attempts.
Henry Parrish led the Rebels with 40 yards on eight carries, while Tre Harris had a whopping 179 yards on just eight catches with two scores. Caden Prieskorn, Juice Wells and Dae'Quan Wright all had a touchdown catch as well.
Offensively, Ole Miss had 23 first downs and averaged 11.2 yards a play.
Defensively, Ole Miss surrendered 124 yards with just 19 coming on the ground, and also gave up just five first downs. Louis Moore and J.J. Pegues each led the Rebels with four tackles at the break.
3RD QUARTER — Ole Miss 73, Furman 0
Furman received the second half kickoff, and immediately went three-and-out following a third down sack by Chris Paul. Ole Miss took over around the Furman 35-yard line.
Austin Simmons came in as Ole Miss' quarterback on the ensuing drive, and on his very first Ole Miss snap and pass, he hit Austin Simmons for a 35-yard touchdown pass. With 12:49 on the third quarter clock, Ole Miss led 59-0. The Paladins went three-and-out and Ole Miss took over on its own 15, and proceeded to punt for the first time shortly after.
After a series of punts, the backups continued to roll, and Matt Jones scored a touchdown from 17 yards out, running through a pair of tackles en route to the end zone. With 4:46 left on the first quarter clock, Ole Miss led 66-0. Jones added another one before the end of the quarter, a 46-yarder to make it a 73-0 ball game.
4TH QUARTER — Ole Miss 76, Furman 0
The Rebels wouldn't be denied the rest of the way as the backups continued to play the rest of the way en route to victory. Caden Davis added another field goal from 41 yards out early in the fourth.
