Dart, Defense lifts Ole Miss past Georgia for playoff talk to get serious

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart may launched himself back squarely into the Heisman Trophy race. If he does, it will come back to a 28-yard run for a first down.

That set up a final drive to seal a two-score lead that the Rebels’ defense shut down No. 3 Georgia’s offense most of the game and the No. 16 Rebels put themselves in control of their playoff destiny with a 28-10 win Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

There is still work to do, of course. After a bye week, they will play Florida and wrap up the season against Mississippi Stte in the Egg Bowl. Ole Miss was just out of the top 12 teams that will be in the College Football Playoff, but are likely to jump back in that mix after this win.

But they are squarely in the mix. The Bulldogs never could get their offense untracked. Ole Miss’ defense had a lot to do with that, being equally effective against the runs and shutting down the Bulldogs’ passing game.

Ole Miss had to play without running back Henry Parish Jr. and top wide receiver Tre Harris, both hampered by injuries.

1Q 10:32: The Rebels didn’t get off to the greatest start with quarterback Jackson Dart throwing an interception on the first third down of the game when he overthrew tight end Dae’Quan Wright over the middle. It gave Georgia only 21 yards to go for a score. Nate Frazier got in over the right side on fourth down from the 2 and an early lead. Dart was headed to the locker room for medical evaluation after being injured on the interception. Bulldogs 7, Rebels 0

1Q 6:53: Ole Miss did just fine with backup quarterback Austin Simmons coming into the game. He showed late in the 63-31 win over Arkansas last week he could play and Ulysses Bentley IV blew up the middle to score from 9 yards out. The Rebels answered with a 10-play, 75-yard drive as Simmons was 5-of-6 passing, including a fourth-and-1 slant pass to Cayden Lee to keep the drive going. Rebels 7, Bulldogs 7

1Q 3:01: Georgia couldn’t handle a squibbed kickoff and ended up going three-and-out, giving Ole Miss the ball back at midfield. With Dart back in the game, but limping very obviously, he was overthrowing some passes and got down to the Bulldogs’ 6 and settled for a 23-yard field goal by Caden Davis. Rebel 10, Bulldogs 7

2Q 12:12: Ole Miss’ offense moves ball well in middle of field after stopping Georgia with key plays from Bentley, but it stalls and Davis puts a 43-yard field goal through the uprights as the Bulldogs’ offense struggling against the Ole Miss defense. Rebels 13, Bulldogs 7

2Q 2:55: After Ole Miss gets pinned six inches from the goal-line after a punt by Georgia, the Rebels come out with Dart first hitting passes to Watkins, then some runs by the quarterback. Davis comes on to kick his third field goal of the day, a 53-yarder that sneaked inside the left upright but gives them a two-score lead. Rebels 16, Bulldogs 7

At halftime, Bulldogs’ coach Kirby Smart talked about the Ole Miss defense that held his team to just 69 yards while the Rebels had 229. The Bulldogs haven’t been able to get consistent pressure on Dart, who has hobbled his way through most of the first half.

3Q 9:44: Georgia finally gets offense untracked with a mixture of run and key passes from quarterback Carson Beck. The Ole Miss defense keeps them out of the end zone, though, and Peyton Woodring kicks a 23-yard field goal to get on the board since early in the game. Rebels 16, Bulldogs 10

3Q 6:10: Ole Miss answers the score with Dart passing to Watkins and Lee to set up a 10-yard pass in the back of the end zone to Antwane Wells. A 2-point conversion attempt blew up completely and Dart throw the ball away. Rebels 22, Bulldogs 10

4Q 7:22: John Saunders Jr. picks off Beck’s fourth-down pass over the middle, leaving the Rebels with a clear path to a huge upset win over the Bulldogs. Now to see if Lane Kiffin can bleed the clock down, but Jaxson Dart has an amazing backwards pass to Watkins to get a key first down at the 46.

4Q 3:22: After the Bulldogs used all of their timeouts following a huge drive from Ole Miss from Dart, Watkins and running back Domonique Thomas, the Rebels get a 23-yard field goal from Davis. It gives Georgia a tough way pull this one out. Rebels 25, Bulldogs 10

4Q 1:22: Ole Miss forces another turnover and Davis adds another field goal to put the game out of reach as students and fans prepare to rush the field. Rebels 28, Bulldogs 10