It wasn’t the prettiest game for No. 5 Ole Miss (3-0) as the Rebels embarked on the team’s first road journey of the 2024 season. Sloppiness aside in Saturday’s contest at Wake Forest, Lane Kiffin’s squad walked away a 34-point victor.
Ole Miss was penalized 11 times for 114 yards, turned the ball over multiple times, and routinely struggled to adapt to the Demon Deacons’ unique slow mesh offense, giving up large chunks of yards courtesy of persistent lapses in the secondary. Nonetheless, the Rebels, donning their brand new all-white uniform concept with powder blue numbers for the first time, handled business when necessary.
While the foreign offensive style tested Pete Golding’s defense, the unit continued its trend of bending but not breaking and prevented Wake Forest from reaching the end zone. Dave Clawson’s group, led by Louisiana Tech transfer Hank Bachmeier, was successful in moving the chains on a multitude of drives that ultimately proved fruitless. Aside from the two field goals, the Demon Deacons punted five times, were anemic on fourth-down attempts in the red zone, and coughed up the ball twice in the loss.
For Ole Miss, quarterback Jaxson Dart continued to prove that he is a Heisman-caliber signal-caller while simultaneously displaying a small blemish in his game. Though the veteran field general marched the offense up and down the field to score on multiple drives, he also tossed the ball to the opposing team on one occasion — his first interception of the year. Henry Parrish. Jr. and Matt Jones were stalwarts in the running game as Kiffin resumed his campaign to dominate on the ground.
Also noteworthy, Kiffin used his reliable Chucky Mullins Courage Award-winning defensive tackle J.J. Pegues as a ball carrier in a few fourth-and-short situations — a move that has yet to fail thus far this season.
The Rebels’ cleanest play was on special teams, but there was even a notable flaw in that aspect of the game. Placekicker Caden Davis was a perfect two-for-two on field goal tries but managed to miss one of five extra-point attempts after touchdowns.
It didn’t take long for Ole Miss to put points on the scoreboard. After setting the tone in the air, Parrish punched the ball into the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown within the first minute-and-a-half of action. After forcing Wake Forest to punt early, the Rebels made their way to the red zone and looked to take a double-digit lead. However, a botched snap to Dart was recovered by the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest capitalized on the error and put three points on the board. Ole Miss responded with back-to-back touchdowns, the first being a 75-yard bomb to a wide-open Jordan Watkins and the second coming from Parrish on the ground in the waning minutes of the first quarter. Davis missed the extra-point attempt after Parrish’s score, minimizing Ole Miss’ lead to 18 points.
Davis made up for his error by splitting the uprights from 33 yards out to put the Rebels up 23-3 with 4:44 left in the half. In the closing minutes of the second quarter, Wake Forest used defensive penalties committed by Ole Miss and a major fourth-down conversion to its advantage, knocking in a 37-yard field goal just before the intermission.
The Demon Deacons were forced to send out the punting unit on their first drive of the second half. Dart, with a chance to put the nail in the coffin early in the third quarter, threw an errant pass that was picked off by Wake Forest linebacker Dylan Hazen. The Demon Deacons then found themselves within five yards of the end zone offensively. Efforts to break the glass ceiling proved fruitless as the Rebels’ defense buckled down.
Ole Miss methodically moved the ball down the field and threatened to score right as a sea of penalties reared an ugly head. When Kiffin’s group seemed to be going through the motions, Dart made it incumbent on himself to be a leader when his team needed one. On 3rd and 11, Dart propelled his way forward on a 13-yard touchdown carry to give Ole Miss a 30-6 lead.
Wake Forest was not quite ready to go away though. Bachmeier and company exploited the Rebels’ secondary the following drive and found themselves on the Ole Miss 15-yard line. A pass deflection by Ole Miss defensive back Brandon Turnage on a fourth-down passing attempt spoiled the Demon Deacons’ drive.
On the next Ole Miss drive, Davis connected on a 26-yard field goal to essentially put the game out of reach. But the cherry on top for the Rebels came as a result of a highlight-reel touchdown catch from Antwane “Juice” Wells with 6:27 left in the game three plays after Ole Miss safety John Saunders forced a fumble.
A last-ditch effort by the Demon Deacons to score a trash-time touchdown was cut short when Rebel linebacker Suntarine Perkins picked off a pass by backup Wake Forest quarterback Michael Kern, allowing Ole Miss to leave North Carolina a 40-6 winner.
Following the game, Kiffin and the Ole Miss media relations team confirmed that Wake Forest canceled a matchup previously scheduled to take place between the two programs in 2025.
Stat leaders
- Quarterback Jaxson Dart: 26-34, 377 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He earned his 51st score in the air as a Rebel, making him the No. 4 touchdown passer in Ole Miss history, surpassing Chad Kelly. Dart also ran for 36 yards and a score.
- Running back Henry Parrish, Jr.: 28 carries, 148 yards, and two touchdowns.
- Wide receiver Tre Harris: 11 receptions and 127 yards.
- Defensive end Jared Ivey: Six tackles (three solo), two sacks, and two tackles for loss. Ivey appeared to have hurt his left foot in the second half and was carted off the field with an undisclosed injury.
- Linebacker Chris “Pooh” Paul, Jr.: Five tackles (four solo), one pass breakup, and two quarterback hurries.
- Overall, Ole Miss mounted 650 yards of total offense, more than doubling the 310 yards Wake Forest mustered up during the game.
Takeaways
Road games against power-four opponents are never easy and there is something to be said for a team battling through adversity to record a double-digit win. However, if Ole Miss wants to compete with the juggernauts of college football, and those opportunities are rapidly approaching, the team will have to play cleaner football.
Ahead of Saturday’s matchup, Kiffin stressed the importance of limiting turnovers and not being penalized. Ole Miss had been successful in not allowing the referees to be a factor in its first two games of the 2024 season. A different tune was sung in game three as the Rebels accounted for enough yardage in penalties to stretch across an entire football field, and then some.
Additionally, the secondary showed weaknesses and routinely surrendered large chunks of yards, especially in the intermediate passing game. Defensive backs at times looked out of position or were just flat-out beaten by Wake Forest wide receivers.
On the flip side, the defensive line and linebackers proved to be the bedrock of Golding’s group as the two position groups were disruptive, and ultimately victorious in preventing the Demon Deacons from reaching the end zone.
Likewise, the Ole Miss offense continued to display its dominance with a collection of playmakers giving Wake Forest’s defense fits. Despite a few errors here and there, when Dart and company were locked in, they moved the ball with relative ease. The ground game by Parrish and Jones complemented Dart’s aerial attack featuring an abundance of weapons.
Looking ahead, Ole Miss would greatly benefit from Ivey’s injury not being a long-term detriment. The senior defensive end was the difference in the trenches on Saturday. His absence would be noticeable on the field. Another thing to keep an eye on is the lack of carries from Ulysses Bentley IV. Bentley was the Rebels’ No. 2 guy last season but has yet to earn a meaningful amount of snaps through three games.
What’s next?
Ole Miss will return to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium to square off against Georgia Southern (2-1). That game will kick off at 6:45 p.m. central and will be broadcast on the SEC Network as well as participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.
