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Jaxson Dart says Ole Miss is 2 plays away from being the best in the country
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Jaxson Dart talked like a quarterback who wasn’t nearly satisfied after No. 18 Ole Miss dominated the second half on the way to a 26-14 home victory over Oklahoma, which improved the Rebels to 6-2.
You see, it’s those 2 losses that stick out. And it’s those 2 agonizing losses that Dart believes are separating his Rebels from being the best of the best, not just 1 of the best.
“We’re 2 plays away this season from being the No. 1 team in the country,” said Dart in the postgame press conference after throwing for 311 yards and 1 touchdown with 0 interceptions.
If Dart’s declaration sounds a little hyperbolic — and, sure, he’s a little biased — let’s look at Ole Miss’s 2 losses in 2024:
There was a hard-to-believe, 20-17 home loss to Kentucky in which Ole Miss missed a tying 48-yard field goal at the end that would’ve forced overtime. Had it connected, who knows what happens, especially with the Rebels having the momentum going into the OT.
Then there was a 29-26 overtime loss inside Death Valley, where Ole Miss allowed the tying touchdown to LSU with 27 seconds left in regulation. The Rebels couldn’t recover in OT, and suddenly a team that had real College Football Playoff aspirations going into the season had 2 glaring losses on its record.
So, you can understand Dart’s confidence in his team after Saturday’s victory.
“I don’t think there’s been a better team on the field (this season). I’m glad we’ve been able to rally and (am) proud of the guys,” he said.
Dart and the Rebels head to Fayetteville in Week 10 for a clash with Arkansas, and if they can win that one, a huge showdown looms the following week in Oxford against Georgia.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
