Ole Miss remained undefeated after moving past Georgia Tech in Week 3. The Rebels got off to a great start in the game and kept their feet on the gas for a 48-23 win. The Yellow Jackets got within a single score in the third quarter, but Ole Miss pulled away in the fourth.

The Rebels earned the win against first-year head coach Brent Key and now look ahead to their matchup with Alabama in the SEC opener. Lane Kiffin and company will be undefeated heading into Tuscaloosa against an Alabama team that looked out of sorts in Week 3.

Player of the Week: Jaxson Dart

Jaxson Dart was a one-man wrecking crew on Saturday. Dart finished the game with 251 yards passing, 136 yards rushing, and 3 total touchdowns in the win. He led his team in the rushing department.

Through three games Dart has 852 yards passing, 213 yards rushing, and 9 total touchdowns. The USC transfer is really coming into his own this season. He had 2,7974 yards passing with 20 touchdowns last season.

Newcomer of the Week: Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste

Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste had an active day on defense. The UCF transfer recorded 8 total tackles, 0.5 sacks, and 0.5 tackles for loss. Jean-Baptiste has plenty of experience after playing in 35 games for UCF.

The linebacker has 14 total tackles, 0.5 sacks, and 0.5 tackles for loss through three games. The transfer’s time in Oxford is off to a good start so far. He is currently fourth on the team in tackles and is making his mark on the Rebels’ defense. Ashanti Cistrunk, Khari Coleman, and Trey Washington are ahead of Jean-Baptiste in that order when it comes to tackles.

Biggest Surprise: Jordan Watkins emerging in Ole Miss WR room

Jordan Watkins spent his first year in Oxford last season after transferring in from Louisville. Two of the three games that Watkins has played in this season have been 100+ yard outings. Watkins had 119 yards receiving and 1 touchdown in the absence of leading wideout Tre Harris on Saturday.

Watkins’ career-high in receiving yards was at Louisville for 549 in 2021. Watkins is about halfway to surpassing his career-high in receiving yards after just three games at 290 this season.

The veteran has shown that he can be a top target in that Ole Miss receiving room. Watkins’ ultimate test will be how he does against the Alabama secondary on the road in Tuscaloosa in Week 4.

Biggest Concern: Total defensive yards allowed

The Ole Miss defense averages the sixth-fewest points allowed in the SEC, but the yards the defense is giving up each week is starting to become a bad trend. The Rebels are allowing the 11th-most total offensive yards on defense in the conference at 350.3 per game.

The competition is only going to get harder from here on out, especially in Week 4 against Alabama despite the Crimson Tide’s recent struggles. Ole Miss faces LSU and Arkansas in the next two matchups after Alabama.

Texas A&M and Georgia are also on the schedule in November. Outside of Tulane, the types of teams that Ole Miss has played have not been the best. If the defense continues to allow plenty of yardage to opposing offenses, it could become a big problem later on this season.

Developing trend: Running back depth

Quinshon Judkins didn’t have as good of a game, but there were others to pick up the slack. Dart wasn’t the only player who found success running the ball on Saturday. Ulysses Bentley IV and Matt Jones also had productive days on the ground in the Ole Miss backfield.

Bentley had 6 rushes for 61 yards and 1 touchdown. Jones took a 36-yard scamper to the house on his only rush of the game. It’s still early, but Judkins only has 145 yards rushing this season. He is off to a slow start after having 1,567 yards rushing a year ago, which led the SEC.

Judkins could very well pick things up as the season continues, but it’s good to know that there are others in the backfield who can carry the load otherwise.

Key stat: Jaxson Dart’s 1 interception through three games

Dart had 2,974 yards passing with 20 touchdowns last season after transferring from USC. However, he also threw 11 interceptions. So far Dart has shown that he can limit turnovers and has just 1 interception heading into Week 4.

Improvements in the turnover department are always a good sign of a player’s development. Dart will only be playing SEC opponents from here on out, so it’ll be interesting to see if the Ole Miss QB can continue prioritizing not turning the ball over.

First Impressions about Week 4: Alabama

Alabama did not look like its old self in Week 3. Nick Saban decided to try out Tyler Buchner at quarterback and the offense suffered as a result. The Crimson Tide were still able to win against USF 17-3 on the road, however.

Despite the recent problems that Alabama has shown, Ole Miss needs to take Saban’s team seriously, especially if the Rebels hope to snap the seven-game losing streak to the Crimson Tide.

Ole Miss will need to move past Alabama and then LSU if it wants to assert itself in the SEC West. Lane Kiffin came close to pulling off the upset in Oxford last season, but Saban rarely loses in front of the home crowd at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

There is a big opportunity in front of this Ole Miss team in Week 4.