Kiffin revels in rare Fayetteville win as Rebels rout Razorbacks 63-31

BY DUDLEY E. DAWSON

FAYETTEVILLE – Ole Miss had not won a football game in Fayetteville since 2008 – a few months after head coach Houston Nutt became the coach of the Rebels after being the head coach of the Razorbacks.

Nutt’s Ole Miss team won 23-21 that today – a game that had little resemblance to the one held Saturday at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in which the No. 18 Rebels (7-2, 3-2) won for just the second time in their last 15 games in Fayetteville.

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart completed 25 of 31 passes for a program record 515 yards and record-tying six touchdowns as Ole Miss hammered Arkansas 63-31 before an announced season-low home crowd of 72,894 fans.

A school-record five of those scoring tosses were to Jordan Watkins (8 catches for a school-record 254 yards) as the Rebels rolled up a 694-492 total offense advantage over the Razorbacks (5-4, 3-3).

“I don’t know I could have told you that I seen all that coming but…it’s been a hard place to play,” Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin said. “But that is a lot of people doing right to put up the most points (ever) for Ole Miss in an SEC game.

“It was really neat to see guys step up and make plays. Just a really cool day…This was just a great win at a really hard place to play…In 30 years, only won here twice. That’s awesome for our fans.”

It came after a lackluster first half against visiting Oklahoma last Saturday, but an inspired second half in what the Rebels rallied for a 26-14 win.

Kiffin, now 41-17 at the helm at Ole Miss, thinks his team got a spark at halftime of its game with the Sooners.

“I do,” Kiffin said. “I kind of talked to them and asked ‘have you had enough? Have you had enough of playing sloppy? Have you had enough of the disrespect of people saying that you just came here for money?’

“So the last game and a half, they have played like that.”

The 32-point margin of victory was Ole Miss’ largest over Arkansas in a series that the Razorbacks lead 37-30-1 and had been 8-8 in the last 16 meetings between the two.

Dart’s passing yardage broke Matt Corral’s Ole Miss single-game record of 513 and his six touchdowns tied Eli Manning and Corral.

His 562 yards total offense broke Archie Manning’s mark of 540 and he now has the Rebels’ all-time total offense mark with 10,805.

“It was a really good day,” Kiffin said. “We wanted to come in here and play really well offensively again. So no turnovers for the second week in a row.

“I know we are going to talk a lot about Jackson and Jordan, but it was a really good job by a lot of guys in pass protection and doing things well to have that kind of day.

“I think most people would have taken seven touchdown passes and 550 yards passing and no turnovers.”

Watkins had caught 17 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns this season coming into the game, but broke Jonathan Mingo’s school record for single-game receiving yards and the 5 TDs was also a school best.

He would catch scoring passes of 62, 66, 13 and 3 yards in the contest.

“Honestly it was man-to-man coverage and he was just smoking them and got a lot of separation,” Dart said. “Honestly we have had so many reps together that I am just throwing it the spot I know he is gong to be.”

Watkins was happy to oblige his quarterback.

“It’s a good thing whenever you can come out and throw a 66-yard touchdown on the first or second play of the drive,” Watkins said. “The O-line likes that, too.”

Wright caught 9 of 99 yards Saturday with two touchdowns, the final a 12-yard scoring toss from back up quarterback Austin Simmons with 6:47 left.

He had just 8 catches for 125 yards and a score this season before arriving in Fayetteville

“He had a really good week of practice,” Kiffin said of Wright. “He was actually banged up earlier in the week and fought through it.”

Ole Miss, who hosts Georgia next weekend, took control of the game with a 28-point second quarter for a 35-10 lead at intermission.

The Rebels then took the initial possession of the third quarter 75 yards in 7 plays in a stanza that they visitors would put another 21 points on the board.

Watkins fourth TD catch in that spree pushed the lead to 42-10 just there minutes into the second half.

“I thought the end of the first half was huge,” Kiffin said. “We hold them to a field goal, which they miss and then we go down and get the touchdown. I just thought was a really defending couple of minutes there, which we have not been great at that. We have not done well at the end of the half.

“And to then come out and score on the first drive, basically in those five minutes of football, we go from them kicking a field goal, which they miss, to us scoring more points.”

Malachi Singleton replaced injured Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green and ended up completing 11 of 14 passes for 207 yards and a touchdown and rushing 8 times for 39 yards and another score.

Andrew Armstrong of 6 catches for 135 yards with 79 of those being yards after the catch. Luke Hasz addd 5 catches for 77 yards and a score and Issac Tesla 3 catches for 65 yards.

Rashard Dubinion led Arkansas with 12 carries for 54 yards and a touchdown.

“We didn’t play like we wanted to one defense in the second half with some back ups in there, but it was a really good day,” Kiffin said.

Photo by John D. James