WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• This marks the second all-time meeting between the Rebels and Blue Raiders.
• Ole Miss is 66-17 (.795) versus non-conference opponents dating back to a 38-0 win over Tulane on Nov. 12, 1994 ... Under head coach Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss is 15-2 against non-conference opponents.
• Ole Miss is 22-2 at home since 2021 ... The Rebels are third among SEC teams in total wins in that span with 30.
• The Rebels exploded for 76 points vs. Furman, the most of the Kiffin era, the most since 1935 and tied for fifth-most in program history ... The 76-point margin ranks tied for the eighth-largest in SEC history.
• Ole Miss’ 772 yards of total offense against Furman are the second-most by a Rebel offense, No. 7 in SEC history and the most by any SEC team since 2019 ... Kiffin owns five of the seven 700-yard games in Ole Miss history.
• The Rebels once again broke the team single-game passing yards record with 529 vs. Furman.
• The Rebel defense held Furman to 172 yards of total offense, the fewest of the Kiffin era and the fewest overall since 2014 ... Furman’s 23 rushing yards were also the fewest allowed by Ole Miss since 2014.
• Ole Miss charted 16 tackles for loss against Furman, the most by a Rebel defense since 2000 ... Of those, 12 came from defensive newcomers, including 3.0 from freshman DE Kam Franklin.
• QB Jaxson Dart is one of five active FBS QBs with 8,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards ... Since halftime at No. 1 Georgia last fall, Dart is 86-of-127 (67.7%) for 1,204 yards, 12 TD and 0 INT.
• Ole Miss leads the FBS in total offense since 2020 at 503.7 yards per game.
OLE MISS HEAD COACH LANE KIFFIN
Lane Kiffin is in his fifth season at Ole Miss and has led the Rebels to four consecutive bowl berths, including two New Year’s Six appearances, under his guidance since 2020. In 11 years at the NCAA level, Kiffin has posted an all-time record of 96-49, including a 35-15 mark at Ole Miss. Kiffin led the 2023 Rebels to the best season in Ole Miss history in terms of wins, notching an 11-2 overall record capped by a 38-25 Peach Bowl victory over Penn State. The Rebels finished No. 9 in both final versions of the AP and Coaches polls, the highest finish overall since 2015 (No. 9 Coaches) and their highest in the final AP poll since 1969 (No. 8). In 2022, Kiffin led the Rebels to the Texas Bowl, thanks to another dynamite offense that ranked No. 3 nationally in rushing offense (256.6) and No. 8 in total offense (496.4) in 2022. Kiffin guided the Rebels to a 10-3 record in 2021, the first 10-win regular season in school history. The Rebels finished the season ranked No. 11 in both the AP and AFCA Coaches Poll, its highest final ranking since 2016. Ole Miss ranked top-20 in the FBS in nine different offensive categories in his first season in 2020. In December 2016, Kiffin took over an FAU program that had won a total of nine combined games over the previous three seasons. Kiffin proceeded to take the Owls to new heights over the last three years, including two conference titles and two 10-win seasons. In his head coaching stops at USC, Tennessee and FAU, Kiffin has shown a propensity in helping turn programs around. Kiffin graduated from Fresno State in 1998 after playing quarterback for three seasons (1994-96) for the Bulldogs. He began his coaching career as a student assistant at Fresno State under Pat Hill in 1997 and 1998.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE HEAD COACH DEREK MASON
A veteran of 29 years of collegiate coaching experience, Derek Mason is in his first season as head coach of Middle Tennessee. Mason, who spent the 2023 season working as an analyst for the SEC Network, has seven years as a head coach prior to being named the leader of the Blue Raiders. He most recently coached in 2022 at Oklahoma State as the defensive coordinator and helped the Cowboys to a spot in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. Prior to his stint at Oklahoma State, Mason served as the defensive coordinator at Auburn for the 2021 season. From 2014-2020, Mason was the head coach at Vanderbilt where he became just the second coach in program history to lead a team to multiple bowl appearances. His 2018 team won six games and capped the regular season with a third straight victory over rival Tennessee and fifth in seven years. It also marked Vanderbilt’s second bowl appearance in three years under Mason. As a player, Mason was a two-year starter and four-year letter winner at Northern Arizona. Mason earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Northern Arizona in 1993.
BLUE RAIDER SCOUTING REPORT
Furman heads into Oxford with a 1-0 record after a 32-25 comeback win over Tennessee Tech to open the 2024 season. The Blue Raiders drove 75 yards in less than a minute and scored with 16 seconds left in the game to fend off the upset. MTSU was outgained 341-328 by the Eagles but managed to convert on 50 percent of its third down conversions to pick up the win. Frank Peasant led the rushing attack with 49 total yards and two TDs, including the late game-winner. Nicholas Vattiato completed 20-of-35 passes for 210 yards and one touchdown. Auburn transfer Omari Kelly led MTSU with four catches for 47 yards. Defensive lineman Damonte Smith and Brandon Buckner are Middle Tennessee’s only two returning starters on defense in 2024. Brendon Harris, a transfer from Wake Forest, led the Blue Raiders with six total tackles vs. Tennessee Tech in the season opener.
TENNESSEE REBELS
Ole Miss features 10 student-athletes who hail from the state of Tennessee: WR Drew Burnett (Memphis), DE Cam Clark (Medina), S Harrison Craig (Collierville), S Key Lawrence (Nashville), DT Walter Nolen (Powell), OL John Wayne Oliver (Nashville), WR Joshua Pfeifer (Nashville), OL Brycen Sanders (Chattanooga), WR Calvin Wilson (Thompson’s Station) and TE Hudson Wolfe (Savannah).
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
• Ole Miss is 66-17 (.795) versus non-conference opponents dating back to a 38-0 win over Tulane on Nov. 12, 1994.
• Under head coach Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss is 15-2 against non-conference opponents.
• The Rebels have only lost one home non-conference game since 2012 (Sept. 23, 2019 vs. #23 Cal, 28-20).
• Ole Miss has only lost three total non-conference road games since 2012.
OLE MISS IN SEPTEMBER
• Ole Miss is 166-93-7 (.637) all-time during the month of September after vacated wins.
• Ole Miss is 107-35-3 (.748) in September home games (including contests played in Memphis and Jackson).
• The Rebels are 82-22-2 (.783) in September games played in Oxford after vacated wins.
• Ole Miss is 118-41-6 (.733) all-time versus non-conference opponents during September.
HOME SWEET HOME
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium has been a safe haven for the Rebels historically, owning a 300-115-8 (.719) record all-time in Oxford before vacated wins (278-112-8), and that’s been no different in the Kiffin era. Ole Miss is 22-2 in its last 24 home games, and since the beginning of Kiffin’s tenure in 2020, the Rebels have gone 22-5 overall at Vaught-Hemingway -- which includes a 14-game home winning streak that spanned Nov. 14, 2020 to Oct. 15, 2022. That streak was among the longest home winning streaks nationally when it was snapped by No. 9 Alabama in 2022. It was also the longest winning streak in Oxford since winning 21 straight games from Nov. 1, 1952 to Nov. 7, 1959. Including a tie to LSU in 1960, the Rebels went unbeaten for 34 games over the course of 12 years (1952-64). Under Kiffin, the Rebels have recorded the first two seven-win homes seasons in program history in 2021 and 2023.
REBS IN THE POLLS
• Ole Miss currently ranks No. 5 in the Coaches poll and No. 6 in the Associated Press poll for Week Two.
• No. 5 is the highest ranking for the Rebels since rising to No. 3 in the 2015 season.
• No. 6 was the highest preseason ranking for Ole Miss since 1970, when the Rebels started off at No. 5.
• This year marked the first preseason top-10 appearance for the Rebels since 2009, when Ole Miss opened at No. 8.
• Dating back to 2021, Ole Miss has been ranked in the top 25 in 46 of the last 50 poll releases ... That includes a streak of 29 across 2021 and 2022, the longest streak since being ranked for 41 straight weeks from 2014-16.
• The SEC boasts eight teams in the top 25, including five within the top-10.
STINGY DEFENSE
The Landshark D opened the 2024 campaign with a stifling performance against Furman, holding them scoreless and shutting down the Paladins to just 172 yards of total offense -- the fewest of the Kiffin era and the fewest overall at Ole Miss since holding Presbyterian to 156 on Nov. 8, 2014. That 76-0 season-opening domination by the Rebels constitutes the 120th shutout in Ole Miss history, and its first in a season opener since winning 3-0 against Memphis in 1999. Those 172 yards from Furman include just 23 yards on the ground, the fewest yielded in the Kiffin era and the fewest overall by the Rebels since shutting down Tennessee to zero in 2014. This builds on a solid foundation set by the 2023 squad that held three straight SEC opponents to less than 300 yards of offense for the first time since 1993.
CAUSING MAYHEM
The Ole Miss defense was ever-present in Furman’s backfield, rattling the Paladins for a whopping 16 tackles for loss for 62 lost yards. Those 16 TFL rank as the most in the Kiffin era and also the most in nearly a quarter century since a 17 TFL effort against Mississippi State on Nov. 23, 2000. The 62 yards lost by the Paladins stands as the most tallied up by a Rebel defense since denting Kent State for 76 on Sept. 22, 2018. Ole Miss is coming off 35-sack season during its historic 2023 campaign, which marked the first time since the sack became an official college statistic in 1983 that the Rebels have recorded at least 35 in three consecutive seasons. In the Kiffin era, Ole Miss has recorded multiple sacks in 35 games, at least 5.0 tackles for loss in 33 games, and at least 4.0 sacks in 19 games. In games under Kiffin with at least 5.0 tackles for loss, Ole Miss is 24-9, and in games with at least 4.0 sacks, the Rebels are 11-3.
HIGH-FLYING OFFENSE
In the Kiffin era, the Rebel offense ranks as the most prolific in the nation, leading the FBS in yards per game since the beginning of the 2020 season at 503.7 yards per game. In terms of total yards, Ole Miss ranks fourth in the FBS at 25,185 yards within the Kiffin era. In that same four-year stretch, Ole Miss ranks seventh among all FBS schools in rushing yards per game at 216.1, as well as 14th in passing yards per game at 287.6. That puts the Rebels as the only FBS team to rank top-15 in both rushing yards per game and passing yards per game since 2020.
THROWIN’ DARTS
Senior QB Jaxson Dart came out of the gates firing for the 2024 season, once again proving his status as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks after leading a furious, school-record aerial assault against Furman. Dart was superb, going 22-of-27 for 418 yards and five touchdowns passing, while also adding 27 yards and a score on the ground in Ole Miss’ monster 76-0 victory over the Paladins. This was the second 400-yard game of Dart’s career, alongside his best to date of 448 at Vanderbilt in 2022. His season-opening performance ranks as the 18th 400-yard passing game in Ole Miss history, and it makes him one of just seven Rebel signal callers to break the pleateau multiple times. He’s now one of just four QBs alongside Matt Corral, Jordan Ta’amu and Shea Patterson to record 400 yards and five TD.
UNBLEMISHED
After his season-opening 22-of-27 performance, Jaxson Dart has extended his streak of pass attempts without an interception long enough to crack the all-time top-10 in Ole Miss history. Dart has not thrown an interception since the closing minutes of the second quarter at No. 1 Georgia last November, and since the Rebels have went 4-0 while Dart has gone 86-of-127 (67.7%) for 1,204 yards and 12 touchdowns passing.
CHUCKY MULLINS AWARD
Ole Miss DT JJ Pegues was recently named the winner of the 2024 Chucky Mullins Courage Award. The award, sponsored by Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, honors the late Chucky Mullins, who had his Ole Miss career come to an end during the 1989 Homecoming game against Vanderbilt when he was paralyzed after making a tackle. After returning to his studies at Ole Miss, Mullins passed away May 6, 1991. An Oxford native, Pegues is the 34th recipient in the 35-year history of the award. He will wear the No. 38 jersey at home, but will remain in his No. 89 on the road. Pegues ended 2023 with career highs in tackles (42), tackles for loss (8.0), sacks (3.5) and PBU (4) while also adding two QB hurries. Pegues is heavily active within the Lafayette-Oxford-University community and has been named to the Wuerffel Trophy watch list for 2024.
NO-FLY ZONE
Ole Miss ended the 2023 season ranked second in the SEC with 13 interceptions, the most by a Rebel defense since the 2015 squad picked off 15 passes. The Rebel defense had six different defenders nab an INT and 18 separate defenders break up a pass across the 2023 season, including a team-leading three picks apiece by returning seniors John Saunders Jr. and Trey Washington. Ole Miss picked off two passes apiece in a torrid three-game stretch of incredible pass defense last season against Arkansas, Auburn and Vanderbilt, yielding just 437 combined passing yards in those three games. That stretch of multi-interception games marked the first such streak since 2014.
WINNING THE TURNOVER BATTLE
A key to Ole Miss’ historic success in 2023 was its edge in the turnover game. The Rebels led the FBS in fewest turnovers with only seven all season, while also leading the SEC and ranking fifth nationally in turnover margin at +11. The Rebel defense did its part with its 13 interceptions and five fumble recoveries, but it was the powerful -- yet careful -- Ole Miss offense that helped pad that margin, with only six interceptions thrown and one lost fumble all season.
