FINAL | Ole Miss 52, Georgia Southern 13 (2025)

The Rebels (4-0, 0-0 SEC) took care of business at home once again and knocked off Georgia Southern. Here's how it happened.

Jared Redding

In front of a record-setting 67,515 people inside Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, the Ole Miss Rebels once again took care of business and put away Georgia Southern 52-13 to close out non-conference play.

Ole Miss once again totaled over 600 yards of offense, while giving up less than 200 yards defensively.

Jaxson Dart completed 22 of his 31 passes for 382 yards and threw four touchdown passes, two of which went to Tre Harris, who dominated with 225 yards on 11 catches. Juice Wells and Jordan Watkins combined for 102 yards and each caught a touchdown pass from Dart too. On the ground, Henry Parrish had 89 yards on 13 carries, once of which was a touchdown.

Defensively, the Rebels forced Georgia Southern to finish 3-for-16 on third down and to average less than three yards a play, holding an opponent to under 50 yards rushing for the fourth consecutive game. Ole Miss had 13 tackles, three of which were sacks. Chris Paul once again led the way in tackles with 10 (seven solo) with a few TFLs. The team forced two turnovers, a fumble recovered by J.J. Pegues (who also added a rushing touchdown) and an interception by Brandon Turnage.

Despite all this, the Rebels once again had over 100 yards worth of penalties, with the final tally coming out to 133 yards off of 11 flags.

The Rebels will be back in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28 to begin SEC play facing the Kentucky Wildcats. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT and can be seen on ABC or ESPN, and can be listened to on the Ole Miss Radio Network.

Here's how it all happened...

1ST QUARTER — Ole Miss 17, Georgia Southern 0

FINAL | Ole Miss 52, Georgia Southern 13 (2)

Ole Miss won the coin toss and elected to take the football immediately to begin the game, and the Rebels only needed to plays to score. Jaxson Dart found Tre Harris across the middle for a gain of 40 on the first play of the drive, and then Dart found Juice Wells open in the seam for a 35-yard touchdown pitch and catch. With 14:29 on the first quarter clock, Ole Miss led 7-0.

Georgia Southern coughed up the football on their first offensive play, and J.J. Pegues recovered inside the Eagle 10-yard line, before entering the tunnel with an apparent shoulder-related injury. After a few shaky plays, the Rebels were forced to settle for a 28-yard field goal by Caden Davis, making it a 10-0 game with 13:16 on the first quarter clock.

After a pass interference call on John Saunders gave Georgia Southern an early set of downs on the ensuing drive, but were forced to punt a few plays later. Ole Miss took over on its own 30. The Rebels turned to Henry Parrish on the ground for the first couple plays on their next drive, and later converted an fourth-and-short on their own 45-yard line thanks to a defensive offsides penalty. Ole Miss stayed on the ground en route to the Eagle red zone, and Pegues returned to action for a few offensive snaps. Later in the drive, Jaxson Dart found Jordan Watkins wide open for a 23-yard touchdown pass, and the Rebels led 17-0 with 4:39 left in the opening quarter.

JC French found Derrick Burgess on a short range passes to move the chains twice to get into Ole Miss' side of the field, before converting a 4th-and-2 to get to Ole Miss' 38-yard line nine plays into the drive. A facemark on Pegues moved the ball further into Ole Miss territory before the end of the quarter.

2ND QUARTER — Ole Miss 24, Georgia Southern 7

FINAL | Ole Miss 52, Georgia Southern 13 (3)

The Eagles had the football on the Ole Miss 22-yard line when play resumed, and another defensive penalty gave Georgia Southern another fresh set of downs inside Ole Miss' 13-yard line. Right after that, the Rebels surrendered their first touchdown of the season, as running back OJ Arnold found Derwin Burgess wide open for a 12-yard score. Less than a minute into the second quarter, the Ole Miss lead was trimmed down to 17-7.

Following the PAT, the Eagles went for a surprise onside kick and recovered to get the ball back on their own 46-yard line. A stop by "Pooh" Paul near midfield forced the Eagles to punt the ball away, and Ole Miss took over on its own six-yard line. After a couple first downs, Dart's slant to Tre Harris was broken up and the Rebels punted away, with Georgia Southern taking over on its own 33, before leaving the field after a few more plays thanks to a third down sack by Princely Umanmielen. Oil Miss took over on its own 26-yard line with 8:43 left in the first half.

It took just two plays for the Rebels to extend their lead, as Jaxson Dart found Tre Harris guarded one-on-one for an easy 70-yard score, capping off a two play drive. With 8:08 left in the first half, Ole Miss led 24-7. The Eagles proceeded to go three-and-out on the ensuing drive, giving Ole Miss the ball back on its own 30-yard line. The Rebels effortlessly made their way into GS territory, but faced a 4th-and-7 on the 40-yard line. Dart's pass to Harris fell incomplete, turning the ball over on downs with 3:49 left in the half. Coming out of a two-minute timeout, GS faced a 4th-and-short at midfield, and JC French got a yard to move the chains. However, Ole Miss would get the ball back with 32 seconds left after a third down stop by Pooh Paul. However, the score remained going into the locker room.

HALFTIME — Ole Miss 24, Georgia Southern 7

FINAL | Ole Miss 52, Georgia Southern 13 (4)

At the break, Ole Miss outgained GS 325-95, with all of those 95 yards accomplished through the air. Both teams were a combined 5-for-16 on third down.

Jaxson Dart completed 68 percent of his passes for 254 yards, featuring three touchdown passes to Tre Harris, Antwane "Juice" Wells and Jordan Watkins. Harris had yet another 100-yard half, with 141 yards and six catches at the break. Henry Parrish led the Rebels on the ground with 38 yards on seven carries.

Defensively, the Rebels had five tackles for loss and three sacks, giving up less than three yards per play. Khari Coleman had seven tackles at the break, with five of them solo. Coleman was also credited for forcing the one fumble that Pegues recovered in the first quarter, which was the only turnover through 30 minutes.

3RD QUARTER — Ole Miss 38, Georgia Southern 10

FINAL | Ole Miss 52, Georgia Southern 13 (5)

Georgia Southern received the second half kickoff, and four plays in, Brandon Turnage took the ball away with his first Ole Miss interception, which was returned to the Eagle 40-yard line. After Tre Harris had a touchdown grab wiped off the board due to offensive pass interference, J.J. Pegues took a direct snap on the goal line and punched in a score. With 9:00 on the third quarter clock, Ole Miss led 31-7. The Eagles went three-and-out, and the Rebels got the ball back on their own 30.

After an excellent 35-yard catch by Tre Harris, one where he made an excellent adjustment to the ball to get inside the GS 5-yard line, Henry Parrish walked in untouched to give the Rebels a 38-7 lead with 4:33 left in the third. The Rebels gift-wrapped GS a couple first downs to get into opponent territory, thanks to defensive penalties on the ensuing drive, and the Eagles tacked on a 42-yard field goal to make it a 38-10 ball game shortly before the end of the quarter.

4TH QUARTER — Ole Miss 52, Georgia Southern 13

FINAL | Ole Miss 52, Georgia Southern 13 (6)

When play resumed, Jaxson Dart and Tre Harris connected for a touchdown strike once more. The 36-yard score made it a 45-10 game with 14:30 left to play. It wouldn't be long before the Rebels got the ball right back following a three-and-out. Ole Miss took over on its own 22, but later gave the ball right back after Dart woefully underthrew Juice Wells and threw an interception with just over 10 minutes left to play. The Eagles couldn't capitalize, and again punted away a minute later.

The Rebels went effortlessly down the field, and Dominique Thomas later scored his first touchdown, making it 52-10 with 7:37 left to play. Although the Rebels gave up a late field goal, it was far too late. Ole Miss wouldn't be denied the rest of the way, walking away with a 4-0 record.

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FINAL | Ole Miss 52, Georgia Southern 13 (2025)
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