JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jaxson Dart’s final college pass was a 69-yard touchdown that got him chewed out by coach Lane Kiffin on the sideline.
It’s one the quarterback will never forget.
Dart threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns in his final start for Ole Miss, leading the 16th-ranked Rebels to a 52-20 romp over Duke in the Gator Bowl on Thursday night.
Dart connected with Jordan Watkins seven times for 180 yards and two scores, including the longest pass play of the night with 1:27 to play. Kiffin ripped him for it afterward.
“I love him except for the last play when he checks to a pass play he’s not supposed to do,” Kiffin said. “He’s got to learn a little better class there.”
Dart added 43 yards rushing, leaving EverBank Stadium with grass and dirt stains all over his red and white uniform.
The senior never considered opting out of the bowl game. Instead, he helped the Rebels (10-3) make history. With the victory, Ole Miss notched double-digit wins in consecutive years for the second time in program history and the first since 1959-60.
“This place changed my life,” Dart said. “It was the best decision that I made. Just the relationships that I built with everybody here will last a lifetime.”
Ulysses Bentley IV, another senior playing his last college game, ran for 70 yards and two scores for the Rebels. Isaiah Hamilton returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter. All of them got to celebrate with sideline dunks on a portable basketball hoop adorned with Duke logos.
This ACC-SEC postseason matchup was never close. It wasn’t expected to be, either. Ole Miss was a 17½-point favorite, according to BetMGM, mostly because the Blue Devils (9-4) were without quarterback Maalik Murphy and running back Star Thomas. Both entered the transfer portal after Duke’s regular-season finale.
Third-year sophomore Henry Belin IV made his second career start and was harassed all night. Belin completed 25 of 44 passes for 236 yards, with two touchdowns and the interception. He was sacked three times.
Belin’s TD passes were two of the team’s few highlights. Sahmir Hagans’ 99-yard kickoff return — off a cross-field lateral, no less — was another.
One of Ole Miss’ few miscues came when Kiffin called for a trick play on fourth down. Kicker Caden Davis’ pass got picked off in the end zone, and Dart took nearly every snap the rest of the way.
“I think the thing that jumped out today is a special quarterback who played special,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said.