Jaxson Dart launches Heisman campaign as Ole Miss football pummels Furman, other overreactions

OXFORD — Ole Miss football subjected Furman to a steamrolling of historic proportions on Saturday night at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

The Rebels scored 52 points in the first half ‒ the most for the program since at least 1962, which is as far back as records go ‒ on their way to a 76-0 victory to open the season.

For their trouble, the FCS Paladins will leave Oxford with a $500,000 payment.

Here are five overreactions to the big performance for the Rebels.

Jaxson Dart emphatically launches Heisman Trophy campaign

Before Saturday, Dart had passed for over 400 yards in one game just once in his career, torching Vanderbilt for 448 passing yards in 2022. He needed only 30 minutes to surpass the 400-yard threshold against the Paladins.

Dart threw deep touchdown after deep touchdown. By the time he was removed at the half, Ole Miss had a 52-0 lead, and Dart had five passing TDs.

He picked up 27 yards and a TD on the ground, too.

Good luck accounting for Ole Miss' weapons in the passing game

On Juice Wells' second play with the Rebels, he burned through single coverage over the middle of the field for a 61-yard touchdown.

Tre Harris also broke off a 61-yard TD over the middle of the field, adding a 22-yard touchdown reception on his way to a 179-yard night.

Tight end Caden Prieskorn made it three long touchdowns in the first half alone, reeling in a 46-yard touchdown on what seemed to be a busted coverage.

It's FCS competition, but it's clear that the Rebels have more talented passing game weapons than most defenses can be expected to account for. If you commit to shutting down one option, odds are someone else is going to be open.

Henry Parrish Jr. gets the bulk of the meaningful running back work

The first Ole Miss depth chart of the season listed Parrish and Ulysses Bentley IV as co-starters. The snap count told a different story.

In the first half ‒ played primarily by Ole Miss' starters ‒ Parrish carried eight times compared to just two carries for Bentley.

Parrish was effective, but not explosive, averaging 5 yards per rush. Some of his best work came as a blocker. He picked up a couple of Furman blitzes in the backfield that otherwise might have caused problems for Dart.

Austin Simmons makes his debut at quarterback

When it comes to the future of the Ole Miss program, the most important news of the game came before kickoff, with redshirt freshman Austin Simmons besting junior Walker Howard for the backup quarterback job on the team's first official depth chart of the season. That's noteworthy for the Rebels' succession planning for Dart, who is out of eligibility after this season.

Simmons threw a perfectly placed deep ball to Cayden Lee on his first collegiate snap for a 35-yard touchdown. He finished 7-for-16 for 111 yards. He wasn't perfect, but his receivers did let him down with some noteworthy drops. Clearly, he has a special ability to throw a quality deep ball.

MONTE KIFFIN: Ole Miss football helmet stickers honor Monte Kiffin, the late father of Lane Kiffin

Revamped Ole Miss football defensive front looks the part

On defense, Ole Miss illustrated the kind of command along the line of scrimmage that it often lacked last season.

With the starters in the game in the first half, Furman averaged 2.1 yards per rush, and the reserves fared even better. The Rebels finished with four sacks and made 16 tackles for loss.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Overreactions from Ole Miss football's easy win over Furman