Rebels hand Furman its worst loss in the modern era
FBS sixth-ranked Ole Miss came into the
season with the highest ranked transfer portal class in the nation, and the
Rebels showed why there has been much hype around their football program entering
the 2024 season, handing FCS No. 9/12 Furman its worst loss since 1955, defeating
the Paladins 76-0 before a sellout crowd of 66,105 on-hand Saturday night at
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
The night was certainly historic for
Furman, and not in a good way by any stretch. The Paladins came into the
contest with a brand new and inexperienced secondary facing off against maybe
the most prolific passing attack in all of college football. It’s an Ole Miss
offense that has the type of potential to be record-setting led by a Heisman Trophy
Award candidate under center, and by season’s end, could be a unit that makes
us even forget about that 2019 LSU offense, which was led by Joe Burrow.
Adding even more to the comparisons between
Dart and that Burrow-led LSU offense of five years ago is the fact that Dart
became the first SEC quarterback since Burrow in 2019 to have more than 350
yards passing in one half of football, amassing 418 through the air against the
Paladins.
The fact that Furman was breaking in a new secondary
and a new starting quarterback on offense, coupled with the talent and
experience that Ole Miss brought into the matchup, they ended up combining into
a perfect storm sequence for the Paladins in the season opener.
The Rebels finished the night with a 600-yard advantage in total offense, posting a 772-172 edge in total offense, including a 529-146 advantage in aerial yardage. The 772 yards of total offense by the Rebels were a school record. The 529 combined passing yards by Ole Miss quarterbacks in the contest also accounted for a program record. The Rebels posted 37 first downs in the win.
Jaxson Dart threw darts for most of the
night, and each one he seemingly threw, inflicted harm upon the Paladin defense.
He finished the contest connecting on 22-of-27 passes for 418 yards, five
touchdowns and no INTs. Dart also rushed six times for 31 yards and another
touchdown. All told, Dart completed the 2024 season opener by accounting for 449
yards of total offense and six touchdowns.
Simmons, who played most of the second
half, finished completing 7-of-16 passes for 111 yards and one touchdown. Both
Simmons and Dart were sacked once on the evening, as the Paladins finished the
night with two quarterback takedowns. All told, Ole Miss quarterbacks finished
the contest 29-of-45 passing for a combined 529 yards, with six touchdowns and
no INTs.
Dart’s favorite target most of the night
was of little surprise to most, as Tre Harris finished the contest with eight
catches for 179 yards and a pair of TDs.
Carson Jones started and played 2.5 quarters
under center before giving way to true freshman Trey Hedden. Jones finished the
game completing 15-of-25 passes for 119 yards and had one INT. Hedden completed
5-of-9 passes for 27 yards. Jones and Hedden were both sacked twice, as the
Rebels finished the contest with a total of four quarterback takedowns and tackled
Paladins behind the line of scrimmage on 15 occasions. Paladin quarterbacks finished
the night connecting on 20-of-34 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown.
Leading the Paladins receiving efforts was
senior wideout Joshua Harris, who had three catches for 59 yards, while Florida
State graduate transfer tight end Joshua Burrell hauled in a pair of passes for
43 yards. Ben Ferguson also hauled in a pair of passes for 17 yards.
The Paladins could muster only 26 yards on
the ground, while Ole Miss gained 243, with a majority of those coming in the
second half. Matt Jones led the way with 68 yards and a pair of TDs on just
three attempts.
Ian Williams is in his first season punting
for the Paladins, and he punted 12 times in the game for a total of 481 yards, averaging
40.1 yards-per-punt, which is one of the school record for punts (13) in a game
set twice previously, with the last being in 1972 when Mike Bartik punted 13 times
against East Carolina in 1972.
How It Happened:
When Furman won the opening toss, deferring
is often the right decision, but considering what Ole Miss and its quarterback
Jaxson Dart can do when they have the pigskin in their possession, it’s scary
and deferring almost seemed cringe-worthy. However, the Paladins chose to defer
the option and let the defense take its best shot at the expert dart thrower.
When he got it, he didn’t squander the
opportunity, as it took him only eight plays to help the Rebels advance the
ball 75 yards, ending with the senior signal-caller darting 15 yards to paydirt
with his legs, surprising the Paladin defense, which must have fully expected the
Heisman Trophy candidate to pull another precise dart from his quiver in an attempt
to strike the final scoring blow. The run showed Dart’s overall versatility as a
signal-caller and gave the Rebels a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the
game.
After a Furman drive stalled due to an offsides
penalty at the Ole Miss 45 and forcing the Paladins to punt, it didn’t take
long for the Rebels to find the end zone once again and take a 14-0 lead. This time
Dart went to the air for his second touchdown responsibility of the night, as
he found South Carolina transfer Antwain Juice Wells on the second play of the drive,
connecting on a 61-yard strike for the two-score advantage.
The Rebels would make it 3-for-3 on getting
into the end zone, but it would require a fourth down conversion to keep the drive
alone in the red zone—an area that the Rebels converted on 69% a year ago. JJ
Pegues would catch the direct snap on 4th-and-3 and would gain four.
Pegues would remain in the game and a couple of plays later, would plunge over
the goal line from a yard out for the score to make it 21-0.
The Rebels attained possession and were
given the courtesy of having a short field to deal thanks to the lone turnover
for either team in the contest, as Furman quarterback Carson Jones had his pass
tipped up in the air and it would be picked off by cornerback Trey Amos.
The Rebels would get the ball back once
more after a three-and-out from the Paladins, and though they would be held out
of the end zone by the Paladins, but Caden Davis connected on a 42-yard field
goal to make it 24-0 and that’s how the opening quarter would end.
After the Rebels held the Paladins on a turnover
on downs early in the second quarter, it would take the Rebels long to make it
31-0 with 11:27 to play in the half, as Ole Miss used a 15-yard penalty facemask
penalty on an apparent sack for loss to aid on the scoring foray, as the Rebels
needed just seven plays to cover the needed 67 yards, with Dae’Quan Wright
hauling in a short 4-yard pass from Dart and then jogged into the corner of the
end zone to continue the first-half onslaught.
After the Paladins punted once again, it
took the Rebels just two plays to cover 81 yards, using a 46-yard scoring pass to
his tight end Caden Prieskorn to make it 38-0 game with just over eight minutes
left in the half.
After the Paladins punted once again, the Rebels
would once again find the end zone to keep their perfect scoring intact,
posting their seventh score on their seventh drive of the night, as Dart
connected with Tre Harris for a 61-yard scoring strike.
Ole Miss would tack on one more score
before the break, keeping the Rebels on pace to reach the century mark after Dart
found Harris on a quick 22-yard slant for a 52-0 lead with 1:34 remaining in
the half. The Rebels would have the ball
back late in the half, however, could not come up with points for the first
time all night, as Davis missed a 53-yard field goal attempt, and the Rebels
halftime lead would remain at 52-0.
To further highlight the dominance
exhibited by the Rebels in the opening half of play, the Rebels rolled up a
502-124 advantage in total yards, including a 418-105 advantage in passing
yards.
In the second half, the Paladins were
forced to punt from deep in their own end, and even though Dart’s night was
over, it wouldn’t mean the scoring, or the aggression would wane for the Rebels,
as Anthony Simmons found Cayden Lee for a 35-yard scoring strike to increase
the margin to 59-0.
Furman’s defense would finally get its
first stop of the night, forcing the Rebels to punt for the first time all
night with 9:59 remaining in the third quarter.
It would allow the Paladins to let Trey Hedden
to see the first action of his Paladin career, and after leading the Paladins to
one first down and into Ole Miss territory at the 42, however, the Paladins
would turn it over on downs, as they were unable to covert on 4th-and-2.
Ole Miss would score their second rushing
touchdown of the night and first by a running back, as Matt Jones found the end
zone from 22 yards out with 4:47 remaining in the third quarter, and with the
Davis PAT, the Rebels increased the advantage to 66-0.
Late in the quarter, a tired Paladin
defense allowed Jones to squirt free and he did the rest, racing 43 yards for a
score, as the Rebels went ahead 73-0 with 16 seconds remaining in the third
quarter. It marked the second-straight season in which a SoCon team had yielded
70 or more points to the Rebels, with the Mercer Bears suffering a 73-7 loss just
last season. The 73 points are the most scored against a Paladin defense since
Davidson defeated Furman in 1969.
Davis tacked on a 41-yard field goal early
in the fourth quarter increased the Rebels lead to 76-0.
Furman will look to rebound from the
season-opening debacle in its season opener next Saturday in its third edition
of the “Dins after Dark” game, facing off against Charleston Southern in the
home opener. Kickoff for that contest is set for 7 p.m. EST. The Bucs will also
enter the clash with an 0-1 mark Saturday, dropping what was a 22-21
heartbreaker to The Citadel in their opener Saturday night at CSU Stadium.
Notes:
--It marks the first time that Furman has been shutout since 2014, which was a 45-0 home loss to Samford on Homecoming at Paladin Stadium.
--Ole Miss gained 772 yards of total
offense against the Paladins, which is the most ever by a Paladin foe…It eclipses
the 691 yards gained against the Paladin defense by Western Carolina in 2022.
--The 76-0 loss by the Paladins is its fifth
worst in program history, and worst since falling to Army, 81-0, in 1955.
--Ole Miss was the 41st FCS opponent
Furman has faced since re-classifying to FCS back in 1982, and it marks the FBS
opponent that has shutout the Paladins. Clemson (2/1989 and ’98), North
Carolina (1/1992), and North Carolina State (1/1982) account for the other four
FBS opponents to have shutout out the Paladins in the previous 40 FBS matchups.
With the loss to the Rebels, Furman fell to 6-34-1 all-time vs FBS foes. The 76-0
loss to Ole Miss marks Furman’s worst loss to FBS foe since the SoCon
reclassified to Division I-AA (now FCS) in 1982.
--Ole Miss evened the overall series
against the Paladins, 1-1. Furman claimed a 7-2 win in the first meeting between
the two back in 1924.
Furman’s Worst Losses:
1.
Georgia Tech 0-118 1918
2.
Duke 0-96 1891
3.
Clemson 0-94 1915
4.
Army 0-81 1955
5.
Ole Miss 0-76 2024
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