OXFORD, Miss. — Jaxson Dart completed his first 24 passes, setting SEC and school records, and completed 25 of 27 passes for 377 yards in No. 6 Mississippi State’s 52-3 victory over Middle Tennessee on Saturday.
The streak ended when Dart and Tre Harris failed to connect on a pass with 9:56 left. Dart, who completed 30 straight passes in two games, broke the SEC record of 23 consecutive passes to start a game set by Tennessee’s Tee Martin against South Carolina in 1998. The previous Ole Miss record of 19 consecutive passes was set by Matt Corral against Vanderbilt in 2020.
In addition, Dart made 30 consecutive completions over the course of two games, which is the longest streak in SEC history, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.
Dart was hit hard from the blind side in the second quarter, but answered with throws of 18 and 25 yards before a 3-yard touchdown run. In the fourth quarter, he threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Antwane Wells Jr.
“I’m proud of Jaxson’s leadership,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said.
Following their 76-0 victory over Furman, the Rebels dominated another lower-level opponent, not allowing a touchdown.
Henry Parrish Jr. set career highs with 165 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 11.8 yards per carry.
Ole Miss had 243 rushing yards last week, but many of those came in garbage time, and Kiffin wanted more efficiency.
“We have several good running backs,” Kiffin said. “Parrish has been practicing well, so he was there from the start today and played well.”
Parrish only managed 40 yards against Furman. On Saturday, he surpassed that number midway through the first quarter with 92 yards and two 11-yard touchdown runs, giving the Rebels a quick 17-0 lead.
Zeke Rankin kicked a 32-yard field goal for Middle Tennessee (1-1) with 15 seconds left in the first half. Ole Miss led 31-3 at halftime.
Kiffin believes his team could be cleaner.
“A lot of people are doing things right, but there are still too many penalties,” he said.
The Rebels received eight penalties for 78 yards.
Ole Miss has allowed just 54 rushing yards this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
