Down Multiple Weapons, Jaxson Dart Continues to Shine at Quarterback For Ole Miss

Dart had another gritty performance on Saturday night, and his team came out with a win because of it.

Jaxson Dart was down multiple weapons at the start, but he once again put the No. 17 Ole Miss Rebels on his back and was the key cog in their 48-23 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday night.

Dart's day passing started off slow (although he hit some big marks in the fourth quarter), but that was to be expected with names like Tre Harris, Zakhari Franklin and Caden Prieskorn still sidelined with injury. To top it off, it seemed that the Ole Miss quarterback would be without his top running back in Quinshon Judkins prior to kickoff.

Although Judkins did play on Saturday, it was obvious that his snaps were limited, carrying the ball 13 times for 37 yards and a score. Dart, however, made up for the lack of production in the run game.

At the final whistle, Jaxson Dart had tallied 136 yards on 14 carries and two scores, all of which were team-highs for the Rebels. With last week's struggles up front and in the run department, something had to change for Ole Miss on the ground, and Dart and Ulysses Bentley IV provided that spark while Judkins was not 100 percent on Saturday night.

Speaking of Bentley, his rushing total was impressive as well, tallying 61 yards on six touches and a score. After being injured for much of last season, his role is becoming more and more evident on this Rebels team, and that's a good sign for the offense moving forward.

But the story of the day came down to Ole Miss' quarterback. He fought through (another) quarterback competition this offseason, is down multiple key targets at wide receiver and tight end, and he still has operated this offense with precision through the first three weeks of the season. That in itself is noteworthy.

The ante is upped next week, however, as Ole Miss travels to face the Alabama Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa. Even though the oft-fearsome Bama has looked more than vulnerable over the last two weeks, Bryant-Denny is no easy place to play, especially in Rebels football history.

It appears, however, that Ole Miss has its quarterback. If the weapons around him can get healthy, the remainder of this season has a chance to get interesting in Oxford.