Ole Miss Dominates Furman in First Half of 2024 Season Opener

The Ole Miss Rebels flat out dominated the Furman Paladins in the first half of Saturday's season opener.

Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart passes to Caden Prieskorn in the first half of Saturday's game against Furman. / Carleigh Harbin | Ole Miss On SI

The Ole Miss Rebels got off to a fast start in the first half to start the the home opener against the Furman Paladins, holding a 52-0 lead at the intermission.

Ole Miss received the opening kickoff and scored after eight plays that spanned 75 yards ending in a Jaxson Dart 15-yard touchdown run. Throws to Caden Prieskorn and Tre Harris brought the drive back to life after Dart escaped a sack to get the ball back to the line of scrimmage on the first play of the game.

When the defense got its first crack, JJ Pegues racked up a sack and a TFL, but the Rebels secondary struggled at times to contain the Paladins air attack. The Ole Miss defensive line as a whole dominated the opening half, allowing just 124 total yards.

The second drive for the Rebels moved quickly with a pass to Cayden Lee followed up by a 61-yard touchdown pass from Dart to Juice Wells, his first catch as an Ole Miss Rebel.

A Trey Amos interception quickly returned the ball to Ole Miss, and the next drive resulted in back-to-back direct snaps to defensive lineman JJ Pegues who found the end zone for a rushing score. A Caden Davis field goal would close out the first quarter with the Rebels leading 24-0.

The next score from Ole Miss came from the I-formation and a pass from Dart to tight end Dae'Quan Wright, and passes to Prieskorn and Harris pushed the score to 45-0 partway through the second quarter.

The Rebels later capitalized with another Dart-to-Harris connection, this time for a 22-yard score to bring the half's score to 52-0.

Furman will receive the football to start the second half, and you can follow along for live updates from Vaught-Hemingway Stadium here.