Rebels' DE Jared Ivey Sets Tone For 2024 Season With MVP Performance vs. Penn State

The Ole Miss Rebels and Peach Bowl MVP Jared Ivey capped off the 2023 season in historic fashion after securing their 11th win versus the Penn State Nittany Lions.

ATLANTA, Ga. -- The No. 11 Ole Miss Rebels put the college football world on notice when they beat the No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions 38-25 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Saturday. Not only did the Rebels achieve program history with their first-ever 11-win season, they sent a message: Look out for Ole Miss in 2024.

This time last year, Ole Miss fans were in a sour mood. The Rebels had just shelved a disappointing 2023 regular season where they went 8-5 and rang in the New Year with a 42-25 loss to Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl. But with this disappointment came the promise of improvement. 

Ole Miss went out and hired former Alabama Crimson Tide assistant Pete Golding to bring forth a new era of the Landshark Defense, and while the unit has not been perfect, the defense fielded in 2023 has taken great strides and shown immense improvement.

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Ole Miss defensive lineman Jared Ivey embodies that improvement. Ivey arrived at Ole Miss ahead of the 2022 season via the NCAA Transfer Portal, and has since blossomed into a key part of the defensive line rotation under Golding and Randall Joyner. 

The senior led the team in tackles for loss (11.5) and sacks (5.5) this season, and he capped off his season with an MVP performance in the Peach Bowl. In his homecoming, the Suwanee, Ga., native recorded five total tackles, two TFLs, and two pass breakups. 

Ivey and the Rebels set the tone for the 2024 season by shutting down one of the best running back tandems in the nation in Penn State's Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Versus Ole Miss, the two tailbacks totaled 101 yards on 18 carries. 

Due to Ole Miss' recent success in the portal, and he being a former transfer himself, Ivey was asked after the game what his success in the Peach Bowl says about Ole Miss as program.

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"I think it speaks to the culture the guys had already when we got here and how they took us in and kind of showed us how things were supposed to be and how the coaches wanted things aligned," Ivey told reporters postgame. "Very thankful for Coach Joyner and Coach Kiffin just showing us the ropes and making us feel at home day one."

It has not happened overnight (and there is still work to do), but under Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss has established a winning culture. The Rebels now look to the 2024 season, which offers even greater promise thanks to the 12-team playoff expansion.