What Happened To Ole Miss at End of 2022? Rebels QB Jaxson Dart Has a Theory

Ole Miss Rebels QB Jaxson Dart has his theory on why the Rebels struggled down the stretch in 2022.

Matt Galatzan | Mar 28, 2023

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Ole Miss Rebels

The Ole Miss Rebels got off to a historic start last season, beginning 7-0 for the first time since 1962 - the year the program won its last national title.

As a result, expectations for the rest of the season were sky-high, as the Rebels ranked No. 7 in the country with a trip to Baton Rouge to take on the unranked LSU Tigers on the Horizon.

After that, however, the wheels came off, starting with a 45-20 blowout loss to the Tigers, in which the Rebels blew a 17-3 first-half lead.

From there, the Rebels would go on to lose four of their next five games, including heartbreakers to Alabama and Mississippi State, and embarrassing blowouts to Arkansas and Texas Tech.

And on Tuesday, Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, who started 12 of the Rebels 13 games last season, revealed his theory as to what went wrong for the Rebels down the stretch.

"Honestly, we got too comfortable and just let our foot off the gas," Dart said. "That was a big eye-opening for myself and the guys on the team. We play in the SEC and play the best competition week in and week out. There’s never a time where you can take the foot of the gas."

With that said, Dart and the rest of the Ole Miss squad seems to have learned their lessons after the collapse.

And Dart says the Rebels are going to take that disappointment and pay it forward next season.

"Every team has just as much talent, if not more, than you," Dart said. "Every team has great coaches. We didn’t execute the way we should’ve. I know the guys on the team, myself included, were disappointed. We really want to make a big leap. We have the core of our team back. We have to start this year off the right way and finish it the right way."

That will be a tough task for the Rebels who face arguably the SEC's toughest schedule in 2023.

However, Dart and the Rebels will be ready.

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Published Mar 28, 2023

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan the Editor-In-Chief of TheGroveReport.com. Galatzan graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry under Mike Fisher at DallasBasketball.com in 2014, which at the time was part of the 247Sports network. He also spent two years covering the SMU Mustangs for PonyStampede.com on the 247Sports network. When DallasBasketball.com and CowboysCountry.com moved over to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, Galatzan followed suit, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of LonghornsCountry.com and AllAggies.com a year later. Through the years, Galatzan has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, former Longhorns players Dan Neil and Phil Dawson, and many other recruits, and current/former players for each of the teams he has covered. Galatzan is also a full-time employee in the digital media department for Audacy and KRLD FM's 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, which is the official radio home of the Dallas Cowboys. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels.