Three Takeaways: What Did We Learn From Ole Miss' Rout of Furman?

What did we learn from Ole Miss' dominating win over Furman on Saturday night?

Aug 31, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) hands the ball off to Mississippi Rebels running back Ulysses Bentley IV (24) during warm ups prior to the game against the Furman Paladins at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels cruised to a 76-0 win over the Furman Paladins in Saturday's season opener, riding an electric wave of offense and a suffocating defensive performance to the most points scored in the Lane Kiffin era in Oxford.

Ole Miss scored early and often in the win, and even though the starters rested for the entirety of the second half, the Rebels still scored 24 points in the final two quarters to seal the win. Even though this all came against an FCS opponent, there are still some takeaways we can glean from Saturday's action.

So, what did we learn? Let's dive in below.

1. Quarterback Jaxson Dart continues to impress.

Furman is obviously not the most talented defense that Jaxson Dart will face this season, but what he managed to accomplish on Saturday is still worth noting.

Dart finished the day 22-of-27 through the air for over 400 yards and five touchdowns, tossing as many scores as he did incompletions. He also showed off some mobility during Ole Miss' first drive of the game as he found the end zone on the ground from 15 yards out.

The leadership ability and on-field growth from Dart is evident, and if he stays healthy, he could be poised for a very special 2024 season.

2. The defensive line looked as-advertised.

Again, this is an FCS opponent, so take this with a grain of salt, but 16 tackles for loss is a lot for any defense in a single game.

Not all of those came from defensive linemen, but names like JJ Pegues and Walter Nolen seemed to be present on almost every play, and it will be interesting to see if this level of play continues as the games get tougher down the road.

Lane Kiffin was also impressed with the defensive front, both the starters and rotational pieces like Chris Hardie and Kam Franklin.

"It was exciting, a feeling we've never had here," Kiffin said. "I haven't had it as a head coach just where you look at the four guys going out there and three guys who rotate in with them, and it's elite size, length players that present major problems if they do the right thing and playing hard. That's very intimidating to play against.

"You just have a different depth than you've ever had."

3. The running back rotation was interesting in Week 1.

Many of us expected Ulysses Bentley IV to lead the way this week, but Henry Parrish Jr. was the first back out of the gate and registered eight carries for 40 yards compared to Bentley's six carries for 23 yards.

Some of this could have been impacted by matchups and scheme (along with the fact that Ole Miss threw the ball 45 times on Saturday), but that will be something to watch moving forward. We also saw Matt Jones in the game before we did Rashad Amos, and Jones finished the game as the team's leading rusher with 68 yards and two scores in the second half.

It's a good problem to have, but how the Rebels balance their carry load over the next few weeks could tell us a lot about the plan when SEC play begins.