What Did QB Jaxson Dart Learn About Ole Miss in Rebels' Win Over South Carolina?

Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart took this week's preparation seriously.

Oct 5, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) celebrates a touchdown against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

The No. 12 Ole Miss Rebels needed a big response on Saturday, and they got it in a 27-3 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Ole Miss (5-1, 1-1 SEC) saw its College Football Playoff hopes take a hit last week in an upset loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, but it still has plenty of opportunities to prove itself and be in the postseason field at the end of the year. The first test in that journey came on Saturday, and quarterback Jaxson Dart took the week leading up to the game seriously.

After the game this week, Dart was asked by Michael Katz of The Daily Journal what he learned about his team over the last week, and his response boiled down to the makeup of the locker room.

"I think it just showed what our true identity is," Dart said. "Like I said earlier, we had every opportunity to divide and turn away inside the locker room, point fingers at this, that and the other. The truth is we didn't."

Oct 5, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) passes against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the first quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

That's big for a roster that has a lot of transfers this season. Establishing a consistent team chemistry with so many new faces is not an easy challenge, but Dart believes that he and his teammates all had the same mindset following the Kentucky game, so much so that they had trouble sleeping after the loss.

"Coming out of the game, we were all just quiet in the locker room," Dart said. "There wasn't a lot of words said. We all had the exact same feeling. I mean, a lot of us met up at 2 a.m. that day. We couldn't sleep, and we just had tough conversations.

"So, us being able to bounce back and have a win like this, and then obviously our defense coming up and showing out in a big way was huge."

As mentioned above, Ole Miss still has plenty of opportunities to prove itself the rest of the way, but with that comes even more difficult games, the next of which is a road trip to Baton Rouge next week. The Rebels could very well be back inside the AP Top 10 come Sunday afternoon, but that ranking won't matter if the wins don't follow.

Kickoff between Ole Miss and LSU in the Magnolia Bowl next Saturday is set for 6:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on ABC.