Jaxson Dart has 246 yards of offense and 3 TDs, No. 13 Mississippi beats Auburn 28-21

AUBURN, Ala. -- — Jaxson Dart had 246 yards of offense and three touchdowns to help No. 13 Mississippi beat Auburn 28-21 on Saturday night.

Dart led the Rebels (6-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) to touchdowns on their first two drives before plunging into the end zone from a yard out on the final play of the third quarter for a lead Ole Miss held onto.

“The energy changed on the last play of the third quarter,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. “The fact that we scored and took the air out of the stadium really changed the energy as we headed into the fourth quarter.”

Quinshon Judkins added 124 yards rushing and a fourth-quarter touchdown run for the Rebels. Tre Harris had 102 yards receiving.

Auburn (3-4, 0-4) answered Ole Miss’ first score with a 53-yard touchdown run from Jarquez Hunter, who finished with 91 yards.

Hugh Freeze’s Tigers tied it at 14 with a 1-yard score from Hunter, taking advantage of a short field that was set up by Donovan Kaufman’s interception.

The teams then combined for 13 consecutive scoreless drives before Ole Miss’ second-half surge. Auburn, which alternated quarterbacks Robby Ashford and Payton Thorne, went three-and-out six times.

Thorne threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Rivaldo Fairweather with 56 seconds remaining, but Ole Miss recovered the ensuing onside kick to seal it.

“I think our kids played hard,” said Freeze, who was the head coach at Ole Miss from 2012-16. “But I feel like we’ve got to coach them better, and that starts with me.”

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Due to losses and close calls for teams ranked ahead of it Saturday, Ole Miss should have an outside chance to jump into the top 10.

THE TAKEAWAY

Mississippi: It was another road game where the offense didn’t always come easy for Kiffin’s squad. But the Rebels had a clear advantage over the Tigers with Dart, and they were able to lean on him for a road win.

Auburn: The Tigers entered Saturday with one of the worst passing attacks in FBS, and it stayed that way against Ole Miss. Ashford and Thorne combined for only 45 passing yards and two interceptions before Auburn’s final drive of the game.

HEATING UP

As a freshman in 2022, Judkins led the SEC with 120.38 rushing yards per game.

Judkins didn’t top 65 yards in any of Ole Miss’ first four games of the season, but the Alabama native now had two 100-yard performances in his last three games.

“I think he’s always something against this state,” Kiffin said. “That was awesome, to see him play that well and play really physically.”

TIGER TROUBLES CONTINUE

Auburn’s offense only generated 275 total yards against Ole Miss. That marked the fourth time in five games against power-conference competition in which the Tigers have been held to fewer than 300 yards.

The Tigers entered Saturday ranked No. 111 nationally in total offense against Power 5 opponents.

“Everything is up for evaluation,” Freeze said when asked about potential changes on offense. “It should be, with the numbers we’re putting up.”

A LONG TIME COMING

The win marked the first time Ole Miss has beaten Auburn in back-to-back seasons since 1951 and 1952. Ole Miss had also been winless in Jordan-Hare Stadium since 2015.

“I don’t care what the records are going into it, this place at night is a hard to play at,” Kiffin said. “Look at percentages — a lot of people lose in here. For our guys to take over in the second half is awesome.”

The two teams had played each other annually since 1990, but they won’t face each other in 2023 as the SEC expands to 16 teams.

UP NEXT

Mississippi: Hosts Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Auburn: Hosts Mississippi State on Saturday.

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football