On a picture-perfect day in Oxford, Mississippi, the Ole Miss Rebels welcomed the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders to Vaught Hemingway Stadium for the second game of the 2024 season. You could not have asked for a better day of football as the Rebels looked to tune things up before hitting the road week when they traveled to Winston Salem, North Carolina, to take on Wake Forest next Saturday.

Coach Lane Kiffin had mentioned he wanted to run the ball more against Middle Tennessee State; Coach Kiffin, a man of his word, opened the first half with an onslaught of rushing support from Henry Parrish Jr, who finished the first half with over 100 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. Ole Miss finished the first half with 139 yards on the ground and four touchdowns.

Jaxson Dart went fifteen for fifteen through the air in the first half for 223 yards and no touchdowns.

Middle Tennessee State opened the half with the ball, as the Rebels had the ball to start the game. The Blue Raiders saw their drive go up in flames, as John Saunders had an interception for Ole Miss in the end zone to give the Rebels the ball at 8:09 in the third.

Ole Miss would capitalize on the interception with a 42-yard run from Henry Parrish, paving the way for Matt Jones to finish the job on the ground to extend the Ole Miss lead to 38-3 over Middle Tennessee State. Henry Parrish would add another rushing touchdown with 3:10 in the third to make it 45-3 Ole Miss. With 12:38 remaining on the clock, Middle Tennessee State would fail on a 4th and goal attempt, giving the ball back to the Ole Miss Rebels to finish out the visitors from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

On ensuring possession, Jaxson Dart broke the school record for consecutive passes at 20 and tied the SEC record set by Tee Martin at Tennessee in 1998 at 24. Ole Miss would end the drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Dart to Antwane Wells to make it 52-3 in favor of the Rebels.

Ole Miss would close out the beatdown of Middle Tennessee State by a score of 52-3. Ole Miss will hit the road next Saturday for the first road game of the season as the Rebels travel to Wake Forest for an SEC/ ACC showdown.

Photo Credits: Ole Miss Football on X