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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Postgame Notes: TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
1/2/2025 | Football
| SERIES INFORMATION |
• Ole Miss is now 18-10-1 against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, including 5-1 in bowl games on the field.
| BOWL HISTORY |
• Ole Miss' all-time bowl record now stands at 26-15, excluding a vacated victory in the 2013 BBVA Compass Bowl vs. Pitt.
• At a .634 bowl winning percentage, Ole Miss currently ranks fourth in FBS history.
• At 42 bowl appearances, Ole Miss ranks tied for 20th in FBS history, and its 26 wins ranks tied for 13th nationally.
• Ole Miss is now 13-4 in its last 17 bowl games on the field dating back to the 1997 Motor City Bowl.
| CAPTAINS |
| STARTERS |
• Other notable starting streaks include S Trey Washington (28th) and S John Saunders Jr. (26th).
• OL Jeremy James returned to the starting lineup for the second straight game for his 52nd career start, an all-time Ole Miss program record.
| GENERAL NOTES |
• Ole Miss is now 70-17 (.805) versus non-conference opponents dating back to a 38-0 win over Tulane on Nov. 12, 1994.
• Under head coach Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss is now 19-2 against non-conference opponents.
• At 10-3, this marks only the tenth 10-win season in Ole Miss football history … Head coach Lane Kiffin now owns three of those 10-win campaigns in 2021 (10-3), 2023 (11-2) and 2024 (10-3).
• This marks the first consecutive 10-win seasons at Ole Miss since 1959-60 … A follow-up 10-win season in 2025 would mark the first three-year stretch in program history.
• Kiffin (44-18) is now tied with David Cutcliffe (1998-2004; 44-29) for third in Ole Miss history in coaching victories.
• Ole Miss is now 3-2 in bowl games under Kiffin, who is now 4-5 all-time in bowl games when including his prior head coaching stops at Tennessee and Florida Atlantic.
| OFFENSIVE NOTES |
• Ole Miss also set a new single-season team record for passing yards, finishing the season with 4,561 total yards through the air, one of only three 4,000-yard seasons in program history … The previous record of 4,351 yards was set in 2015.
• Ole Miss set a new Gator Bowl record for passing yards in a game, throwing for 438 yards through the air … The previous record was 407 set by Texas Tech in 2008.
• Ole Miss' 52 points tied the Gator Bowl record for most points in a game, joining Texas A&M in 2018 and Mississippi State in 2011 … The 52 points scored are the most in Ole Miss bowl history, breaking the previous record of 48 against Oklahoma State in the 2016 Sugar Bowl.
• Ole Miss' 598 yards of total offense are also a new bowl game record, beating the previous mark of 558 set in the 2022 Texas Bowl against Texas Tech.
• Thursday night was just the second time all season that Duke had given up 30 or more points in a game (53 vs. Miami).
• QB Jaxson Dart concluded his career in super fashion, breaking his own Ole Miss bowl records in total offense and passing yards after going 27-of-35 for 404 yards and four touchdowns through the air, while adding 12 attempts for 43 yards on the ground.
• Dart broke single-season records in both total offense (4,774) and passing yards (4,279), breaking both prior records set by Chad Kelly in 2015.
• Dart also tied Chad Kelly for most touchdown passes in Ole Miss bowl history with four TDs (2016 Sugar Bowl).
• WR Jordan Watkins hauled in seven passes for 180 yards and two scores … His 180 receiving yards are an Ole Miss bowl record.
• Watkins ends his Ole Miss career with 142 receptions for 2,096 yards and 14 touchdowns … His 2,096 career receiving yards rank ninth in Ole Miss history.
• WR Antwane Wells Jr. caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from QB Jaxson Dart in the first quarter, his sixth TD of the year and first since the Georgia game.
• RB Ulysses Bentley IV scored twice in the game, first on a one-yard touchdown in the first quarter and then again on an eight-yarder in the third, giving him five TDs on the season … It marked his third-straight game scoring a touchdown and gave him four total TDs in his last three games … Bentley IV ended with 14 carries for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
• Bentley closes his Ole Miss career with 1,032 yards rushing, passing the 1K mark early in the second half.
• TE Dae'Quan Wright caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from QB Jaxson Dart in the second quarter, his fourth of the season and first since he scored twice against Arkansas … Wright ended with three catches for 73 yards and one score.
| DEFENSIVE NOTES |
• The Rebel defense set a new Gator Bowl record for rushing yards allowed, only giving up 44 yards to the Blue Devils … The previous record was 45 set by Florida State in 1965 against Oklahoma.
• CB Isaiah Hamilton returned his first interception as a Rebel 50 yards for a touchdown, the first INT return for a score by an Ole Miss defender since AJ Finley took one back 52 yards against Texas A&M in 2021 … This was also Hamilton's 11th career interception.
• S Trey Washington reached the 200-tackle mark in his final game as a Rebel … He had a team-leading 10 stops against the Blue Devils, which tied his career-high.
• Ole Miss hurried Duke QB Henry Belin IV 15 times, a team season-high … DEs Jared Ivey and Princely Umanmielen accounted for nine of the hurries, five from Ivey and four from Umanmielen … Both mark career highs.
| SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES |
• P Fraser Masin ended the night with two punts for 104 yards (52.0 average), including a long of 59 … He ends the year with a 46.6 average that tied for the third-best season in program history, as well as a career average of 43.5 that ranks sixth all-time.
• DT Zxavian Harris blocked Duke's last extra point attempt of the game, the fifth blocked kick of his career … It's the first blocked kick for Ole Miss this season, and the first blocked PAT since Harris did so himself against Kentucky on Oct. 1, 2022.
Players Mentioned
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