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Ole Miss football: 3 takeaways from huge road win over Tulane

Jake Mitchell
Jake Mitchell

Saturday Blitz

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - SEPTEMBER 09: Jaxson Dart #2 of the Mississippi Rebels runs with the ball during the first half against the Tulane Green Wave at Yulman Stadium on September 09, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Ole Miss football played a back-and-forth game against Tulane on Saturday, but they pulled away late to seal a big road win.

1. Not an easy victory

That final score and 17-point margin of victory is a tad misleading for this game. Ole Miss and Tulane played a close game for over 50 minutes, but Lane Kiffin and Co. exploded in the fourth quarter.

The Rebels put up 20 points in the period, and kicked off with a Caden Davis field goal with 12:50 remaining. Then, with 4:28 left, Jaxson Dart found Michael Trigg for a touchdown. Davis put another field goal through with 1:53 remaining, then Jared Ivey recovered a fumble and took it to the house to put the icing on the cake.

Blink, and you may miss the playmaking heroics of the Ole Miss offense.

Tulane was a very game opponent, and at times it looked like the Green Wave would get the victory on their home turf, but Ole Miss was too much for Willie Fritz and Co.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 09: Jaxson Dart #2 (R) of the Mississippi Rebels and head coach Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels talk during the first half at Yulman Stadium on September 09, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 09: Jaxson Dart #2 (R) of the Mississippi Rebels and head coach Lane Kiffin of the Mississippi Rebels talk during the first half at Yulman Stadium on September 09, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

2. Lane Kiffin trusts Jaxson Dart

Ole Miss had the ball on the Tulane 21-yard line with four yards to go on fourth down. The Rebels led 20-17, and a field goal would at least force the Green Wave to score a touchdown when they got the ball back.

What did Lane Kiffin do? He put the ball in his quarterback’s hands and asked him to win the game.

That bet paid off, and Jaxson Dart found Michael Trigg for a touchdown to put this game on ice.

The importance of that level of trust cannot be overstated. It’s the kind of trust that permeates an entire locker room. When the game was on the line, Kiffin let his players go get the win. He didn’t settle and tried to hang on.

Ole Miss is an extremely talented team, but if they’re going to be able to overcome the likes of Alabama, Georgia, and LSU this season, they’re going to have to be the kind of team that makes big bets.

On Saturday, they cashed in big-time on one of those bets.

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 09: Daijahn Anthony (L) #3 of the Mississippi Rebels and teammate John Saunders Jr. (C) #5 break up a pass intended for Jha’Quan Jackson #4 of the Tulane Green Wave during the first half at Yulman Stadium on September 09, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 09: Daijahn Anthony (L) #3 of the Mississippi Rebels and teammate John Saunders Jr. (C) #5 break up a pass intended for Jha’Quan Jackson #4 of the Tulane Green Wave during the first half at Yulman Stadium on September 09, 2023 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

3. It was a solid defensive day for Ole Miss football

The Tulane offense is nothing to scoff at. A season ago, the unit averaged 440 yards per game as it led the Green Wave to a 12-2 record and an AAC Championship. That made Ole Miss’ defensive performance on Saturday all the more encouraging.

The Rebels held Tulane to just 342 yards of total offense, nearly 100 below their usual output, and the rush defense was especially encouraging. The Green Wave gained just 111 yards on the ground on 45 attempts, putting their average at 2.5 yards per rush. It was a stifling defense of the run that helped hold Tulane to just 20 points.

Ole Miss also turned over Tulane twice. Once was the aforementioned fumble recovery for a touchdown, and the other was a Deantre Prince interception that he took 44 yards back to the Green Wave 20-yard line. That pick set up the Rebels with a field goal to take the lead.

The Ole Miss offense is a clear strength, but the defense took a big step forward on Saturday. If the Rebels can continue to defend the run like that, it will go a long way to success in the SEC this year. In a season where several SEC powers have question marks at quarterback, forcing those passers to make plays could be a key to winning in the conference this year.

Jake Mitchell

Jake Mitchell

Jake is an NFL contributor at Blogging Dirty and a college football contributor at Saturday Blitz. He's been a sportswriter since 2015, and also spent five years as an on-air host for WTKE The Ticket Sports Network in the Florida panhandle. He holds a BFA in Creative Writing for Entertainment from Full Sail University.