Dart takes down Duke. Three takeaways from No. 14 Ole Miss’ Gator Bowl win over Blue Devils
No. 14 Mississippi and quarterback Jaxson Dart delivered Duke a rough ending to what had been a strong football season.
Dart threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns as the Rebels routed the Blue Devils, 52-20, in the Gator Bowl game at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
Duke (9-4) fell short in its quest for the second 10-win season in program history as quarterback Henry Belin, a reserve starting because Maalik Murphy transferred to Oregon State, couldn’t get the Blue Devils offense going.
The Blue Devils finished with 280 yards of total offense.
Ole Miss jumped to a 17-0 lead as Dart easily moved the Rebels’ offense down the field early.
Dart threw two first-half touchdown passes, a 32-yard pass to Antwane Wells in the first quarter that started the scoring and a 21-yard strike to Jordan Watkins late in the second quarter that gave Ole Miss a 24-7 halftime lead.
Things went from bad to worse for Belin and the Blue Devils in the third quarter when Ole Miss cornerback Isaiah Hamilton returned an intercepted pass 50 yards for a touchdown that gave the Rebels a 31-7 lead.
“I think our guys,” Duke coach Manny Diaz said, “when they watch the film with us, they’ll see how much we actually were in control of and how the things that we want to pride ourselves on being great, of mastering simple things, is really what let us down today. And if you do that against an opponent of the caliber of Ole Miss, then then the score looks the way that it looks. So it’s what we needed. It’s the lesson that we need.”
Rough assignment for Belin
A redshirt sophomore, Belin had started only once in his Duke career prior to Thursday night’s Gator Bowl.
That start came last season, in relief of an injured Riley Leonard, when he helped the Blue Devils beat N.C. State, 24-3.
This time, playing after Murphy started every Duke game this season and set the school’s single-season record for touchdown passes (26), was far more difficult. The Rebels’ defense allowed only 313.8 yards per game this season, No. 3 in the Southeastern Conference, and led the nation with 116 tackles for losses.
Belin completed 25 of 44 passes for 236 yards with two touchdown passes and one interception.
He and the Blue Devils had a chance to make a early statement when they took over at the Ole Miss 41 after a Terry Moore intercepted a Rebels pass in the end zone and returned it 59 yards. In a scoreless game, Belin completed his first pass, covering nine yards to Eli Pancol.
But Belin’s next two passes fell incomplete and the Blue Devils turned the ball over downs.
Duke was 8 of 22 combined on third and fourth downs.
Rushing offense fails Duke
The Blue Devils were never a strong rushing offense this season and that continued in the Gator Bowl as they fell behind early and had to rely on their reserve quarterback for offense. Duke finished with only 44 rushing yards on 23 attempts, an average of 1.9 yards per carry.
Duke played without Star Thomas, who led the team in rushing yards (871) and touchdowns (seven) during the regular season. Thomas entered the transfer portal last month.
This season, Duke averaged 96 rushing yards per game. That was next-to-last in the ACC.
Dart rolls through Duke’s defense
Duke entered the game having allowed just 22.2 points per game this season, No. 2 in the ACC. Prior to the Gator Bowl, the only team to score more than 28 points against the Blue Devils was Miami. The Hurricanes led the nation in scoring with 43.9 points per game this season.
Ole Miss averaged 37.9 points per game in the regular season, No. 5 nationally. And the Rebels joined Miami as the second team to solve Duke’s otherwise stingy defense.
Dart completed 26 of 34 passes, a solid 76% completion rate against a Duke team that allowed just a 56.3% completion rate this season. Watkins caught seven passes for 180 yards for the Rebels. That included a 69-yard touchdown catch with 1:27 remaining in the game.
Ole Miss amassed 547 yards of total offense while reaching Duke territory in eight of its 11 possessions.
This story was originally published January 2, 2025 at 11:35 PM.