Ole Miss stays at No. 5 in AP poll following first road win of season

The Ole Miss football team has stagnated at No. 5 in the latest top 25 from the Associated Press following a 40-6 win at Wake Forest.

It was not a pretty affair for Lane Kiffin’s Rebels in Winston-Salem, N.C. Ole Miss was penalized 11 times for 114 yards, turned the ball over multiple times, and routinely struggled to adapt to the Demon Deacons’ unique slow mesh offense, giving up large chunks of yards courtesy of persistent lapses in the secondary. Nonetheless, the Rebels, donning their brand new all-white uniform concept with powder blue numbers for the first time, handled business when necessary.

Veteran quarterback Jaxson Dart led the way for the offense, compiling 377 yards in the air, 127 of which went to standout wide receiver Tre Harris, two passing touchdowns, and a rushing score. While Dart enshrined himself in Ole Miss history as the No. 4 overall touchdown passer to don the cardinal red and blue, surpassing Chad Kelly in the rankings, the signal-caller demonstrated a slight flaw in his game by throwing his first interception of the year.

Running back Henry Parrish followed up a career-best performance against Middle Tennessee State last weekend with another solid outing. The senior back tallied 148 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries against Wake Forest.

On the defensive side of the ball, Pete Golding’s unit bent but did not break. The Demon Deacons (1-2), exploited a few key weaknesses in the Rebels’ secondary and found themselves in the red zone on multiple occasions but to no avail in terms of scoring a touchdown. The Ole Miss defense continued an impressive trend of keeping its opponent from crossing into the end zone for the third straight game.

One of the most vital players in Golding’s successful defensive front, edge rusher Jared Ivey, suffered an injury and was carted off the field during Saturday’s contest. A long-term injury to the stalwart would prove detrimental to the Rebels in their campaign to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time. However, sources tell SuperTalk Mississippi News that Ivey’s injury is not expected to be anything major.

A full recap of Saturday’s contest can be found here. Next up for Ole Miss is a home battle against Georgia Southern. That game will kick off at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium at 6:45 p.m. central and will be broadcast on the SEC Network as well as participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations.

The biggest shakeup in the polls entailed Texas jumping Georgia for the No. 1 spot due to the Longhorns’ blowout win over UTSA, largely without veteran field general Quinn Ewers, and a lackluster outing at Kentucky by the Bulldogs. Tennessee, after blowing out Kent State 71-0, moved up to No. 6, surpassing now- No. 7 Missouri following a scare Boston College gave the Tigers in Columbia.

The full top 25, featuring nine SEC teams, can be viewed below: