Jaxson Dart threw for 311 yards and a touchdown, heating up in the second half as No. 18 Ole Miss beat Oklahoma 26-14 on Saturday in Oxford, Miss.
The Rebels (6-2, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) struggled offensively for large stretches of the first half before coming alive after halftime. The defense shut out the Sooners in the second half.
Ole Miss took the lead for good on their first drive of the second half, with Dart capping the drive with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Caden Prieskorn. Dart finished 22 of 30 (73 percent) for the game.
The Rebels’ defense also turned it on in the second half, holding Oklahoma to just 94 yards after allowing 235 before the break.
Ole Miss outgained the Sooners 380-329, with 218 of the Rebels’ yards coming in the second half.
After going 7 of 9 on third down in the first half, the Sooners (4-4, 1-4) were just 1 of 9 in the second half.
Ole Miss came into the game leading FBS in fewest rushing yards allowed per game at 66.7, while the Sooners were near the bottom in rushing themselves, averaging just 112.1 yards on the ground.
But with quarterback Jackson Arnold returning to the starting lineup after being benched earlier in the season and Joe Jon Finley taking over play-calling duties after the firing of offensive coordinator Seth Littrell last weekend, Oklahoma’s running game — and its offense as a whole — finally showed some life.
After the Rebels took an early lead, the Sooners took advantage of a pair of critical Ole Miss penalties on a 60-yard touchdown drive, capped by Arnold’s 11-yard scoring pass to Bauer Sharp late in the first quarter to close to 7-6.
Late in the first half, Oklahoma reeled off a 13-play, 92-yard touchdown drive to take a 14-10 lead into the break.
Jacob Jordan — who hadn’t recorded a reception until last week’s loss to South Carolina — caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Arnold to put the Sooners ahead.
Oklahoma rushed for 125 yards in the first half — more than the Rebels had allowed in all but one game entering the day.
Arnold finished 22 of 31 for 182 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked nine times.
