By worldlive 
Historical LIVE: QB Jaxson Dart leading Ole miss troops on the bridge” as their playoff prospects revived and full of confidence, Ole Miss now confronts Georgia in a game that will define their season…see details..
Arkansas’s Fayetteville — Refueled and reenergized as a playoff contender, Ole Miss came out of Arkansas on a rainy, foggy Saturday afternoon undeterred.
The Rebels’ victory, 63-31, was an attacking clinic unlike anything they had done since September. Against a Razorbacks team that had just defeated top five-ranked Tennessee here a few weeks prior, they tied or broke seven school records. The visitors left Razorback Stadium feeling pleased but unsatisfied as the Rebels (7-2, 3-2 SEC) cleaned house, leaving less than 10,000 fans inside.
QB Jaxson Dart stated, “As we leave the field, we all know what’s coming up next week.”
The Rebels’ de facto playoff elimination game against SEC powerhouse Georgia next week marks the turning point in Ole Miss’ season. The Rebels’ preseason hopes of earning a postseason berth would remain intact with a victory. The program, which appears to be hitting its head on the glass barrier of 10-win seasons as a non-threat in the postseason picture, becomes even more frustrated after a defeat.
There are indications that the narrative is changing, especially in light of this performance against Arkansas, which was the biggest victory ever against the Hogs, who hadn’t suffered a home loss to the Rebels since 2008. The Rebels’ offensive stabilized after weeks of inconsistent play, which included a shocking home opener against Kentucky to start the SEC season. Before halftime, they had established an unbeatable 35-10 lead and were never behind.
Dart tied a school record with six passing touchdowns and broke another with 515 passing yards. The Rebs’ records for receiving yards (254) and touchdowns (five) were broken by receiver Jordan Watkins.
Before the third quarter ended, both of them achieved those goals.
“It’s a statement game for us,” Watkins said. “We were able to demonstrate our capabilities to the nation by coming out here. There’s a lot of discussion, and I believe we woke up a lot of people because we were able to overcome it and win today.”
Georgia is one of them. Later in the day, the Bulldogs had trouble versus rival Florida.
The inability to score points in large quantities, which seemed to be an easy task for Lane Kiffin’s explosive strategy earlier in the season, was a recurring theme in Ole Miss’ defeats to Kentucky and LSU as well as certain victories, such as at South Carolina. When the conference schedule came around, the Rebels slowed down after starting the season with four consecutive 600-yard games. Turnovers and penalties also became an issue.
In the second half of last week’s 26-14 victory over Oklahoma, Kiffin saw a shift in the team’s play, and six days later, he met with the Rebels at their hotel to deliver a strong message.
“Hey, stop making the mistakes so you can show the country you’re one of the best teams in the country, because you really are when you play well,” Kiffin stated to the players. “We’re two plays … not two miracle plays, we’re two very normal plays away from being undefeated and the (No.) 1, 2 or 3 team in the country.”
The Rebels started the week with the highest scoring defense in the nation (11 points per game) and five 600-yard outings to lead the nation. In its last two games, Ole Miss has accumulated 18 sacks. Legends Matt Corral and Archie and Eli Manning were replaced by Dart, who broke records against the Hogs. With his 25th victory on Saturday, he also became Ole Miss’s most successful quarterback in history.
Really, this is nothing new. Under Kiffin, Ole Miss has consistently had stellar stats, but success is defined by wins and losses. In October, the public’s perception of the Rebels, the preseason darlings, soured.
Linebacker TJ Dottery, who recovered a fumble Saturday to score the Rebels’ first defensive touchdown of the season, said, “You hear it on social media, but we just try to stay in our zone with our guys and continue to play our brand of football.”
Now, the question is whether Ole Miss can turn a strong comeback against Arkansas into a victory versus Georgia that will define the season. Otherwise, a postseason berth might be out of the question.
“We have a lot of time to resolve that. “It’s Saturday afternoon at three o’clock,” Kiffin stated. “I hope this is fun for our players. For a place and a team (Arkansas) that has caused us a lot of trouble, I think our fans appreciated us. For a few days, I hope they are content. Fans, have some fun.