Lane Kiffin was upset with his quarterback Jaxson Dart at the end of Ole Miss’ 52-20 thumping of the Duke Blue Devils in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday night.
Dart’s Rebels were leading the Blue Devils 45-14 with under two minutes left in the game and had a 2nd-and-23 from their 31 following a penalty. Rather than just hand the ball off or take a knee, Dart faked a handoff and then threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Watkins to help the Rebels cross the 50-point mark.
THIS. DUO. @JaxsonDart | @jordantwatkins pic.twitter.com/7g8wTF79T9
— Ole Miss Football (@OleMissFB) January 3, 2025
That long pass for a touchdown with his team already up 31 points is not what Kiffin had in mind for that spot. When Dart came over to the sideline, he got an earful from Kiffin, who seemed upset.
I don’t think Jaxson Dart was supposed to throw that ball from the way Lane Kiffin was just talking to him pic.twitter.com/pEBEteRpjo
— Uncle William (@wer3ball) January 3, 2025
Kiffin confirmed in his postgame interview on ESPN that he was annoyed with Dart’s decision to pass the ball in that situation.
“I love him, except for on their last play there when he checks to a pass play he’s not supposed to do. He’s gotta learn a little bit of class there. But other than that, I love this guy and he’s awesome,” Kiffin said.
Kiffin added that he’s hoping Dart might pull a Diego Pavia and return for another season.
Dart went 27/35 for 404 yards with 4 touchdown passes in the bowl game win. That put him at 10,617 passing yards and 72 passing touchdowns in his three years at Ole Miss.
