Jaxson Dart's Poise On Fourth-Down TD Pass Aids Rebels Win
The No. 20 Ole Miss Rebels were down by 10 points midway through the second quarter, but roared back to outscore the No. 24 Tulane Green Wave 30-3 en route to a 37-20 victory.
Despite the lopsided final score, one play really stood out as what helped seal the game. Quarterback Jaxson Dart converted a fourth-and-4, hitting tight end Michael Trigg for a 21-yard touchdown that gave the Rebels a 10-point lead with 4:28 left to put the game out of reach.
Let's take a few steps back and set the scene.
Ole Miss kicker Caden Davis drilled a 27-yard field goal with 12:50 left in the fourth quarter to give the Rebels their first lead since 14:12 in the first quarter.
On the following drive, Tulane drove 45 yards on 14 plays while eating up 6:01. The Green Wave converted two third downs and a fourth down on the drive. However, on their second fourth-down attempt at the Rebels' 31-yard line, quarterback Kai Horton stepped out of bounds before reaching the ball across the line to gain.
Dart found his favorite target on the day, wide receiver Dayton Wade, for 43 yards on the ensuing play after the turnover on downs. A few plays later, Dart rushed nine yards on third-and-13.
Now, that we're all caught up, let's break down this fourth-down magic from Dart.
The Rebels were lined up with four wide receivers — three to the left and one to right — and one running back flanking Dart's left. Wide receiver Jordan Watkins went in motion across the formation and was a decoy in the flat, taking a Green Wave defender out of the play.
Tulane dialed up a blitz with one of its linebackers who wrapped around the right tackle and into the face of Dart. The quarterback hopped right then immediately juked back left, leaving the defender on the ground and out of the play.
Dart reset and rolled to his right, throwing to Trigg on the run and hitting him in stride to the end zone. The quarterback deserves a lot of the credit, but Trigg needs to be given his flowers as well.
He lined up in the slot on the left side of the formation against man coverage. Ole Miss ran a crossing route and Trigg got a step on his defender. With the scramble drill under way, Trigg followed Dart and drifted upfield to an open area, which led to the walk-in score.
The importance of that play within the landscape of the final score cannot be overstated. The Green Wave drove down and kicked what would have been a game-tying field goal had Ole Miss not gotten the conversion. Davis' third and final field goal of the game would have put the Rebels up three with Tulane having a chance to win the game.
The guts of head coach Lane Kiffin to play aggressive and trust his offense while understanding the Green Wave had built some offensive momentum, and the poise of all 11 Rebels on the field to execute when it mattered led to Saturday's victory.
