Was it desperation that led to Ole Miss’ playoff hopes collapse? The Rebels entered Saturday’s game as a 10.5-point favorite against Billy Napier’s Florida. Little did they know they would suffer the same fate that they gave Georgia as underdogs in their previous game. And there’s one person to blame behind this fall as per an ESPN analyst, and that’s their QB Jaxson Dart.

Ole Miss got more than one chance to tie their score with Florida at The Swamp before their 24-17 loss. But Jaxson Dart’s bad day ruined the moment and opportunity for Lane Kiffin to make it to the playoffs. Greg McElroy gave his raw take on the 21-year-old QB in a YouTube episode on ESPN College Football on November 25. He said, “Jaxson Dart at the end of the game. I don’t know what he was thinking. Way too aggressive trying to push downfield when it wasn’t there to be pushed… It was just a really disappointing performance for Ole Miss.”

With two minutes left in the game, Jaxson Dart had the chance to tie the game at 17-17. But he made a wild decision to throw into triple coverage. Desperation? His 39-yard pass was, however, picked off by Florida DB Bryce Thornton in the end zone. And that’s not the first. Dart made another costly throw on a previous possession overthrowing WR Jordan Watkins, a play that would’ve been a TD. The Rebels’ signal caller completed 24 of 41 passes for 323 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. 

Following his costly interceptions that led to their third loss, regretful Jaxson Dart issued an apology. He said, “Bad decision by me. I think the only thing I can say right now is I’m sorry. I’m sorry to my teammates, I’m sorry to my coaches, I’m sorry for the fans. Can’t lose these games. Yeah, this one’s gonna hurt for a really long time. That’s all I can really say now: I’m sorry.” Bad games occur now and then, but even as Dart is sobering up, Ole Miss will have to forgo their hopes of making a playoff appearance. 

Jaxson Dart fails to lead Ole Miss to the playoffs 

Lane Kiffin would’ve never expected that an underdog would extinguish their playoff hopes. Now, it’s almost safe to state that Ole Miss won’t be making it to the playoffs, let alone the SEC title game. The SEC is a competitive conference, and for a program that fell 8-3 (4-3 in the SEC), they aren’t as relatable as the one-loss (Texas) and two-loss teams. 

With the Week 13 loss, they’ve dropped out of the four-way tie in the SEC, with only Georgia and Tennessee now tied at No. 2 with two losses each. Ole Miss still has their final game scheduled against Mississippi State as they prepare to close out the season with an Egg Bowl matchup. Lane Kiffin will have to seek a comeback next season by going big on recruitment.