Why Ole Miss football QB Jaxson Dart was critical of his performance against Vanderbilt

OXFORD — Jaxson Dart was in no mood to take a victory lap when the quarterback met with reporters following Ole Miss football's 33-7 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.

Dart's line in the box score appeared solid enough. He completed 68% of his passes for 240 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He rushed for a TD, too, leaving the game midway through the fourth quarter with the outcome long decided.

But things didn't quite click for the Ole Miss offense against the Commodores (2-7, 0-5 SEC), despite the comfortable victory. The Rebels (7-1, 4-1) zipped down the field to score on their opening drive. On their next 11 drives, they found the end zone three times. Two of those efforts began in Vanderbilt territory.

"I did not execute to my standard tonight, so I am pretty disappointed about that," Dart said. "A big shout out to our defense for playing the way they are playing. They fought hard tonight and got us the ball back which allowed us more opportunities to score. We definitely gotta clean stuff up."

Dart's words offered an example of the rising standard around the Ole Miss program.

Even when they win big like they did Saturday, the Rebels almost always find something within their performance to criticize.

"Thought the offense was good early and then stalled and didn't do a really good job in the pass game on third down," Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said.

"I think when you beat a team by 26 and you're still kind of disappointed in a lot of areas, it's good standards to have," Kiffin added.

Ole Miss football stays takeaway happy

Rebels safety Trey Washington delivered one of the most memorable performances of his career, coming away with two interceptions against the Commodores.

The first was batted to him by Zamari Walton on Vanderbilt's first drive of the game. In the second half, he stepped in front of Walter Taylor's pass to abruptly end one of the few Vanderbilt drives that entered Ole Miss territory.

“I was just in the right spot," Washington said. "I took advantage of the quarterback's throw and I caught the ball coming my way.”

Washington secured Ole Miss' third consecutive multi-takeaway effort, and the Rebels' fifth in eight games this season.

Coordinator Pete Golding's unit now ranks second in the conference in the takeaway column, averaging 1.6 of them per game to trail only Auburn.

Dayton Wade's performance makes Ole Miss receiver group unique

Ole Miss wideout Dayton Wade set a new career high with 120 receiving yards against Vanderbilt, including a highlight-reel 48-yarder in the second quarter.

Wade, who transferred from Western Kentucky following the 2021 season, has been one of the campaign's surprise performers for the Rebels. He's now got 522 receiving yards on the season to go along with three touchdowns.

”I just love the way he plays," Kiffin said. "The guy plays almost every snap. Not the biggest guy, so the way he tries to block in there and the effort he plays with, he’s one of our favorite guys. You guys hear us talking about culture, guys who play every snap like it’s the biggest snap and don’t complain about things. We’re lucky to have a few guys like that.”

YOUNG: Why Ole Miss football safety Isheem Young didn't play against Vanderbilt

Both Wade and Tre Harris surpassed the 500-yard threshold on Saturday, joining Jordan Watkins to give Ole Miss the nation's only trio of 500-yard receivers.

Ole Miss will need all three of those options when it welcomes Texas A&M (5-3, 3-2) to The Vaught on Saturday (11 a.m., ESPN).

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Ole Miss football's Jaxson Dart was critical of his performance