Ole Miss: 2025 Gator Bowl Champions

 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- — Jaxson Dart's final college pass was a 69-yard touchdown that got him chewed out by coach Lane Kiffin on the sideline.

It's one the quarterback will never forget.

Dart threw for 404 yards and four touchdowns in his final start for Ole Miss, leading the 16th-ranked Rebels to a 52-20 romp over Duke in the Gator Bowl on Thursday night.

Dart connected with Jordan Watkins seven times for 180 yards and two scores, including the longest pass play of the night with 1:27 to play. Kiffin ripped him for it afterward.

“I love him except for the last play when he checks to a pass play he’s not supposed to do,” Kiffin said. “He's got to learn a little better class there.”

Dart added 43 yards rushing, leaving EverBank Stadium with grass and dirt stains all over his red and white uniform.

The senior never considered opting out of the bowl game. Instead, he helped the Rebels (10-3) make history. With the victory, Ole Miss notched double-digit wins in consecutive years for the second time in program history and the first since 1959-60.

“This place changed my life," Dart said. "It was the best decision that I made. Just the relationships that I built with everybody here will last a lifetime.”

Ulysses Bentley IV, another senior playing his last college game, ran for 70 yards and two scores for the Rebels. Isaiah Hamilton returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter. All of them got to celebrate with sideline dunks on a portable basketball hoop adorned with Duke logos.

This ACC-SEC postseason matchup was never close. It wasn’t expected to be, either. Ole Miss was a 17 1/2-point favorite, according to , mostly because the Blue Devils (9-4) were without quarterback Maalik Murphy and running back Star Thomas. Both entered the transfer portal after Duke’s regular-season finale.

Third-year sophomore Henry Belin IV made his second career start and was harassed all night. Belin completed 25 of 44 passes for 236 yards, with two touchdowns and the interception. He was sacked three times.

Belin’s TD passes were two of the team's few highlights. Sahmir Hagans' 99-yard kickoff return — off a cross-field lateral, no less — was another.

One of Ole Miss’ few miscues came when Kiffin called for a trick play on fourth down. Kicker Caden Davis’ pass got picked off in the end zone, and Dart took nearly every snap the rest of the way.

“I think the thing that jumped out today is a special quarterback who played special," Duke coach Manny Diaz said.

The takeaway

Duke: The Blue Devils won't put too much stock into the loss, not with Belin getting a rare start and more offensive help on the way.

Ole Miss: The Rebels had most of their starters play in the bowl, a testament to how they feel about Dart and Kiffin. CB Jadon Canady and RT Micah Pettus, both starters, entered the transfer portal. And LB and leading tackler Chris Paul Jr. opted out to prepare for the draft process.

Key injuries

Duke cornerback Terry Moore, who intercepted the kicker’s pass on the trick play, left the game in the first half and ended up in the locker room. Ole Miss offensive lineman Eli Acker injured his right knee on an extra point in the second period and was helped off the field.

Chewed-up field

The field at EverBank Stadium was far from pristine. The center section of grass was mostly chewed up, looking more like a community sandlot than the bright-green sod that usually seems pulled from a resort golf course. The Jaguars hosted Tennessee in an NFL game four days earlier, leaving little time to get the turf in its best shape. Overnight temperatures in the 40s didn’t help regrowth, either.

Up next

Duke awaits the arrival of former Tulane QB Darian Mensah, who will reportedly get $8 million in NIL funding over two years to play for the Blue Devils.

Ole Miss will turn to highly touted left-handed QB Austin Simmons, a redshirt freshman from Miami. Simmons enrolled two years early and spent the last two seasons watching and learning from Dart.

Notre Dame: 2025 Sugar Bowl Champions

 

NEW ORLEANS -- — Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish found the right balance of family and football to produce a memorable performance under unprecedented, emotionally trying circumstances.

Riley Leonard passed for a touchdown, Jayden Harrison returned a kickoff 98 yards for a score, and Notre Dame's defense made it hold up in a 23-10 victory over No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Thursday that sent the third-ranked Fighting Irish into the semifinals of the College Football Playoff.

The triumph came in wake of a deadly terror attack in the host city early Wednesday —- the day the game was supposed to have been played. The first postponement of a Sugar Bowl in the event's 91-year history followed hours later.

“We spent some time together, and I think that’s what you do in tough moments,” Freeman said in recounting how the Irish handled their unexpected down time on Wednesday. “You want to spend time with family, and that’s what we are.”

Notre Dame (13-1, CFP No. 5) came through with enough big plays, avoided major mistakes and all but sealed it with a clever move by Freeman.

“Our coaches called the game aggressive. Our players executed, put everything on the line,” Freeman said. “I’m really proud of them. Proud of the way they handled the events of the last 24 hours.”

Georgia (11-3, CFP No. 2) was in position to close within one score when Notre Dame stopped the Bulldogs on fourth-and-5 from the Irish 9-yard line with 9:29 to go.

Minutes later, Notre Dame had a fourth-and-short deep in his own territory when Freeman sent the punt team out before running all 11 players off the field and sending the offense back out. Georgia raced to match up and then jumped offside as the play clock ticked down, giving the Irish a clock-sapping first down with 7:17 to go.

“They were going to hard-count us. We prepare for that. We do it every week,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “We jumped offsides.”

By the time the Bulldogs got the ball back, just 1:49 remained, and Notre Dame was on its way to a 12th straight victory and a date with No. 5 Penn State (13-2, CFP No. 6 seed) in a semifinal at the Orange Bowl in Miami next Thursday.

“That’s the aggressiveness in terms of our preparation that I want our program to have,” Freeman said. “That’s got to be one of our edges, that we are going to be an aggressive group and not fear making mistakes.”

Georgia played without starting quarterback Carson Beck, who injured his elbow in the Southeastern Conference championship game. He was replaced by Gunner Stockton, who was 20 of 32 for 234 yards and one touchdown.

The Bulldogs outgained Notre Dame 296 yards to 244, but Georgia was stopped on all three of its fourth-down attempts and lost two fumbles — one deep in Notre Dame territory and one inside its own 20.

“The turnovers are the difference in the game, guys,” Smart said. “I mean, you should know when you turn it over twice and they return a kickoff for a touchdown, you’re not going to have a lot of success.”

Leonard finished with 90 yards passing and a team-high 80 yards rushing, including a late first-down run in which he was sent head over heels as he tried to leap over a defender.

“We’re in the playoffs,” Leonard said. “Everybody else can put their body on the line, I’m going to do it right there with them.”

The game had been set for Wednesday night as part of a New Year's Day playoff tripleheader, but it was postponed after an Army veteran inspired by the Islamic State group drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street early Wednesday morning, killing 14 revelers. Security was increased at the Superdome — which will also host the Super Bowl next month — and arriving fans said they felt safe.

With some fans unable to alter their travel plans, attendance in the 70,000-seat stadium was announced at 68,400. There were patches of empty seats in the upper levels, but passionate supporters made no shortage of noise trying to will their teams into the next round of college football's first 12-team playoff.

The game was tied at 3-all before Notre Dame scored 17 points in a span of 54 seconds.

The unusual sequence began with Mitch Jeter’s 48-yard field goal with 39 seconds left in first half.

Soon after, Georgia paid for a decision to attempt a drop-back pass from its own 25. RJ Oben’s blind-side sack caused Stockton to fumble at the 13, where Irish defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka recovered. Leonard found Beaux Collins over the middle for a touchdown on the next play for a 13-3 lead that stood at halftime.

By the time 15 seconds had elapsed in the third quarter, Notre Dame led 20-3.

Harrison took Georgia's second-half kickoff all the way to the end zone, slipping a tackle near the middle of the field, cutting toward the right sideline and outrunning everyone.

Georgia closed the gap to 20-10 when Stockton hit reserve running back Cash Jones for a 32-yard score before Jeter’s third field goal of the game gave the Irish their winning margin.

“Holding a team like that to 10 points, it’s a low amount, it’s pretty good,” safety Xavier Watts said. “Just really proud of the performance we put up.”

Takeaways

Notre Dame: With a dominant defense and the dual-threat nature of Leonard’s playmaking, the Irish look dangerous heading into the semifinals.

Georgia: A team trying to win big games without its starting QB can’t afford big mistakes, and missed opportunities doomed the Bulldogs and Smart, who will have to wait a year for another chance at his third national title.

Up next

Notre Dame: The Irish resume a series with the Nittany Lions that is currently even at 9-9-1.

Georgia: The 2025 season opener will be at home against Marshall on Aug. 30.