Ole Miss v Kentucky
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LEXINGTON, Kentucky -- As Austin Simmons strolled joyfully around the northwest corner of Kroger Field waving to Ole Miss fans -- and then stopping to take a picture with one on his way to the locker room -- there were no obvious signs he'd just ridden a four-hour roller coaster.

Simmons began and ended the No. 21 Rebels' 30-23 win at Kentucky by sending the heart rates of those same Ole Miss fans soaring. It was the least he could do to thank them.

In between, he gave the Ole Miss faithful plenty of reason to see him as the hero who could eventually lead the Rebels to the College Football Playoff.

"He's tough," Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. "He's so mature for his age."

Simmons put the Rebels in an early 10-0 hole with two interceptions and left the game late in the fourth quarter after folding awkwardly beneath a Kentucky tackler. But the alarming bookends belied the promise the 19-year old displayed while leading Ole Miss to a win in the first road start of his career.

Simmons started just 4 of 11 and had been picked off twice by Kentucky's Ty Bryant when he found Harrison Wallace III for a 55-yard gain on a fourth-and-1 play early in the second quarter. The play, which Kiffin said brought "a lot of risk," sparked a turnaround that brought revenge.

An often-tense victory over UK didn't send the Rebels' SEC Championship odds soaring, but it beat the alternative. A year ago, the Wildcats stunned Ole Miss on the road in an outcome that capped the potential of an all-time great Rebels team.

Never flustered, Simmons overcame a nightmare beginning to his first-ever road start and ensured the outcome would be different this time. His connection with Wallace sparked three straight scoring drives for the Rebels.

By game's end, he'd tallied 279 yards, including 44 as a rusher. He could have surpassed 300 if not for an injury scare that sent him limping off the field late in the fourth quarter. But as Simmons' exuberant postgame demeanor suggested -- and as Kiffin later confirmed -- his exit for the Rebels' final full series was merely precautionary: no reason to be concerned entering next week's game against Arkansas.

"He said he was fine to go back in," Kiffin said. "He was throwing."

At that point, Ole Miss led 30-20 and was content to get unproven backup Trinidad Chambliss some reps. As promising as Simmons looked in the second and third quarters against UK, the Rebels' SEC opener also brought a reminder of his fragility and the need for a succession plan.

Unlike Jaxson Dart, his 225-pound predecessor, Simmons is slender and not a human wrecking ball built to battle for tough yards in the open field. That reality will limit the buttons Kiffin can press offensively and force the Rebels to improve in their conventional run and pass operations.

Saturday's comeback bought the Rebels more time to seek the answers. No one in the SEC returned less production than Ole Miss, whose 30-man transfer class is the SEC's second-largest. Simmons isn't a newcomer, but he attempted just 32 passes last season while backing up Dart, and he only recently gave up baseball to focus exclusively on his football career.

Personnel turnover and the rigors of SEC play may ultimately prove too much for the Rebels in their CFP quest. But Simmons has enough upside to get Ole Miss into the hunt.

After Kentucky tied the score at 20 in the third quarter, he responded in spectacular fashion. First, the lefty layered a perfect ball over the middle to tight end Trace Bruckler. He may have been known for his mid-90s fastball on the diamond, but his connection with Bruckler was a perfect example of how Simmons has touch to accompany his arm strength.

On the next play, he took off for a 14-yard scramble as the Rebels used a quick 75-yard touchdown drive to suck the life from a rejuvenated Kentucky crowd. It conjured flasbacks to the stunning touchdown drive Simmons led while relieving an injured Dart in a win over Georgia last season.

But that was at home as a spot reliever. This time -- to keep the baseball analogies flowing -- he did it on the road as a starter after essentially giving up a pair of early home runs.

"You've seen him go in and strike out the third pick in the draft as a freshman," Kiffin said, referencing Simmons' brief Ole Miss baseball career. "This guy can go into Georgia and play the way he did. He's built different that way. I wish we would have protected him better early."

Dart largely rewrote the school record book and was the first Ole Miss quarterback without the last name of Manning to ever be selected in the first round of the NFL draft. Replacing a player of that status is a nearly impossible task.

But even Dart struggled with Kentucky in his first career SEC start. That was back in 2022, when he completed just 15 of 29 passes for 213 yards with no touchdowns and an interception in a 22-19 home win over the Wildcats.

That 2022 season ended up being a rebuilding year of sorts for the Rebels, who finished 8-5. But it also set the stage for 21 victories over the 2023 and 2024 seasons as Dart found his footing in Kiffin's scheme and began developing into a star.

Whether Ole Miss is in a rebuilding year or heading toward another 10-win season remains wildly unclear after an imperfect Saturday to begin SEC play. 

But Simmons' wholly unflustered and redemptive effort confirmed why Kiffin, the self-proclaimed "Portal King" didn't go big-game hunting for a quarterback this offseason.

He's already got the one he needs.

"We have a lot of confidence in him," Kiffin said. "Just knew he'd make the plays."