Sports
Jaxson Dart, elite defense lead No. 5 Ole Miss vs. Georgia Southern
Sep 14, 2024; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons linebacker Aiden Hall (39) upends Mississippi Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart (2) during the first half at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Ole Miss Heisman Trophy candidate Jaxson Dart and his 11 total touchdowns created many of the headlines during a 3-0 start, but the team’s defensive showing has produced the Southeastern Conference school’s best stat.
Off to an outstanding start in a less-than-challenging nonconference schedule, the No. 5-ranked Rebels will host the Georgia Southern Eagles in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday night in their final game before eight straight SEC matchups.
And when the opposition has had the ball against Ole Miss in 2024, it has been lights out play by the Rebels’ defense.
In three victories and 180 minutes of football, defensive coordinator Pete Golding’s unit has not allowed one opponent to cross the goal line as the squad has dominated the other side on the scoreboard by a 168-9 margin.
No TDs surrendered. No garbage score late in one of the three blowouts, no freak play like a tipped ball or player slipping, no broken coverage or backups wearing unfamiliar numbers showing why they are where they are down the depth chart.
It’s the first time since 1961 that an Ole Miss squad has done that.
The Landshark defense is tied with Ohio State in scoring defense (3.0 points per game), leads in rushing defense (33.3 yards) and is tied for third in tackles for loss (10.0).
Linebacker TJ Dottery said the success stems from stopping the run.
“Our D line. Our backers and even our safeties have been coming down, hitting and being physical,” said Dottery, a sophomore who played for Clemson in 2022. “We say it a lot, ‘On our road games, we pack our defense and our run game.’ It’s really hard to win without running the ball.”
Coach Lane Kiffin said the current defensive front is a major upgrade.
“(This group) is completely different than any time we’ve been here. Since the Georgia game, that was a priority,” the coach said, citing the Bulldogs’ 52-17 home rout of the then-8-1 Rebels last Nov. 11.
Transfer linebacker Chris Paul Jr., who played for Arkansas last year, tops the team with 19 tackles and shares the lead for tackles for loss (4) with defensive tackle JJ Pegues. Safety Trey Washington has a unit-best three pass breakups.
After this Saturday, the Rebels’ attention will turn to the conference opener at home against Kentucky.
First, the Sun Belt Conference’s Eagles (2-1) have next in the Grove.
After losing a home-opening 56-45 shootout with Boise State, coach Clay Helton’s group has rallied with wins over Nevada (20-17) and South Carolina State (42-14).
Against the latter, running back OJ Arnold ran for a score and caught a TD pass while fellow backfield mate Jalen White rushed for a pair.
A fifth-year senior from Daleville, Ala., White is a reliable workhorse for Helton, who is in his third season as head coach in Statesboro, Ga.
The 6-foot-1, 220-pound running back has carried the ball 31 times for a team-high 97 yards and five touchdowns.
Helton considers White his most reliable option in short-yardage situations.
“Just a warrior, and he’s not 100 percent,” the former Southern Cal coach said. “We need him, and you see what he brings to the table – not only in tough running but in goal-line runs where you’re always one short.
“I’ll bet my whole life on 25 (White) when it’s one-on-one.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Strong second half by Jestin Porter powers Clemson past No. 24 Louisville
Clemson Tigers guard Jestin Porter (1) defends Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, during the NCAA men’s basketball game at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina. Powered by Jestin Porter’s 16 points, Clemson came away with an 80-75 win over visiting Louisville on Saturday afternoon in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
The win ended Clemson’s losing streak at four and gave the Tigers (21-8, 11-5 ACC) their second victory against a ranked opponent this season.
Porter scored all of his points after halftime and made four three-pointers.
Ace Buckner collected a season-high eight rebounds off the Tigers bench. RJ Godfrey scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Tigers.
For the Cardinals (20-9, 9-7 ACC), Ryan Conwell extended his double-digit scoring streak to 22 as he scored 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting.
Louisville’s leading scorer on the season, Mikel Brown Jr., came off the bench for the second time this season due to a back injury. He scored a season-low five points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field and a season-worst 0-for-6 from three-point range.
After a driving layup in the second half, Brown grimaced coming up the court. He left the game at the 16:12 mark and returned to action at the 13:12 mark. However, he played only five more minutes after that and exited the game for good at the 8:40 mark.
Adrian Wooley started the game for Brown and scored 17 points for Louisville and made three three-pointers, tying a season-high in conference play.
To begin the second half, Clemson went on a 10-4 run to build their lead to nine points.
Louisville had held Clemson scoreless for two and a half minutes, but a Porter layup followed by an immediate steal led to a three-pointer that ended the drought and increased Clemson’s lead to 11 points as the Littlejohn Coliseum rose to its feet.
Coming into the game, Louisville was second in the ACC in free-throw percentage at 77.8 percent. They shot a season-low 58 percent from the foul line Saturday.
The Cardinals were fifth in three-point percentage at 36.1 percent and first in three pointers made per game going into Saturday’s matchup, when they went 10-for-36 from three-point range and missed 24 out of their final 28 three-point attempts after starting the game 4-for-6 from three.
In the final minute of the game, Louisville went on a quick 16-4 run to get the Clemson lead from a game-high 15 points all the way down to four. Wooley scored 11 of his 17 points during that time frame.
However, Buckner made four free throws in the final 15 seconds to keep Louisville at bay long enough for the clock to hit zero.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Youth is served again as Red Bulls slip past Revolution
Feb 28, 2026; Harrison, New Jersey, USA; Red Bull New York forward Julian Hall (16) leaps to avoid New England Revolution defender Ilay Feingold (12) during the second half at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images Teenage breakout star Julian Hall scored his third goal in two matches, and that was enough for the New York Red Bulls to blank the New England Revolution 1-0 on Saturday in Harrison, N.J.
Hall, 17, is responsible for all three of New York’s goals this season after opening with a brace in last week’s 2-1 win at Orlando City.
His 53rd-minute header on Saturday gave the Red Bulls (2-0-0, 6 points) a deserved lead after they controlled play in the first half.
Ethan Horvath made two saves for New York, which finished with 62.5% of the possession. The Red Bulls won consecutive league matches for the first time since August and remained perfect under new head coach Michael Bradley.
Matt Turner did all he could in the second straight loss for the Revolution (0-2-0, 0 points), recording three saves and 19 clearances.
Horvath, playing his first season in MLS after a transfer from Cardiff City, did not have to make a stop until the 34th minute, when he parried Griffin Yow’s left-footed shot out of bounds.
New York broke the deadlock on a set piece.
The Red Bulls took a short corner and then crossed the ball to Adri Mehmeti. The 16-year-old headed it into the goal area, where Hall applied a header of his own and bounced the shot past Turner.
New England’s best chance of the second half came on the break in the 68th minute.
Ilay Feingold led the pack down the right sideline and the Red Bulls sprinted to get back. Feingold tapped his centering pass to Yow, who had a good angle to shoot past an out-of-position Horvath. But Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty knocked the shot over the net with a leaping header, and New York handled the resulting corner kick with ease.
The Revs missed another chance during second-half stoppage time when Carles Gil blasted a pass from the near post clear out of bounds, missing an open teammate at the far post.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Chicago Fire score twice in stoppage time, blank CF Montreal
Feb 28, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Fire forward Jonathan Bamba (19) reacts after swirling a goal against the CF Montreal during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images The host Chicago Fire scored twice in stoppage time during the second half to secure a 3-0 win against CF Montreal on Saturday.
Jonathan Bamba, Hugo Cuypers and Robin Lod scored for the Fire (1-1-0, 3 points), who earned their first victory of the season in their home opener.
Montreal (0-2-0, 0 points) was shut out for the second straight match to open the 2026 season and has been outscored 8-0.
The two sides struggled to generate much through the first 12 minutes, though the hosts held a decided edge in possession with 70% of the touches.
Bamba gave Chicago a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute. Maren Haile-Selassie on the right flank inside the box drew keeper Thomas Gillier toward him and sent a cross for Bamba at the back post, where the forward easily scored into the open net.
Montreal nearly gave up another opportunity 10 seconds into the second half when Haile-Selassie was just outside the right edge of the goal area but the midfielder couldn’t get all of his shot for a quality chance.
After playing a man short in their 5-0 defeat to San Diego a week ago, Montreal had the advantage of playing a man up from the 56th minute on. After video review, Fire defender Jonathan Dean was shown a red card for denying Hennadii Synchuk of a goal-scoring opportunity when he tugged the midfielder’s jersey outside the box.
Montreal continued to struggle to generate offense despite its man advantage, and the match slipped away from the visitors in second-half stoppage time.
Cuypers was awarded a penalty after Gillier came off his line to deny the Belgian a chance, tripping him in the process. Cuypers beat Gillier to the right as the goalkeeper dove to the left to make it 2-0 in the fourth minute of extra time.
Lod increased it to 3-0 when he buried a rebound from the left side in the 10th minute of stoppage time.
–Field Level Media
Strong second half by Jestin Porter powers Clemson past No. 24 Louisville
Hurdle hints and answers for March 1, 2026
