JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jackson Dart’s final pass as an Ole Miss Rebel was a touchdown — even if it wasn’t supposed to be.

The record-setting Ole Miss quarterback passed for 404 yards and four touchdowns, and added 43 rushing yards in a superb performance leading the Rebels to a 52-20 rout of Duke in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Thursday.

Ole Miss (10-3) notched back-to-back 10-win seasons for just the second time in school history — the first was in 1959-60 — and has won 10 games in three of the last four seasons under head coach Lane Kiffin.

“This program is on the rise. They’re going to continue to get better, and I think it’s just a place where people really want to play and be a part of,” said Dart, who started his 37th game over three seasons with Ole Miss. “There’s a lot of excitement and momentum going for it, and I think it’s going to continue to improve and continue to be one of the best programs in the country.

Dart played all but the final minute of the game. His last pass was a deep slant to Jordan Watkins with 1:27 remaining. The receiver broke two tackles and took it to the end zone for a 69-yard touchdown.

Kiffin and his players both said afterward that Dart and Watkins checked out of a running play on their own on second-and-23 and decided to throw the pass.

“We’ll take the blame for that one,” Watkins said. “Me and Jaxson just got a good connection, and sometimes no matter what it is we’re going to compete, and whether it’s a minute 30 left on the clock or whether it’s the first play of the game, it doesn’t matter. We’re always trying to win, and we got a good look, and we checked the play.”

Kiffin said afterward that he apologized to Duke coach Manny Diaz for running up the score.

“I do apologize. I told Manny at the end, Jaxson’s touchdown pass to Jordan, that was just those two guys. I actually tried to take Jaxson out if you saw earlier, and he refused to go out, which says a lot about him,” Kiffin said. “But he and Jordan came up with that play on their own, and he was supposed to hand the ball off. I didn’t like that part.”

The last touchdown might have raised some eyebrows, but it was also a fitting conclusion to a nearly flawless performance by the Rebels.

Dart threw two touchdown passes in the first half to help them get out to a 24-7 lead, then two more in the second half. The offense generated 589 total yards while Dart completed 27 of 35 passes.

Watkins finished with seven receptions for 180 yards and two touchdowns, and Ulysses Bentley IV rushed for 70 yards and two TDs.

The defense held Duke (9-4) to only 44 rushing yards — a Gator Bowl record — and registered 15 quarterback hurries. Isaiah Hamilton had a 50-yard interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter that put the Rebels ahead 31-7.

About the only things that went wrong for Ole Miss were on special teams. A fake field goal on its first series resulted in an interception. And on the kickoff following the final Dart-to-Watkins touchdown, Duke’s Sahmir Hagans took a long throwback lateral from teammate Peyton Jones and weaved through the coverage for a 99-yard TD.

Considering the way the rest of the night went, however, those were only minor blemishes. The Rebels set or tied a host of Gator Bowl records, including points (52), passing yards (438) and total offense (589).

“I know our guys talked a lot over the course of the month, especially the last week, of making this statement,” Kiffin said. “We screwed up with the fake field goal early, but outside of that, just completely dominated a nine-win team on offense and defense in the game. That was great to see.”

The bowl victory finished a season that was both excellent and disappointing for Ole Miss. The Rebels set a school record with 6,845 yards of offense, led by Dart breaking the marks for passing yards in a season and career.

The defense allowed only 80.5 rushing yards per game, the program’s best mark since 1966 and the first time it has allowed less than 100 per game since 2008.

And yet the Rebels failed to achieve a major goal of qualifying for the College Football Playoff. A home loss to Kentucky and a late-season road loss to Florida kept them out.

Kiffin said he was pleased with how the Rebels went about their business. No players opted out of the bowl game to prepare for the NFL draft, and most of the starters played at least until the game was well in hand in the second half. Even if that led to some sportsmanship questions at the end, he said it showed the kind of goal-driven team-first mindset that’s rare in modern college football.

“I told them last night, you are an old-school football team in that mentality. Like you actually care about your team and your brothers in the locker room and you’re playing for them,” Kiffin said. “That doesn’t happen very much anymore, unfortunately. I told them, actually that’s how it always was, and they didn’t realize that.”