ATLANTA — The Ole Miss football offense moved fast. Its skill players dominated their individual matchups. Its play calling oozed creativity. And its quarterback proved gutsy and decisive.

Those components, once blended, engineered history. The Rebels (11-2) beat Penn State (10-3) on Saturday in the Peach Bowl, 38-25, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, securing their first-ever 11-win season.

The Ole Miss attack made a depleted Penn State defense look exactly that. Without three key starters – including its two first-choice corners – Penn State could not solve the problems the Rebels presented.

If the big play didn't come from tight end Caden Prieskorn, it came from star wideout Tre Harris. If Penn State covered Harris, the Rebels turned to Dayton Wade. On the occasions that the Nittany Lions accounted for all of Ole Miss' passing game weapons, the Rebels turned and handed the ball to running back Quinshon Judkins.

The options were overwhelming, even for Penn State, which boasted college football's third-best scoring defense coming into the game. Ole Miss finished with 540 yards of offense, its fourth-largest total of the season.

Dart, who briefly entered the injury tent after taking a big hit on the Rebels' first drive of the game, emerged to complete 25 of his 40 pass attempts for 379 yards and three touchdowns. He added another touchdown on the ground, too.

Caden Prieskorn gets the Rebels going in the first half

Both of Ole Miss' first-half touchdowns belonged to Prieksorn, who had entered the game with two touchdowns on the season.

The Memphis transfer missed the first three games of the year for the Rebels, and has become steadily more influential as the season has worn on.

He finished with 136 receiving yards, a career-high. Included within that total were two special, one-handed catches.

Supporting Prieskorn's effort, Harris finished with seven catches for 134 yards, and Wade caught three passes for 61 yards in his final game as a Rebel.

Quinshon Judkins gets going against strong Penn State front

Leaning heavily on the passing game early, Ole Miss turned to its superstar running back more frequently after establishing control of the game, with Judkins carrying the ball 34 times for 106 yards.

He found the end zone via the passing game, on what appeared to be a pre-snap adjustment from the Ole Miss sideline. Judkins slipped out of the backfield into acres of open space, securing a 14-yard touchdown that put the Rebels up 31-17 late in the third quarter. Penn State never trimmed the deficit back to one possession.

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Rebels defense turns in strong second half

The Ole Miss defense came away with a vital first-half turnover when Daijahn Anthony intercepted Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, but it was bitten by the big play.

A 75-yard tipped pass reception by Tyler Warren set up one of two first-half Penn State touchdowns, and the Rebels went into the halftime break holding a slim 20-17 lead despite their strong offensive play.

Defensive coordinator Pete Golding's unit turned its performance around to begin the second half, though. Ole Miss forced three consecutive three-and-outs in the third quarter, providing the cushion the Rebels' offense needed to blow the game open.

When the Nittany Lions ventured into Ole Miss territory in the fourth quarter, Zxavian Harris blocked their field goal attempt, finalizing an outstanding day for Ole Miss on special teams. Jared Ivey recovered a Penn State fumble near midfield for another crucial takeaway, as the Rebels held the Nittany Lions to eight points in the second half.

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: Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss football offense shred Penn State in Peach Bowl