No. 4 Ole Miss was run all over by No. 21 Florida in a 52-28 road loss on Saturday.
All week leading up to game day, the big question surrounding the Rebels (3-1, 1-1 SEC) was whether they could keep momentum after an emotional win over LSU and Lane Kiffin. Betting odds favored the home Gators (4-0, 2-0 SEC), suggesting Ole Miss was due to fall short, and that’s exactly what Pete Golding’s group did.
To Florida’s credit, the home team’s ground attack was so strong that the Rebel defense could not stop it. Florida rushed for a whopping 302 yards and 6 touchdowns, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. Heisman hopeful Jadan Baugh led that effort with 142 yards and 3 touchdowns. His sidekick, Duke Clark, shone with 126 yards and a touchdown.
Ole Miss, while completely outmatched defensively, had a few bright spots. Aside from a pair of turnovers, one of which occurred in trash time and was inconsequential, star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss had a solid showing, and the Rebel offense moved relatively smoothly despite lacking starting running back Kewan Lacy. Chambliss completed 25 of 34 passes for 298 yards, a touchdown, and a pick. His top target was surehanded wideout Deuce Alexander, who logged 134 yards and a score on 7 receptions. Chambliss added 44 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.
The Rebels started off on the wrong foot and trailed throughout the entirety of the matchup. Florida’s high-powered offense, led by a stellar play caller in Buster Faulkner, scored a touchdown in just 8 plays to galvanize the packed-out crowd at the Swamp. Ole Miss, in response, suffered a costly turnover on downs. A 7-0 deficit turned into the Rebels trailing 10-0 going into the 2nd quarter.
A 36-yard Lucas Carneiro kick got Ole Miss on the scoreboard with 10:13 left in the 1st half. A Baugh touchdown run put the Rebels in a 17-3 hole. Carneiro connected on a 48-yarder to close out the first half of Ole Miss football without a touchdown since the 2023 Egg Bowl.
The 3rd quarter began with the Rebels finding a window of momentum. An 8-yard touchdown keeper by Chambliss followed by a successful pass to Horation Fields on the 2-point try cut the Florida lead to 17-14. The Gators, with favorable field position to start their next drive, scored in 4 plays, with Clark earning a 45-yard rushing score.
The game of cat-and-mouse continued with another Chambliss touchdown keeper getting Ole Miss back within 3 points of Florida on the scoreboard. Florida, however, continued to benefit from favorable starting field position as Carneiro uncharacteristically struggled to kick the ball into the end zone. A 1-yard touchdown rush by Gator quarterback Aaron Philo put the home team up 31-21 with just under 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.
It all went downhill for Ole Miss at this point. Exactly one play after reliable Rebel right guard Patrick Kutas was sidelined after being poked in the eye, Sumrall’s defense ramped up the pressure on the Ole Miss offense, and it yielded a rare fumble by Chambliss. Florida recovered the fumble and its offense capitalized on the Rebel miscue with a 6-yard touchdown catch by Dallas Wilson.
Chambliss led a 5-play drive into the end zone, with Alexander catching a 2-yard pass for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 10 in the early minutes of the 4th quarter, but at that point, it was too little, too late. Florida went on to score 2 more touchdowns to earn its first win over a top-5 opponent since it beat No. 5 Georgia in 2020.
Along with a dismal defensive showing, another negative takeaway for Ole Miss was Carneiro’s struggle to prevent Florida from returning kickoffs, along with the coverage group’s inability to minimize gains. On a positive note, Chambliss showed no signs of a lingering injury after getting banged up in the 1st quarter. The veteran signal-caller also spread the ball around, hitting 9 targets in the process. Caleb Cunningham and Johntay Cook II, a pair of wideouts who have had limited production so far this season, combined for 7 receptions and 63 yards.
Next up
Ole Miss will enjoy a bye week at the right time and gear up for a road game at Vanderbilt on Oct. 10.