Despite trailing at halftime, the No. 7 Rebels outlasted unranked Florida to advance to 10-1 (6-1 SEC) on the season.
Ole Miss finds ways to win — but remains a few plays away from being dominant
Ole Miss seems to self-destruct right when things are going well. Last year against Florida, the defense forced two straight Gator punts in the fourth quarter, but with the game on the line, down by seven, quarterback Jaxson Dart threw two interceptions. The loss destroyed the Rebels’ playoff hopes last season.
While this year’s team did not repeat that disaster, there were still several distressing plays that left points on the field. Following a big Florida touchdown drive that cut the Rebel lead to only three, 10-7, Trinidad Chambliss threw an interception. This started the Gator drive on the five yard line and running back Jadan Baugh later rushed for a touchdown to put Florida up 14-10.
Then, in the closing minutes, the Rebels, up by only three points, turned the ball over on downs on the Florida three-yard line following a Chambliss incompletion. A 34-24 lead at this point would have crushed the Gators’ hopes of a comeback. Though Florida’s offense was still stranded with nearly an entire field to cover in only a couple of minutes, the Gators still had a chance to not only tie the game, but also win.
However, the crowd’s energy helped the Rebels. The 68,138-person crowd at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium was the largest in Ole Miss history. In a postgame press conference, head coach Lane Kiffin discussed how the fans, especially students, managed to bury their “Mississippi nice” to create a tense atmosphere for Florida.
“It was just a cool atmosphere, the Walk (of Champions) was awesome,” Kiffin said. “Like I’ve always said, I wish our fans would be the way they are at LSU games because they hate LSU, so I guess we got them to hate Florida this week.”
Kewan Lacy is the backbone of this team
Perhaps the biggest star on the field was Rebel running back Kewan Lacy, who rushed for over 200 yards and three touchdowns.
His 224 rushing yards were the eight-most in a single game in Ole Miss history. He moved to sixth place in single-season rushing yards and fourth in single-season carries.
His three touchdowns pushed his season total to 19 touchdowns, which broke Quinshon Judkins’ records for Ole Miss single-season rushing touchdowns and single-season all-purpose touchdowns.
Lacy averaged 7.2 yards per carry, a stat which was assisted by his six rushes for 10+ yards, including 41-yard and 59-yard runs.
Despite being a bell cow with such a heavy workload, his abilities have not diminished over the course of the season. Kiffin commented on Lacy’s resilience and endurance.
“I think in the second half of the season, he’s gotten stronger, which is highly unusual,” Kiffin said. “He leads the SEC in carries by far, and really that’s unusual because you get wear and tear normally throughout the year.”
The secondary has the ability to adjust
The most glaring issue for the Rebels was the secondary. In the first half, the Florida offense had its way through the air. Quarterback DJ Lagway only completed nine passes, but five of these went for more than 10-yards, highlighted by 47-yard and 57-yard completions.
Both those deep completions came on blown assignments by the Ole Miss secondary. On the 47-yard completion, Gator wide receiver TJ Abrams blew past Rebel safety Kapena Gushiken, who got caught flat-footed. Florida wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant simply outran Rebel corner Antonio Kite on his 57-yard touchdown reception.
However, in the second half the secondary played noticeably better. The Rebel defense only gave up 63 passing yards on a 50% completion rate.
“In the first half, we were just letting them run down the field on play action,” Kiffin said in a postgame press conference. “Don’t matter how many receivers you got hurt if you don’t cover them.”
The secondary even forced a turnover at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Linebacker Suntarine Perkins tipped a Lagway pass, which safety Wydett Williams Jr. intercepted. In a postgame press conference, Williams commented on the defense’s flexibility in recovering after a bumpy first half.
“We came together more as a team,” Williams said. “The biggest thing today was about belief, and we had to believe that you could do it, and that was one of the things that was said in the locker room.”
What’s next?
Ole Miss has a bye week before facing off against Mississippi State. The Rebels will travel to Starkville, Miss., for the annual Egg Bowl on Friday, Nov. 28 at 11 a.m. ABC will stream the game.
