Ole Miss will head back to the Swamp for the first time in nine years to face Florida on Saturday, Nov. 16. It’s a must-win game if the Rebels hope to keep their College Football Playoff chances alive. ESPN gives the Rebels a 77.8% chance to win and has them favored by 10 points.
The Rebels only have two games remaining on their schedule — Florida and Mississippi State. If they win both, they should lock up a spot in the playoff and could possibly be headed to the SEC championship game.
Florida has had a rocky season so far, suffering multiple injuries at quarterback, which has forced the team to play three different starters.
The quarterback the Rebels most likely will face on Nov. 16 is DJ Lagway, the phenom former five-star freshman. Lagway has been an on-and-off starter after dealing with injuries, but he has already set a Florida true-freshman record with 456 passing yards against Samford earlier this season.
Lagway engineered a win on Nov. 16 over then No. 22 LSU, a team that defeated Ole Miss earlier this season. However, as we have seen, common opponents mean nothing this season. This could be a trap game for the Rebels against an SEC opponent pushing to finish the season bowl eligible.
Ole Miss is playing some of the best football in the nation after defeating then ranked No. 3 Georgia 28-10 on Nov. 9. The victory was Lane Kiffins’ first AP Top 5 win as head coach for the Rebels.
“I think the most dangerous team in the SEC right now is Ole Miss,” analyst Desmond Howard said on last week’s broadcast of ESPN’s College GameDay. “I think Ole Miss is the most dangerous for one reason. When you slay the dragon, it does a lot for the confidence of your team.”
Ole Miss ranks in the top five highest scoring offenses in the nation and in the top five in scoring defense. The Rebels’ offense is averaging more than 40 points a game, while the defense has allowed an average of 12.9 points per game.
This season, Ole Miss has been able to run the ball effectively and throw the ball well, even with leading receiver Tre Harris out of multiple games this season because of an injury.
With Harris expected to return for this week’s matchup, quarterback Jaxson Dart has another strong passing target in addition to Juice Wells and Jordan Watkins.
The Ole Miss defense should match up well against the Gators, as the Rebels’ fierce pass rush should be able to overwhelm a freshman quarterback who has not faced a high-level front seven all season.
The last time the Rebels played in Gainesville, in 2015, they fell to the Gators 38-10. The most recent time Florida and Ole Miss met — in 2020 at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium — they suffered another loss to the Gators, 51-35. Ole Miss last defeated Florida in 2008 on Florida’s home turf, taking down legendary quarterback Tim Tebow in a 31-30 upset.
This week’s game will start at 11 a.m. CT in Gainesville, Fla., and will stream on ABC and ESPN+.
