The No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels took down the Florida Gators 34-24 in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 15. The Rebels improved to 10-1 (6-1 SEC) with the win.
This game meant a lot for Rebel fans with all of the rumors swirling around head coach Lane Kiffin’s potential departure for Florida.
The fans showed up for the game in a big way. The crowd arrived early and stayed loud throughout the contest.
“All right, so first thanks to the fans. That atmosphere was electric from the beginning,” Kiffin said in his postgame press conference. “Seeing it packed like that was awesome.”
Senior Rebels were honored before the game for senior night as they ran to their family members on the field. There was also a pregame light show with projections on the field to get the crowd going.
First half
The Rebel pass game was clicking early with a 17-yard and a 16-yard pass to get into plus territory. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss was 6-for-6 on the first drive for 65 yards, which included a fourth-and-3 pass to wide receiver Harrison Wallace to get a fresh set of downs.
Running back Kewan Lacy had minimal success on his first few carries, but found a groove and punched in the game’s first score. With his 3-yard rush, his 17th of the season, he now holds the single season school record for most touchdowns. The previous record was 16 by Quinshon Judkins in 2022.
Through two drives, the Ole Miss defense was stellar. It allowed just 10 yards and gave quarterback DJ Lagway nowhere to go with the ball, but that did not last long.
The Rebels could have gone up by 14 on the second drive, but they elected to call two straight quarterback runs in the red zone for just 5 yards and Ole Miss settled for a field goal to take a 10-point lead.
The Gators’ biggest play of the first quarter came on a 47-yard deep pass. The receiver burned past safety Kapena Gushiken to set the visitors up in the red zone. Lagway ran it in to make it a 10-7 game.
The big pass put the Gators near the end zone, but it was Lagway’s 10-yard rush on third-and-10 that extended the drive and allowed the score. Ole Miss did not account for Lagway’s ground game and dropped seven to defend the pass, which allowed him to pick up the first down.
On the next play to open the drive, Chambliss threw an interception and the Gators got the ball back at the Ole Miss 5-yard line.
“That was just a bad mistake by me,” Chambliss said in his postgame press conference. “I didn’t see the edge drop out and thought that when he (Caleb Odom) cleared the Will linebacker that it was free, but I just got to see in front of him.”
Ole Miss dominated the first few possessions, but a clutch run and pass from Lagway, coupled with a critical interception, turned the tide of the game and put the home side on their heels going into the second quarter.
Chambliss’ decision making seemed off after the first couple of drives and he took a sack, but he rebounded after an offside penalty against Florida. He passed to receiver De’Zhaun Stribling for a 43-yard touchdown on an in route.
Kiffin’s gambles to go for it on fourth down paid off in the first half. The Rebels were not playing their best ball, but found themselves up 17-14.
The Rebel secondary once again allowed a huge play, this time in the form of a 57-yard touchdown through the air. Florida took a 21-17 lead.
Ole Miss slowly and methodically made its way down the field with key third-down conversions. A couple of Chambliss’ passes were perfectly placed just beyond the reach of outstretched defenders.
A penalty pushed Ole Miss back to the 12-yard line on second-and-goal. They were unable to get seven points and instead settled for a field goal to make it 21-20 Florida with less than two minutes in the half.
Lagway and the Gators, with several third-down conversions, marched down the field and scored a field goal to make it 24-20 going into halftime.
The Rebels got off to a hot start, but fell off after the first couple of possessions. Ole Miss was not playing like a team with playoff aspirations. The defense allowed two game-changing plays and did not recover in the first half.
In the first half, Chambliss was 15-for-18 for 177 yards, a touchdown pass and an interception, while Lagway was 9-for-17 for 155 yards and a passing and rushing touchdown.
Lacy had 112 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Wallace and Stribling led Rebel receivers in receiving yards; both were over 50 yards.
Ole Miss outpaced Florida in yards (291 to 223) and first downs (15 to 10). The Rebel defense only had one tackle for loss to the Gators’ three. The home side was 4-for-8 on third down. The visitors were 4-for-6.
Second half
On fourth-and-7, Chambliss’ pass was deflected, but he got the rebound and ran for eight yards to pick up the first. A facemask penalty on tight end Dae’Quan Wright pushed Ole Miss to first-and-25. The Rebels clawed their way to a first and goal after another fourth down conversion.
The Rebels tried some trickery and brought backup quarterback Austin Simmons in to no avail. They went for it on fourth-and-1, but Chambliss’ pass was well off target. The Gators got the ball at the 2-yard line.
Despite a 38-yard pick up from their own goal line, Ole Miss stopped the Florida offense. They had a great opportunity to get the ball back in a good spot, but the explosive play from tight end Tony Livingston took away that chance.
Ole Miss was unable to do anything and punted the ball away. The Rebel defense stood tall on their next chance and forced a punt. The pass rush made adjustments and were able to put pressure on Lagway.
Kewan Lacy broke out for a 59-yard rush to put Ole Miss at the 1-yard line to end the third quarter. With the run, Lacy set a career high in rushing yards in a single game with 204.
While this was a great play, the Rebel red zone offense let the team down a couple of times earlier in the game. This was not a sure fire touchdown by any means. The third quarter ended with no score changes.
Ole Miss began the fourth quarter at the 1-yard line by the student section. This time, Lacy punched it in the end zone and the extra point was good to make it 27-24 in favor of the Rebels.
With Lacy’s second touchdown of the game, and 18th of the season, he broke Judkins’ single season all purpose touchdown record.
Florida continued to succeed on third down to extend drives. The Gators passed the 50-yard line with a 13-yard pick up on third-and-7. The Rebel defensive line got to Lagway, but he made a spectacular play to avoid the sack and managed to pick up two yards to force third-and-5.
Lagway’s pass on the next play was tipped by linebacker Suntarine Perkins and intercepted by safety Wydett Williams Jr. Ole Miss got the ball back on the 32-yard line.
Ole Miss once again went for it on fourth down, this time from the Florida 32-yard line and converted with a direct snap to Lacy.
The Ole Miss offense stayed true to its season-long game plan of utilizing hitch routes. It was successful in short passes, but Florida was close to breaking those passes up.
Florida took a timeout with just under three minutes to go in the game with Ole Miss knocking on the door of the end zone from the 6-yard line. The red zone offense was tested again on fourth-and-3 and they failed. They did not convert and Florida got the ball at their own 3-yard line.
Lagway made a pass that fell incomplete after a big hit from cornerback Cedrick Beavers. The referees threw a flag for pass interference, but picked it up. A PI call would have pushed Florida out of the end zone. Instead, it was second-and-10.
With the student section at his back, Lagway took a sack to force fourth-and-9 from the 4-yard line. After the two minute warning, the Gators went for it and did not convert on a long pass. Safety Sage Ryan broke up the pass. It almost found the hands of a Florida receiver after the break up, but luckily fell to the ground.
Lacy scored his third rushing touchdown of the game to make it 33-24.
Ole Miss shut Florida out and put up two touchdowns in the second half to secure the win. For the game, the Rebels put up 538 yards (301 in the air and 237 on the ground), while Florida had 326 (218 passing and 108 rushing). First downs were 27 to 14 in favor of the Rebels.
“At half time (we) said ‘let’s just stay back, let’s drop more and make them earn it,'” Kiffin said. “And we did that and really played great in the second half. We finally got that critical interception.”
The Rebels had a few miscues in the red zone, but were still 5-for-7 inside the 20. While the defense had a poor first half, it stepped up big time in the second. Still, the defense had only two TFLs for -3 yards.
What’s next?
The Ole Miss Rebels have a bye week before heading to Starkville, Miss., on Friday, Nov. 28 at 11 a.m. for the Egg Bowl. ABC or ESPN will broadcast the game.
