No. 4 Ole Miss Football lost 52-28 to No. 21 Florida in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 26. The Gators put up nearly 500 yards of offense, including over 300 rushing yards. The Rebel offense got within a score a few times, but the defense was not able to come up with a stop.
First half
The Gators received the kickoff, backed by a rowdy crowd, and quickly went to work. Gator tight end Luke Harpring picked up 13-yards then running back Jadan Baugh followed that up with a huge 23-yard rush to put Florida inside Rebel territory.
The Rebels were able to stop the run, but only briefly. Gator quarterback Aaron Philo rushed for five yards, which set Baugh up for a 4-yard run into the end zone, giving the Gators an early 7-0 lead.
After a shaky defensive possession to start the game, the Rebel offense had a chance to answer, but were unable to do so.
Ole Miss utilized running back JT Lindsey, who got the start over Kewan Lacy due to injury, but he was unable to give the Ole Miss offense life. On fourth down, the Rebels went for it and failed to convert, handing the ball back to the Gators.
With the hot Florida offense back on the field, Philo took a deep shot downfield to Gator wide receiver Vernell Brown III that landed incomplete. Florida then attempted a short pass up the middle, but Rebel linebacker Keaton Thomas broke it up. Stalled, the Gators made a field goal to go up 10-0.
The Rebel offense finally began to pick up some steam and moved the ball down the field. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss fired a 5-yard pass to wide receiver Horatio Fields for the Rebels’ first first down of the game. Soon though, the Rebels began to beat themselves up.
Wide receiver Deuce Alexander had a false start, then Chambliss scrambled around with time to throw, but nobody was open. He took off and nearly earned a first down, taking a big hit in the process.
The Rebels faced fourth-and-1, and punted the ball back to the Gators, who began their drive with a 19-yard gain thanks to a catch by Brown. Later in the drive, Florida went for it on fourth-and-2, Rebel defensive back Jaylon Braxton got to the quarterback quickly, and his pressure forced a poorly-thrown ball, leading to a turnover on downs.
With the ball back, the Rebels began to move quickly. As the first quarter finished, wide receiver Caleb Cunningham hauled in a 14-yard catch for a Rebel first down, only Ole Miss’ second of the game at that point.
The Rebels had to punt early in the second quarter. The Gators began their next possession on their own 13-yard line. A few plays into the drive, Brown had a 67-yard touchdown run, but it was called back due to a holding penalty. The Gators’ drive ended with a punt.
On the punt return, Florida was called for catch interference, giving the Rebels an extra 15 yards. Running back Makhi Frazier picked up 16 yards, and the Rebels caught a break with a face mask call that gave them an another 15 yards.
The Rebels were unable to keep momentum moving downfield, and Lucas Carneiro came out for a 36-yard field goal attempt, which he knocked through to put the Rebels on the board. With about 10 minutes left in the second quarter, the Rebels were down 10-3.
The Gators got the ball back and began the drive from their own 13-yard line thanks to a big tackle by Rebel Iverson McCoy.
Rather than hurt Florida, the hit only riled up the crowd, and the reenergized Gators marched down the field. At the end of a nearly seven minute drive, Baugh ran it in for a touchdown, and with with under three minutes left in the second quarter, the Gators led 17-3.
The Rebels got the ball back, and played with urgency as the clock wound down. Lindsey picked up five yards, tight end Luke Hasz had an 8-yard gain of his own and an 18-yard reception by Alexander brought the Rebels to the Florida 38-yard line. Alexander had a 10-yard reception and Lindsey ran the ball for six yards.
Chambliss then made a solid bullet throw to wide receiver Samari Reed, but Reed took a big hit and dropped the pass. With Chambliss’ next pass also broken up, Carneiro came back out to attempt a 46-yard field goal. The kick was good and the first half ended 17-6 Gators.
Second half
Back from the half, the Rebels began to finally look like their normal, quick offense. They began the drive on their own 20-yard line. Chambliss threw a 14-yard pass to Alexander, and a few plays later, he connected with Alexander again for 49 yards.
Frazier was able to get the Rebels inside Florida’s 10-yard line, and Chambliss punched it in for an 8-yard touchdown run, the Rebels’ first touchdown of the game.
Head coach Pete Golding then decided to attempt a two-point conversion, and Chambliss threw the ball to Fields for a walk in conversion. Now only down 17-14, the game was much more manageable for the Rebels.
When the Gators went on offense, not much had changed, Florida still progressed the ball downfield via the run game, and had a quick touchdown of its own after a 45-yard rush by the Gators’ Duke Clark. With under 12 minutes left in the third quarter, the Gators led 24-14.
With the pressure on the Rebels, Chambliss stepped up and shouldered the Rebels’ next possession. Chambliss rushed for four yards, and spread the ball around a bit amongst other receivers.
He kept the ball and emerged through the pack for a gain, and then Lindsey took a direct snap on fourth down, which he bobbled, but managed to keep it under control and get the first down.
The possession set up Chambliss, who kept it himself and ran the ball in for a 10-yard touchdown to bring the score to 24-21.
On the kickoff, Gator London Montgomery broke through the defense and ran 74 yards. In the same drive, the Gators advanced further thanks to a 23-yard pickup from a short pass to tight end Amir Jackson. On the 1-yard line, Philo rushed for the touchdown.
With under four minutes left in the third quarter, the Gators reclaimed a 10 point lead, 31-21.
Chambliss still looked to be the player the Rebels relied on, and in the ensuing possession, Ole Miss gained good yardage thanks to an unnecessary roughness call when offensive lineman Patrick Kutas lost his helmet. Fueled by his performance on the last possession, Chambliss scrambled, but was sacked and lost the ball on a fumble.
Running back Baugh opened the next possession with a 10-yards gain, and Harpring had 21 more yards thanks to a solid run after the catch. Gator wide receiver Dallas Wilson squeaked through the Rebel defense, and was nearly stopped on the 1-yard line, but had a huge reach and extended the Florida lead to 38-21.
After Chambliss’ tough fumble on the prior possession, he proved why he could be trusted with a 21-yard throw to Reed, nine more to Johntay Cook II and then another 32-yard pickup to Alexander.
Thanks to a pass interference call, the Rebels only had two yards to go to get the touchdown. Alexander caught a pass for Ole Miss’ first passing touchdown of the game to cut the Gator lead back to 10.
The next Gator possession did not start off well thanks to the ruckus Thomas, defensive tackle Will Echoles and defensive end Kam Franklin created. In a desperate attempt to save the drive, Philo took a deep shot downfield. On the play, the referee called pass interference, giving the Gators a fresh set of downs.
The Gators found their footing, and Duke Clark had a 44-yard gain that brought Florida to the Ole Miss 5-yard line. Jackson caught a pass for another Gator touchdown, putting the Rebels down 45-28.
With about nine minutes left, the Rebels began to make riskier plays. Chambliss continually looked downfield, but either nobody was open or Chambliss’ throw was rushed.
On the drive, things went south for the Rebels and they hurt themselves with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that nearly forced them into their own end zone. After an incomplete pass from Chambliss, Oscar Bird came out to punt.
With the ball back, the Gators leaned heavily on Baugh. On the opening five plays of the Florida drive, he had 22 total rushing yards before any other Gators got involved.
Florida tacked on another rushing touchdown and Chambliss threw an interception. On their final possession, the Gators picked up a first down and kept the ball on the ground to run out the clock. The Rebels lost 52-28.
What’s next?
Ole Miss is heading into a bye week. They will be back in action in Week 6 on the road against Vanderbilt on Oct. 10.
