No. 4 Ole Miss took on the No. 21 Florida Gators in The Swamp and suffered their first defeat of the season, 52-28, primarily because the Rebels never clicked in the game. Though they had chances to flip the script, they were unable to do so.
The run defense is dismal
While Ole Miss did play one of the best backfields in the nation, the run defense was embarrassing to watch. Florida’s Jadan Baugh is one of the best running backs in the country. Last season he had a great year with over 1,100 rushing yards and eight touchdowns.
He has rushed for over 100 yards in every game this season. His 2026 campaign has firmly put him in contention for the Doak Walker award, the trophy given to the best running back in the country.
Despite this, the defense needs to be able to make simple tackles. Many of Baugh’s runs looked like something out of a video game. The simple jukes and spin moves embarrassed Rebel defenders constantly.
Even outside of Baugh as one of the best running backs in the nation, Florida’s backup running back Duke Clark actually almost had as many yards as Baugh did.
Both backs went for over 100 rushing yards. Baugh accumulated 142 yards and three touchdowns, while Clark had 126 yards and one touchdown, on only 12 carries.
Linebacker Keaton Thomas discussed how unacceptable it was for Florida to put up 300 rushing yards, especially because he is the green dot, the player with the direct coach-to-player communication.
“Obviously, that’s inexcusable,” Thomas said. “As the green dot, I put that solely on my back whether it was my mistake or somebody else’s. I’m very proud of my defense … We gotta watch the tape tomorrow and fix that at practice.”
Ole Miss had not given up more than 100 rushing yards to multiple players in the same game since a 2020 matchup against Kentucky, when three players went over the century mark.
Only eight of Florida’s 53 rushing attempts were stuffed for zero yards or negative yardage. Overall, the Gators averaged 5.7 yards per carry and Ole Miss only notched one tackle for loss.
The defensive line was also unable to wrap up Gator quarterback Aaron Philo for a single sack.
In the postgame press conference, head coach Pete Golding discussed his halftime plea to the defense to start tackling a player at their chest rather than ankle-biting them. Thomas responded with intensity when asked if the players actually listened to Golding’s appeal.
“I think some guys took it and other guys didn’t and I think that showed,” Thomas said. “I’m going to make it evident to call guys out and let them know that if you don’t want this then you shouldn’t have come here.”
Kewan Lacy was sorely missed
Lacy is one of the most electric playmakers in college football, yet has dealt with injuries towards the end of last season and entering this season. Against Louisville, Lacy suffered a lower leg injury and had to leave the game.
Additionally, during the LSU game Lacy reinjured his left shoulder which had been bothering him since the end of last season. He had surgery on it in the offseason, but the reinjury during LSU kept him out of playing against Florida.
In his stead, JT Lindsey and Mahki Frazier looked unremarkable. Frazier had one good run in the first half where he juked one defender and spun out another for a 16-yard gain. Outside of a garbage time 9-yard run at the end of the first half, Frazier only had five rushing yards.
When asked about how the offense functions without Lacy available, quarterback Trinidad Chambliss discussed how important Lacy is, but also still believed in the rest of the running back room.
“Missing Kewan definitely hurts, he’s a dynamic player,” Chambliss said. “He puts a lot of pressure on defensive coordinators and you’ve gotta scheme for him and me and the whole offense to begin with.”
Lindsey did not play particularly well in Lacy’s absence. His longest run in the first half went for six yards, but he also got stuffed on an important fourth-and-1 run where he lost four yards and fumbled the ball.
He finished the game averaging 2.8 yards per carry with 31 yards on 11 attempts. Frazier was much better with eight carries for 42 yards, but outside of a 16 and nine-yard rush, his longest rush was only five yards.
Ole Miss certainly does not have the best offensive line in the country, but when Lacy is on the field he is always a threat to score. The Rebels’ unreliable ground attack made the offense very one-dimensional and much easier to gameplan against.
Ole Miss struggles on the road
Back in the 2024 season, two out of the three Rebel losses were on the road. One was to a ranked LSU team and the other was to an unranked Florida team that knocked the Rebels off their playoff pursuits.
Looking at last season, one would think that they were fine on the road. However, they struggled against an unranked Kentucky team that ended the season 5-7. Then went on the road to Georgia where they only lost 43-35; however, in the fourth quarter Sanford stadium turned it up a notch with their crowd noise and the Rebels suffered, only gaining 13 total yards.
Their next road game was a tough 34-26 win over Oklahoma, which barely had any crowd noise because it started at 11 a.m. and was a very rainy, dreary day. Finally, in the Egg Bowl Mississippi State was just completely outclassed.
While their playoff success was evident last season, those bowl games are not “real” road games. Most of the stadiums are about a 50-50 split in fans.
Fast forward to Ole Miss’ game against Florida. The Swamp was an unbelievable atmosphere that brought thunders of crowd noise and hostility to the Rebels. While it may not have been the direct cause of the blowout loss, it certainly did not help and it is something to watch as the season progresses.
