What Happened

OXFORD, Miss. — The Gators held up the conductor longer than many anticipated, but the Lane Train eventually pulled away in the second half as No. 6-ranked Ole Miss defeated Florida 34-24 on Saturday night at Vaughn-Hemingway Stadium.

In Florida’s first game at Ole Miss since Lane Kiffin‘s debut as Rebels coach in 2020, rumors swirled Saturday that Kiffin could be Florida’s coach next season. The Gators did little on their first two drives of the game, but they led 24-20 at halftime. However, instead of Florida (3-7, 2-5) pulling off the upset, the Rebels (10-1, 6-1) responded by shutting out the Gators in the second half as Ole Miss completed a perfect home record led by running back Kewan Lacy, who rushed for 224 yards on 31 carries. Lacy scored on 4- and 1-yard runs in the second half to account for all the scoring after halftime.

Gators interim head coach Billy Gonzales, in his third game in charge of the program, complimented the way the Gators bounced back from a 31-point loss at Kentucky a week ago.

“They battled,” Gonzales said. “Thought they played their hearts out, to be honest with you. They’ve defined who they are all year long. They did it all week long, they’re gonna continue to do it for the next couple games, they’re gonna continue to battle.”

On the other sideline, Kiffin praised the way his defense answered the bell after halftime.

“I thought our defense did great things in the second half,” Kiffin said.

Ole Miss regained the lead on the first play of the fourth quarter, a 1-yard run by Lacy that capped a six-play, 86-yard Rebels drive that took only 1:48. The Rebels started on their 14 after a 62-yard punt by Tommy Doman flipped the field. However, on the final play of the third quarter, Lacy raced 59 yards to Florida’s 1, scoring on the next play.

“It definitely wasn’t good enough,” said UF linebacker Myles Graham, who played one of the best games of his young career with nine tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. “We beat ourselves in the run game, not making plays. The offense gave us enough points on the board, and we didn’t capitalize.”

UF quarterback DJ Lagway‘s 57-yard touchdown pass to J. Michael Sturdivant put the Gators up 21-17 midway through the second quarter, and after Ole Miss kicker Lucas Carneiro connected on the second of his two field goals (27 and 23 yards) to make it 21-20, Trey Smack‘s 38-yard field goal with three seconds left in the first half gave the Gators a 24-20 lead.

That is when the Ole Miss defense began to rise to the occasion, limiting the Gators to 326 total yards. Ole Miss piled up 538 yards.

Lagway led a scoring drive late in the first quarter, highlighted by a 47-yard strike to TJ Abrams that gave UF the ball at the Ole Miss 17. Three plays later, Lagway scored on a 5-yard run with 1:13 left in the opening quarter, the first rushing score of his career.

On the ensuing possession, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss‘ pass was picked off by defensive lineman Jayden Woods, who returned the interception to the Rebels’ 5-yard line, setting up a Jadan Baugh 2-yard run that gave Florida its first lead, 14-10.

The first quarter ended 10-7, in favor of Ole Miss, with the Gators facing first-and-goal from the 2-yard line after a facemask call on Ole Miss’s Kam Franklin. The Rebels responded to take a 17-14 lead on a 43-yard TD pass from Chambliss to wideout De’Zhaun Stribling. Ole Miss’ drive was kept alive after a third-down pass by Chambliss dropped incomplete out of bounds. But Gators edge rusher Tyreak Sapp was penalized for lining up in the neutral zone. The Rebels’ redo resulted in Chambliss’ scoring dart to Stribling, who caught the pass in the middle of the field and then split defenders and raced to the end zone.

 

 

What it Means

The Gators’ dwindling hopes of becoming bowl-eligible or finishing with a winning record officially died on Saturday night. The defeat guaranteed a fourth losing season in five years for Florida, and it marked the program’s 19th consecutive loss away from home against a ranked opponent. Florida’s last win over a team ranked in the AP Top 25 that was not at The Swamp was a 44-28 victory over No. 5 Georgia in 2020 in Jacksonville.

 

In the Spotlight

Gators quarterback DJ Lagway responded well in his first game since being benched at halftime of last week’s 38-7 loss at Kentucky. Lagway scored his first career rushing touchdown and finished 16 of 31 for 218 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Lagway, after throwing three interceptions at Kentucky, played a turnover-free game until a nasty break midway in the fourth quarter when his pass was tipped by Ole Miss lineman Suntarine Perkins and intercepted by Wydett Williams Jr. on second-and-7 from the Rebels’ 32-yard line, with the Gators down by a field goal.

 

Staggering Statistic

The Gators finished winless away from The Swamp this season, losing all six of their games outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. They gave No. 5 Georgia a scare two weeks ago in Jacksonville, and did the same to the sixth-ranked Rebels on Saturday. But in the end, this is the first Florida team to not win away from home since the winless 1979 team (0-10-1).

 

Up Next

Florida (3-7, 2-5) plays at home for the first time in more than a month, hosting a rare late-season matchup against Tennessee. The No. 23-ranked Vols (7-3, 4-2) beat New Mexico State on Saturday. The Gators are no longer eligible for a bowl game, but a win over the Vols would be a nice homecoming gift.

Email senior writer Scott Carter at scottc@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.