No. 21 Florida blows past No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28 in Gainesville

Florida jumps on No. 4 Ole Miss early and never trails

Florida hosted fourth-ranked Ole Miss at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville and led 10-0 before Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw a pass. Jadan Baugh opened the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and Patrick Durkin added a 49-yard field goal. Ole Miss got on the board in the second quarter on a 36-yard Lucas Carneiro field goal, but Baugh scored again from 2 yards out to make it 17-3. Carneiro connected from 46 yards to send it into halftime at 17-6.

The Rebels crept back into it in the third quarter. Chambliss scored from 8 yards out and found Horatio Fields for a two-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 14-17. Florida had an answer ready. Duke Clark broke off a 45-yard touchdown run to push the lead back to 14-24. Chambliss added a second rushing touchdown, this one from 10 yards, to make it 21-24, but Philo answered right back with a 1-yard touchdown run that sent Florida into the fourth quarter up 21-31.

Baugh's ground game buries Ole Miss late

Florida put it away in the fourth quarter. Dallas Wilson scored from 6 yards out to make it 21-38. Ole Miss answered when Chambliss found Deuce Alexander for a 2-yard touchdown pass, but Philo connected with Amir Jackson from 5 yards to push the lead to 28-45. Baugh closed the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run, his third of the game, for the final 52-28.

Baugh finished with 29 carries for 142 yards and three touchdowns. Duke Clark added 126 yards on the ground to go with his touchdown, and Florida totaled 302 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns as a team. Baugh became the third player in Florida history to rush for 100 or more yards in five straight games, joining Emmitt Smith and Fred Taylor. "That means everything to me," Baugh said, "just having my name up there with those guys."

The Gators are humming under new coach Jon Sumrall

Florida improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in SEC play, its best start since 2019. Ole Miss fell to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the league. New coach Jon Sumrall has spent the season saying it's time to "wake the beast," and after Saturday he said the program is getting there. "It's not asleep, but it ain't fully awake yet," Sumrall said. Aaron Philo was efficient in the passing game, going 16 of 23 for 196 yards and a touchdown, and Florida didn't turn the ball over once while forcing two Ole Miss giveaways.

Ole Miss couldn't follow up its LSU win

Ole Miss came into Gainesville off a win over LSU that spoiled former Rebels coach Lane Kiffin's return, and the team had insisted that game wasn't its "Super Bowl." It didn't matter against Florida. Chambliss threw for 298 yards and a touchdown on 25-of-34 passing but was picked off once, and he added two rushing touchdowns. Deuce Alexander caught seven passes for 134 yards and a score, and Keaton Thomas led the defense with 11 tackles. Ole Miss coach Pete Golding didn't mince words afterward. "That was an old-fashioned butt-whupping," he said, and later added, "Tackling the guy with the ball is a real thing on defense. That's kind of important."

Facts per ESPN box score. Opinion is the taproom's.