Florida tops No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28 to finish September undefeated
The short version
- No. 21 Florida beat No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28 to improve to 4-0 (2-0 SEC).
- Jadan Baugh ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns; Duke Clark added 126 yards.
- It was Florida's first win over a top-five opponent since beating Ole Miss in 2015.
- Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw for 298 yards but committed two turnovers.
- Florida visits Missouri next week seeking its first 5-0 start since 2019.
Jadan Baugh ran for 142 yards and three touchdowns as the No. 21 Gators beat the Rebels in Gainesville for their first win over a top-five team since 2015.
No. 21 Florida remained undefeated under first-year head coach Jon Sumrall, defeating No. 4 Ole Miss 52-28 on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 90,683 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The win moved the Gators to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in SEC play while handing Ole Miss (3-1, 1-1 SEC) its first loss of the season.
The victory was Florida's first over a top-five opponent since a 38-10 home win over then-No. 3 Ole Miss in 2015. It also gave the Gators their first unbeaten September since 2019, a season that ended with an Orange Bowl victory and the program's last 5-0 start.
Florida's ground game powered the upset behind Buster Faulkney's offense. Junior running back Jadan Baugh posted his fifth consecutive 100-yard game, finishing with 142 yards on 29 carries and three touchdowns, while sophomore backup Duke Clark added 126 yards on 12 attempts for his first 100-yard game as a collegian. The Gators totaled 302 rushing yards and 498 yards of offense against an Ole Miss defense ranked 15th in the SEC.
Ole Miss, playing without All-SEC tailback Kewan Lacy after he injured his left shoulder the previous week against LSU, fell behind early. The Rebels trailed 10-0 before quarterback Trinidad Chambliss had thrown a pass and were down 17-6 at halftime after Baugh scored his ninth and 10th touchdowns of the season on short runs.
Chambliss, described as a Heisman Trophy frontrunner, rallied Ole Miss in the second half. He cut the deficit to 17-14 early in the third quarter with an 8-yard touchdown run on a drive highlighted by a 49-yard completion to Deuce Alexander, then connected with Horatio Fields for a two-point conversion. After Clark's 45-yard touchdown run made it 24-14, Chambliss answered with a 14-play, 74-yard drive capped by a 10-yard scoring run to pull the Rebels within 24-21 late in the third quarter.
Florida took control from there. A 74-yard kickoff return by third-string tailback London Montgomery set up quarterback Aaron Philo's 1-yard touchdown keeper, and on Ole Miss's next possession sophomore edge rusher Jayden Woods forced a Chambliss fumble recovered by linebacker Myles Graham. Sophomore receiver Dallas Wilson added a 6-yard touchdown on an end-around early in the fourth quarter to make it 38-21.
Chambliss, who finished with 298 passing yards, led one more scoring drive — a four-play, 76-yard series capped by a 2-yard touchdown pass to Alexander — but the Rebels got no closer. He threw a late interception, his second turnover of the game, and Baugh's 2-yard touchdown run with about four minutes remaining closed out the scoring at 52-28.
The loss came a week after Ole Miss beat LSU and former coach Lane Kiffin at home in Oxford. The Rebels were also affected by a first-half ejection, with safety Joenel Aguero disqualified for targeting Florida receiver Bailey Stockton. Backup safety Andy Jaffe, who was beaten on Clark's long touchdown run, filled in afterward.
Florida travels to Missouri next week seeking its first 5-0 start since 2019. The Tigers have won three of the last four meetings between the schools in Columbia. The Gators have scored at least 44 points in each of their four wins this season under Sumrall, who went 0-2 against Ole Miss while coaching Tulane last season by a combined score of 86-20.
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