Drowned in the Swamp: Florida Routs Ole Miss
Updated: Oct 31
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Some stadiums are places where you lose a game. Others swallow you whole. On Saturday, the No. 4 Ole Miss Rebels found out the hard way that Ben Hill Griffin Stadium still deserves its nickname, "The Swamp." They arrived in Florida unbeaten at 3-0, fresh off a 32-24 win over LSU the week before. They leave with a decisive 52-28 loss to the No. 21 Gators, who imposed their will physically until the final whistle.
One number tells the story: 302. That's how many rushing yards Florida piled up on 53 carries, an average of 5.7 yards per attempt. Six of the Gators' seven touchdowns came on the ground. The Rebels' defense never found an answer to that steamroller. And their offense, productive in stretches, spent too much of the afternoon waiting for its turn.
A Fast Start
Florida set the tone on the game's opening possession. Jadan Baugh crossed the goal line on a 4-yard run, and the Gators led 7-0 with 10:53 left in the first quarter. Shortly after, Patrick Durkin added a 49-yard field goal to make it 10-0.
Ole Miss was slow to find its rhythm. In the second quarter, the Rebels had to settle for two Lucas Carneiro field goals, from 36 and 46 yards. In between, Baugh capped a 15-play, 87-yard drive with a 2-yard run to make it 17-3 with 2:51 left in the half. At the break, Florida led 17-6 and had held the Ole Miss offense to 148 yards.
The Rebels Push Back
Ole Miss genuinely believed in a comeback coming out of the locker room. To open the second half, Trinidad Chambliss led a five-play, 80-yard drive and finished it himself with an 8-yard run. He then converted the two-point try with a pass to H. Fields. With 13:03 left in the third quarter, the gap was down to three: 17-14.
Florida's response was immediate. A 41-yard kickoff return set up the drive, and four plays later Duke Clark broke free for a 45-yard touchdown run, the longest run of the game. Ole Miss didn't fold. A 14-play, 74-yard drive, capped by a 10-yard Chambliss run, cut the score to 24-21 with 5:21 left in the third. The game was back on.
The Gators Answer
That's when Florida took control, starting on special teams. On the ensuing kickoff, London Montgomery returned the ball 74 yards to the Ole Miss 26. Three plays later, Aaron Philo pushed in on a 1-yard quarterback sneak: 31-21 with 3:45 left in the third quarter.
Then the Rebels turned it over. Jayden Woods stripped Chambliss on a sack, and Myles Graham recovered at midfield. That drive ended early in the fourth quarter with a 6-yard run by Dallas Wilson: 38-21 with 13:38 to play.
Ole Miss had one last push. On a four-play, 76-yard drive, Chambliss hit Deuce Alexander for 32 yards, then again for a 2-yard touchdown: 38-28 with 12:09 left. The hope didn't last. A 44-yard run by Clark set the Gators up at the Ole Miss 5, and two plays later Philo found tight end Amir Jackson for the score (45-28 with 9:19 left). Baugh then put his stamp on the game with his third touchdown of the day, making it 52-28 with 4:00 remaining. Florida won the fourth quarter 21-7.
Won in the Trenches
The numbers confirm Florida's control of the line of scrimmage. The Gators held the ball for 36:59, compared with 23:01 for Ole Miss. They ran 76 offensive plays to 61 and picked up 27 first downs, 17 of them on the ground. The Rebels, meanwhile, ran just 27 times for 128 yards.
That possession gap wasn't just a matter of style. It also reflects Ole Miss's struggles to hold on to the ball long enough and to avoid turnovers. The Rebels' offense wasn't inefficient on a per-play basis; quite the opposite. It totaled 426 yards at 7 yards per play, slightly better than Florida's 6.6. But those gains didn't translate often enough into sustained possessions, or into points when it mattered most.
Costly Mistakes
Against a team already controlling the line of scrimmage, Ole Miss made its job even harder. The Rebels turned the ball over twice: on the fumble forced by Woods, and on an interception by DJ Coleman with 2:36 left. The Gators finished the game without a single turnover.
Special teams also weighed heavily. Florida gained 151 yards on four kickoff returns, nearly 38 yards per return, highlighted by Montgomery's 74-yarder. Those returns repeatedly gave Florida favorable starting field position. Ole Miss's returns, by contrast, averaged just 17 yards.
Discipline was an issue on both sides, with eight penalties apiece: 92 yards for Florida, 69 for Ole Miss. The dominance of their offensive line allowed the Gators to absorb those mistakes.
Baugh and Chambliss, the Two Faces of the Game
If one player embodies Florida's win, it's Jadan Baugh. He finished with 142 yards and three touchdowns, including the game's first and last scores. Duke Clark added a career-high 126 yards, making Baugh and Clark the first Gators duo to each top 100 yards in the same game since 2022. Wilson and Philo also found the end zone on the ground, a sign of the depth of Florida's offensive options.
For Ole Miss, Trinidad Chambliss completed 25 of 34 passes for 298 yards and added 44 yards rushing. He was involved in all three of his team's touchdowns, two rushing and one passing, and threw the two-point conversion. His production still wasn't enough to offset the deficit in the trenches.
What's Next?
The loss drops Ole Miss to 3-1 (2-1 SEC). The Rebels have a bye week before traveling to Vanderbilt on Oct. 10. Next come a home game against Missouri, a trip to Texas and a visit from Auburn. November looks demanding, with Georgia coming to town followed by a trip to Oklahoma.
The question hanging over Oxford during the bye week is simple. How did a team that had just beaten LSU give up 302 rushing yards? The answer will have to start in the trenches.
For Florida, now 4-0 for the first time since 2019, the picture is entirely different. With 302 rushing yards and 52 points, the Gators served a reminder that winning in Gainesville still means surviving The Swamp. Ole Miss did not.
