Florida kept its perfect September intact Saturday in Gainesville, and the Gators did it in emphatic fashion.
No. 21 Florida blasted No.
4 Ole Miss 52-28 in the Swamp, taking down a top-five opponent for the first time since a 38-10 home rout of then-No. 3 Ole Miss in 2015.
The win moved the Gators to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in SEC play under first-year coach Jon Sumrall, and it pushed them squarely into the College Football Playoff conversation.
The afternoon belonged to Florida’s offense, which kept finding answers even after Ole Miss tried to turn the game into a shootout. Buster Faulkner’s group piled up 498 yards against the SEC’s 15th-ranked defense and leaned on a punishing ground game that finished with 302 rushing yards.
Jadan Baugh kept rolling, recording his fifth straight 100-yard game and finishing with 142 yards on 29 carries. The junior also scored three times, giving him 11 touchdowns in just four games. Sophomore backup Duke Clark added his first collegiate 100-yard outing and finished with 126 yards on 12 carries.
Florida jumped out fast, grabbing a 10-0 lead before Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss had even thrown a pass. The Rebels, still without All-SEC running back Kewan Lacy because of a left shoulder injury, spent much of the first half trying to recover from a slow start after last week’s emotional win over LSU and former coach Lane Kiffin.
The Gators led 17-6 at halftime, with Baugh scoring on short runs for his ninth and 10th touchdowns of 2026. Ole Miss, though, came out of the break with a surge.
Less than two minutes into the third quarter, Chambliss trimmed the margin to 17-14 on an 8-yard scoring run after a 49-yard completion to Deuce Alexander set up the drive. He also hit Horatio Fields on the two-point conversion.
Florida answered immediately. Clark broke free for a 45-yard touchdown run, pushing the lead to 24-14. The 6-foot-2, 208-pound back slipped through the line, made two defenders miss - including former Florida defensive back Shariff Denson - and outran backup safety Andy Jaffe to the end zone.
Jaffe was in the game after officials ejected starter Joenel Aguero in the first half for targeting Gators receiver Bailey Stockton.
Chambliss wasn’t done, though. He drove Ole Miss 74 yards in 14 plays and scored from 10 yards out to pull the Rebels within 24-21 with 5:21 left in the third quarter.
That’s when Florida took control for good. London Montgomery, Florida’s third-string tailback, delivered a 74-yard kickoff return to the Ole Miss 26, and Aaron Philo punched in a 1-yard keeper to make it 31-21. On the Rebels’ next series, Jayden Woods forced a Chambliss fumble and Myles Graham recovered it, leaving the Ole Miss quarterback sitting on the turf and staring at a game that was slipping away.
Chambliss finished with 298 passing yards, a touchdown and a late interception, plus the fumble that swung the game even further toward Florida.
The Gators added to the cushion early in the fourth quarter when Dallas Wilson scored on a 6-yard end-around to make it 38-21. Ole Miss responded with a quick 76-yard drive in just four plays and 81 seconds, ending with Chambliss’ 2-yard touchdown pass to Alexander, but that was the Rebels’ last real push.
Florida kept leaning on the pressure, and Baugh closed the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run four minutes from the end. He struck a Heisman pose in the left corner of the south end zone as the Gators finished off their second straight SEC win.
The victory gave Florida its first unbeaten September since 2019 and put the Gators in position for their first 5-0 start since that season, when they finished with an Orange Bowl win. Next up is a road trip to Missouri, where the Tigers have won three of the teams’ past four meetings in Colombia.
For Ole Miss, the loss dropped the Rebels to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the SEC. For Florida, it was another loud statement from a team that has scored at least 44 points in all four of its wins.
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Mizzou Let Another Ranked Road Chance Slip Away
Missouri had a ranked road opportunity within reach at Davis Wade Stadium, and for much of the afternoon it looked as if the Tigers might finally leave with a statement win. They battled back and held the lead in the middle quarters, with Cayden Lee turning in a huge receiving day that gave the offense enough punch to keep Mississippi State under pressure.
The problem for Missouri came late, when the Bulldogs closed the game with 14 unanswered points in the final quarter and turned a one-possession contest into a 31-24 loss. Mississippi State got the decisive spark from Kamario Taylor, whose multiple touchdown passes helped flip the script and left the Tigers again sorting through what a road breakthrough is still supposed to look like. [Read more 🡒]
Mizzou Faces An Early SEC Test Fans Already Fear Could Expose Them
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The appeal of this matchup is that it comes with all the usual SEC pressure: opposing strengths, key players to sort through, and plenty of people willing to offer a prediction before anyone has actually played a snap. Missouri fans know the risks of these games well enough, because they are the ones that can reveal whether an impressive start is built to last or just looks good before the schedule tightens. This one is one of four ranked conference games on the board, which means the Tigers will have company on the watch list and no shortage of attention if things start to wobble. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Faces A Backfield Concern Right Before Week 4
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Missouri has already had to plan without him for Saturdays game at Mississippi State, and the situation remains more about the long view than a quick fix. Eli Drinkwitz has made clear he wants Hardy through a two-week full-speed practice ramp-up before he is back on the field, which keeps the focus on patience even as other SEC backfields get tested by injuries of their own. [Read more 🡒]