Pete Golding’s first true road test as Ole Miss’ head coach went sideways fast, and the part that should bother the Rebels most was familiar: the run defense again cracked under pressure.
Florida leaned on its ground game from the start and never let up in a 52-28 win in The Swamp on Saturday. The Gators piled up 302 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 53 carries, averaging 5.7 yards per rush as they dictated the game on their terms.
Jadan Baugh was the centerpiece of it all. Ole Miss spent the week keyed in on the junior back, but it didn’t change the outcome.
Baugh finished with 142 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries, and he had already topped 80 yards by halftime. Duke Clark added another jolt with 126 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries, good for 10.5 yards per attempt.
Ole Miss actually managed to keep the score from getting away in the first half. Even with its offense struggling and its defense getting pushed around, the Rebels trailed only 17-6 at the break because Florida slowed itself down at times and gave Ole Miss a few breaks.
Then the Rebels finally showed some life on offense. They opened the second half with touchdowns on their first two possessions, briefly making it look like they might turn the game into something tighter. Florida answered every time, though, and the Gators scored touchdowns on all five of their second-half drives before draining the clock on the sixth.
Ole Miss also took a hit when senior safety transfer Joenel Aguero was disqualified for targeting late in the second quarter. From there, the tackling issues only got worse.
Special teams didn’t help, either, especially on kickoffs, where coverage helped put the defense in tougher spots.
Even with the lopsided loss, the bye week arrives at the right time for the Rebels. Through four weeks, Ole Miss has faced one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Three of its four games have come against ranked opponents, with those matchups played at neutral, home and road sites. Getting to October at 3-1 overall and 1-1 in SEC play was always a real possibility, and that’s exactly where the Rebels stand.
Still, if Ole Miss wants to look like a real contender in 2026, the run defense has to change. Missouri, Texas and Georgia are all ahead, and each brings a rushing attack that can stress this defense in a hurry.
Right now, Ole Miss has not stopped a nose bleed all year. The bye gives the Rebels a chance to reset, get healthy and spend a week staring straight at the problem before Vanderbilt opens the back half of the season.
In Other News...
Nick Saban Just Raised The Stakes For Florida Against Ole Miss QB
Nick Sabans latest TV turn landed right in the middle of Ole Miss momentum swing, and it came with a fresh dose of respect for Trinidad Chambliss. After Chambliss helped the Rebels beat LSU, the former Alabama coach praised him on The Pat McAfee Show and called him a top playmaker, a notable endorsement from someone who has spent years sizing up quarterbacks in the SEC.
Saban also made it clear he had learned his lesson after backing LSU before that matchup, saying he regretted picking against Chambliss and would not do it again. With Ole Miss headed toward Florida, the comment only adds a little more intrigue to a game that already carries plenty of attention, because now the Rebels quarterback arrives with a high-profile seal of approval and a fresh target on his back. [Read more 🡒]
Tennessee Fans Turned College GameDay Into A Lane Kiffin Message
Tennessee fans made their feelings about Lane Kiffin clear on ESPNs College GameDay ahead of their showdown with Texas, turning the pregame spotlight into a reminder of how deep the resentment still runs. Kiffin, now the head coach at LSU, has long been a sore spot in Knoxville because of his brief and contentious stint leading the Volunteers in 2009, and the crowd response underscored that the history never really faded.
The timing only added to the edge, with both SEC programs staring at demanding weeks ahead. LSU has Texas A&M coming up, while Tennessee now has to turn around and host Texas, keeping the focus on the field even as Kiffin once again became part of the conversation around the Vols. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas SEC Title Position Just Got A Lot More Interesting
Week 4 is starting to reshape the SEC race, and the picture is suddenly a lot less settled than it looked a week ago. ESPN Analytics now has Texas and Georgia as the conferences leading contenders, with Texas at 33 percent and Georgia at 32 percent, but Alabama and Ole Miss are still very much in the mix as the league heads into another round of telling matchups.
For Ole Miss, the spotlight only gets brighter with a trip to Florida on deck, one of several games that could begin to separate the true contenders from the rest of the pack. Texas at Tennessee is another measuring-stick game on the slate, and with Alabama also facing a significant test ahead, the path to Atlanta already feels crowded and fragile in a way that should keep the SEC race interesting for a while longer. [Read more 🡒]